Allen Park, Mich.— The Detroit Lions selected OL Colby Sorsdal and WR Antoine Green with their fifth and seventh-round picks of the 2023 NFL Draft.
2023 DETROIT LIONS NFL DRAFT QUOTE SHEETS
Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes was available to the media following the conclusion of Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Sorsdal and Green were also available to the media via Zoom. The following are quote sheets with excerpts from their media sessions.
LIONS FIFTH-ROUND DRAFT SELECTION (NO. 152 OVERALL) OFFENSIVE LINE COLBY SORSDAL DRAFT DAY 3 QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On what positional experience he has through his collegiate career:
“So, I played right tackle my entire career at William & Mary, but throughout practice and even at the Shrine Bowl I got in some guard reps as well as some left tackle reps. I’ve snapped a handful of times like you said in practice and stuff like that, but I’m just looking forward to making an impact wherever I’m needed.”
On who he has been surrounded by over the Draft weekend and his feelings of being drafted: “Yeah I mean, I can’t really explain the feelings right now. I think I’ve got hives a little bit just from how excited I am. I’ve been anxiously waiting these past couple of days with my family and some friends. We’re here in Dallas, Texas, my family lives here. I’m eating good food and just hanging out waiting for that call and thank goodness it came, so I’m just over the moon right now.”
On the opportunity of coming into and learning from one of the best offensive lines in the NFL: “No doubt, no doubt. I think one of my strengths is that I learn, and I love to learn. So, coming into a room with (Lions T) Penei Sewell and all those guys, I mean, it’s a dream come true. I’m just excited to get to work.”
On his interactions with the Lions in the pre-draft process: “I met them at the Shrine game. There was some interest there and throughout this whole process at my pro day I met with an area scout and it just kind of happened from there. So, I’ve just had a handful of calls with (Lions Offensive Line) Coach (Hank) Fraley, and others, and I’m here so, I’m just excited.”
On if he had a Top 30 visit with the Lions: “No sir.”
On what he likes to do in his personal time: “I’m the classic lineman type, right? So, I love the outdoors. I love hunting and fishing. I play the guitar in my free time, but for me, it’s all football all the time. I don’t have a lot of free time per-se, but If I do I love to spend it with my friends and family, outdoors, doing whatever.”
On how he started playing the guitar: “So, my dad and I are big fans of Nirvana, so Nirvana was like my pre-game ritual before every game. You know, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ I know it’s like the classic Nirvana song, so like we love that. I’m like,’ Oh, yeah that’s cool, I want to jam out like (Nirvana Guitarist) Kurt Cobain.” So, that’s what I started doing.”
On his age when he started playing the guitar: “I was 16, 16.”
On if he had a chance to go against Lions DT Brodric Martin in the East vs. West game: “No, I didn’t get to go against him too much in the Shrine game, he was on the East team, I was on the West team. We didn’t have that many run in’s during the actual game, but I’m excited to call him a teammate and I’m excited to get to work.”
LIONS SEVENTH-ROUND DRAFT SELECTION (NO. 219 OVERALL) WIDE RECEIVER ANTOINE GREEN DRAFT DAY 3 QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On his contact with the Lions during the pre-draft process: “I had contact with them over the course of the last few months. I mean through the Shrine Bowl that’s really where it started, and then I ended up speaking with them at the Combine as well.”
On his relationship with Lions Cornerbacks Coach Dre Bly: “Yeah, me and Dre, we have a good relationship, so I mean him being a DB coach at North Carolina just encouraging those DBs to compete against me all the time and, he knew what I was capable of so, he always tried to make me go against the best and that’s always what I’m going to do. He brought a lot out of me. It was definitely good having him on my side.”
On how excited he is to join an established offense: “Yeah, it’s definitely, joining an established offense like you said with (Lions QB) Jared Goff, and the rest of those guys it’s definitely exciting for me because I want to be able to contribute to that and just put on display what I can do and ultimately win games. So, I’m excited to be able to join the offense and get it rolling.”
On his relationship with Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson: “I mean, I don’t know him too well, but I look forward to getting to know him a lot more and just being able to learn the offense and just even learn about him outside of football, so being personable and doing all of that.”
On his strengths as a player: “Yeah, so, I think my strengths as a player, I’m able to stretch the field. I mean I can read a defense pretty well, find a zone, do whatever I need to do to get open, and I got a big body, too. I’m tall, got great hands and playmaking ability is what’s special about me.”
On his experience on special teams at the University of North Carolina: “Throughout the course of my career in college I’ve been on kick return, I’ve been on punt return blocking, punt, and I’ve practiced gunner a lot too so all last year during the season I practiced gunner. I ended up being taken off of it because of collarbone early on in the season. I definitely got a lot of experience when it comes to in game and in practice.”
On his pre-draft interactions and conversations with Lions Wide Receivers Coach Antwaan Randle El: “I mean it wasn’t a ton of interaction, but being able to work with a guy like that is going to be fun, and just being able to basically just thrive in that relationship and keep it going.”
