NFL Draft: Detroit Lions staff hope to benefit from ‘priceless’ Senior Bowl experience – Detroit Lions Blog

MOBILE, Ala. – As members of Detroit LionsOn Saturday, the coaching staff left Hancock Whitney Stadium’s locker room. Jim Nagy followed them to take a look around the area.

The outcome of the 2022 Senior Bowl game didn’t matter, but Nagy, the executive director, hopes head coach Dan Campbell and his staff left with some tools to help turn the Lions franchise around following a 3-13-1 season.

“I just hope they found their kinds of guys. They worked with them for the whole week. They were always in the meeting rooms. They were at breakfast, lunch, dinner every day,” Nagy said. “You just look at the kind of guys Dan Campbell’s looking for — competitive guys that love football — and there was a lot of those guys down here this week on both teams. It’s not just the guys they coached all week. I hope they walked away with a bunch of guys that can help them build that thing.”

After spending one week coaching the American Football Team, the Lions were granted unique access and exposure to some of the most talented college football players.

Campbell served as an advisor. However, his staff received elevated roles that allowed them to develop. Duce Staley was running backs coach; Aubrey Pleasant was defensive backs coach; Ben Johnson was tight ends coach.

“This is a critical phase in our process. It’s all a puzzle that you want to put together by April. It just so happens that this piece of the puzzle has a little more oomph because of the opportunity that we have coaching the game,” said Lions general manager Brad Holmes. “So, it’s a little more firepower, but having success just getting all of our questions answered, and we might not get every question answered, but it’s just a great start, both on the field from a tangible standpoint, from a player development standpoint, but obviously, No. 1, evaluations.”

Detroit has two picks in the first round, including the No. The No. 2 overall selection as well as the No. 27 pick in the next NFL Draft. Senior Bowl was a valuable experience for the organization. They are working hard to make it count.

“Two things: You get hands on experience with the young men, not only in the classroom but you also get the hands on experience on the football field and that’s priceless. That’s deeper than any evaluation, that’s deeper than any scout could be able to tell you because you’re able to get it for your own personal experience,” Pleasant told ESPN.

“I think for where we are and where we want to go, I do think this draft is pivotal.”

Campbell allowed his staff to run the show but admitted that sometimes it was difficult not to get involved. Staley managed the show throughout the week and got to see what Campbell does every day. This gave him a greater appreciation for his role as a head coach.

He wants to keep taking reasonable steps to ensure that Detroit gets the best picks.

“Of course you want to get the right guy, but I don’t think that adds pressure,” Staley said of his Senior Bowl experience. “I just think we’re professionals, we know how to do our job and we’re gonna do it right. We are better just by being down there. This puts us ahead of others, in my opinion. You’ve got to remember that our staff is a first-year staff. We hadn’t been around for like three or four years like a lot of these staffs. So, getting these guys back on the field, coaching and being around each other is always good.”

It was a delicate balance for the Lions. They were both coaching. They were also coaching.

Still, they hope they’re not in this position again.

“I don’t want this to be misinterpreted, so I’m going to make this really clear what I’m about to say. I thoroughly enjoy being here and getting this experience, but I’m glad I got it out the way my first year because I never plan on being back here coaching these teams,” said Kelvin Sheppard, Lions outside linebackers coach.

“So, let me get that out the way and I say that sincerely because you have to be at a certain position, in certain draft order to be here as a coach and it’s something I never plan on doing never again. So, now that that’s out the way, it is a great experience getting hands-on, being able to coach these guys and really seeing what makes them tick. Seeing who can soak in things.”