On what he does in his personal time and relationships that have impacted him throughout the Draft process: “Yeah, so a little bit about me outside of football, I mean some hobbies I’ve gotten into are like, the camera side of stuff so I’ve gotten into cameras. I’ve got two dogs and two cats, so I’m an animal type of guy, too. And I love to bowl, so that’s one thing I’ve been getting into as well is bowling.”
On his high game in bowling: “It’s been a while, but I hit 225 one time.”
On if he publishes his photographs anywhere: “No, so my girl I’ve been with her for three years, so she’s like a social media influencer, so I’ve been doing like all of her content, creating stuff and just helping her out with that.”
On what equipment he uses for his photography: “I just purchased my second camera because I started off with something small, like a Canon M50, but I just got a (canon) a7 III, and I just actually got a G-Master lens, so it’s just something I’m getting started with for real, and my uncle he owns like a tech school in Orlando, so he’s helping me get started with that and just like learning more about that side of things.”
On the moment when he got the phone call from the Lions that he was being drafted: “Yeah, I was just standing in the kitchen, so it was like a window that just opens up to the living room, so I was just standing in the kitchen next to my big brother. It was kind of cool having him by my side because it was something he’s always wanted to be able to do, have his name called at the Draft, and the experience was great. I’m super excited, my family is super excited, so I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity I was provided, and I’m just ready to get to work.”
LIONS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER BRAD HOLMES DRAFT DAY 3 PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTE SHEET
Opening Statement: “Obviously, thrilled with how the weekend went. Every single pick we’re excited about. Whenever you acquire a player, you never want to feel warm or feel unexcited after you pick him. That’s the reason why you go through those moments where the heart rate might rise a little bit to see if your player’s there or not, all the way down to the seventh round. So, we’re really excited. At the end of the day, we acquire these players for a lot of different reasons, but ultimately, what are we trying to accomplish? We’re trying to win games. That’s why we acquire these players. I know a lot will be said about, ‘You acquired a running back in the first round.’ We didn’t acquire a running back in the first round, we acquired an elite weapon to keep our offense explosive in the first round. We didn’t acquire an inside linebacker in the first round, we acquired a legit anchor to elevate our defense in the first round. That’s what the ultimate goal is, and that’s what our vision is. We couldn’t be more excited with how the weekend went.”
On the impact all-star games like the East-West Shrine Bowl can have on evaluating prospects: “Yeah, those all-star games are huge for a lot of different reasons. Although that they’re a little bit later in the process, you’re exactly right. It’s about, how do you manage that process and how much work do you do before you get to that process? We do quite a bit of work. We do a lot of work so that by the time we get to the all-star circuit, we pretty much know all the guys and we probably have seen them all. We kind of already know questions that we want answered when we see these players after those games. I think all the players that were – the Shrine Bowl guys, they participated, they performed well enough to put them in further consideration, especially when you want to see a guy – OK, William & Mary, (Lions OL Colby Sorsdal) he dominated his level of competition, well what is he like playing another position at the East-West game? Those things bode well, a guy that played right tackle and played it well, but let’s see how he plays at guard at some better competition. He did a good job. We talked about (Lions DL) Brodric (Martin) and him being at Western Kentucky and seeing it being done versus an Auburn or whoever it was, and then you just kind of see him at some higher competition and see how he performs. We have a good process before the all-star circuit, we have a good process after it, but it does make a difference.”
On the decision to trade former Lions RB D’Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles: “I always say – and I think I told you guys this around the time that we did the (Vikings TE T.J.) Hockenson trade – is it’s my job to keep laser focus on the present, but probably even more importantly keep laser focus on the future. That’s what went into a lot of the decisions with having to make the trade with D’Andre Swift to Philly. He was in the last year of his contract, and if I go back to last year, I felt really good about us being able to bring back (Saints RB) Jamaal Williams. I felt confident in the season. I felt good about our conversations with his camp, and it didn’t happen. You have to just be prepared for all those things. We don’t draft scared. We don’t kind of play scared. The thing with (Lions RB) Jahmyr Gibbs is that’s the guy that we loved. But again, having to keep that laser focus for the future is obviously kind of a part of it. But obviously, we want to do the right thing for the player. That’s kind of how we do it. So, I think at the end of the day, him being able to go back to his hometown on a really, really good team that was just in the Super Bowl, I think it was a win-win for all parties involved.”
On how important adding future draft capital through trades can be: “Yeah, that’s a big part of it. I said it the other night, (former Lions RB) D’Andre Swift’s an electric football player. That was important and a part of the trade is you’re going to part ways with a player of that caliber, of that magnitude knowing when he’s out there what he can do. You’ve got to get what we can say ‘fair compensation.’ So, me and (Eagles Executive Vice President and General Manager) Howie (Roseman), I’ve got a lot of respect for Howie, we just kind of talked about it over some few days and we were just able to get it done.”
On the concern with WR Jameson Williams’ maturity level and if the selection of newly-selected WR Antoine Green would help ease the transition during Williams’ suspension: “Yeah, I mean, first of all, at the receiver position, you really just can’t have enough of them. But, it’s really more so – and specifically, with Jameson, look, he made a mistake. He made a mistake, he takes accountability of it, he knows it. Yes, he is young, and he understands the mistake that he made, and we’ve had transparent and open conversations about it. But we have confidence that he’s going to take the right approach. He’s going to have the right response in terms of what he needs to do. (We) feel really good in terms of just having him through the remainder of the offseason program. We’ll get him in training camp and then we’ll just have to have a good plan for when he has to depart and when he has to return. In terms of just – I don’t think that Green can replace Jameson or any of that, but we are happy to get Green in the fold, and he does add a vertical, stretching element.”
On if there is a silver lining that newly-selected QB Hendon Hooker’s injury may prevent a hypothetical quarterback controversy: “That’s a good question. With the whole adding (of) Hooker, it wasn’t really to – I never really thought about a possible quarterback controversy or anything like that. Hooker’s a rookie drafted in the third round. We didn’t draft him sixth overall when we were there or anything like that. He’s got to get healthy, he’s got to develop. We like his developmental traits and I’ve been very transparent this whole time in terms of me taking accountability of me not being able to stockpile that quarterback room as much as I would like in the past, and we finally got to a position at our roster where we were able to add a guy that had some good developmental traits. Just like I said the other day, I think he’s in a good situation where he can learn, he can develop, he can get healthy, he can see how Jared (Goff) and Nate (Sudfeld) operate, and there’s really no pressure on him. So, we’re just excited about him and we’ll just see how far it goes.”
On if the team factored in the age of newly-selected QB Hendon Hooker upon drafting him: “Yeah, I mean you’re mindful of it. You don’t ignore it, but we look at the positive part of that, and the quarterback position, it entails maturity. I think that’s the positive thing you’re getting when you’re dealing with a quarterback, is that him being 25, he’s a mature young man, and he showed us that throughout this process. You’re aware of it and you understand it, but it really wasn’t a deterrent in our decision.”
On his energy and enthusiasm when celebrating draft selections: “I just love it. I actually told myself and I told the others in the room I was going to be more disciplined, but I guess I just can’t state it or emphasize it enough that we draft players that we love. When you’re able to acquire them and you get them, sometimes you just really can’t control the emotion and it’s just genuine, it’s authentic, and when you find that guy that you love and that’s a fit for what we’re about and what our culture is and what we want our football team to look like, you just really can’t control the emotions. Most of the time, the object in front of me is a table, so that’s what gets the beating all the time. My son, who’s 4 years old, he told me this morning, he said, ‘Daddy, I saw you on TV.’ I said, ‘What was daddy doing?’ He said, ‘You were beating the table and you gave a high five, you hugged somebody and you were in glasses.’ And so I said, ‘Good job.’”
On if he apologized to Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell for accidentally elbowing him while celebrating a draft pick: “Well, my first – I don’t want to say egregious offense – with Penei (Sewell), Rod Wood kind of took the brunt of that one. I don’t think I gave Dan much, but I probably gave him more than thought I was able to. But I still don’t want to be in a cage match with him.”
On if he can explain the story behind his sweatshirt featuring Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell: “I guess it’s the new SMPLFD line. It came across my desk the other day, and man, you’re like – I told you all, this is my brother, my guy. I said, ‘Man, this is going to be pretty cool on Day Three to wrap it up, man.’ But yeah, I love this sweatshirt. It’s awesome.”
On if he had influence in the development of the new SMPLFD sweatshirt: “I don’t think that they put me on that kind of pedestal to make the merch line, but it’s all good.”
On the concern with Lions WR Jameson Williams’ decision-making across the board: “You just have talks with him. I would say, everything who Jamo is as a person – we are extremely thorough in our research about the human being before we acquire these players. We know who Jamo is, and we have a good system for him and for all of our players. Player development is No. 1 for all of our players. We said that in Year 1 that that was our goal and focus. I think each players’ different. Jamo is young and he’s going to continue to mature and he’s going to continue to grow. So, yeah, some mistakes will be made, but we communicate with Jamo and we treat him like our other players. We hold him to accountability and we’re always clear and transparent with him and like all of our players. We’ll just go forward from there. No real concerns going forward. He made a mistake, he takes accountability for it and I know that he’ll learn from it.”
On what the expectations are going into this season: “I said during the Combine – ‘What’s the goal of the offseason?’ I just said, ‘Look, we don’t want to take a step back. We don’t want to stay stagnant.’ We appreciate and we are extremely proud of the success that we had last year, but we didn’t make the playoffs. We didn’t make the playoffs, and that’s not good enough. We’ve got to get to the point as a football team where we can put ourselves in a position where we can get in the postseason, and hopefully make some noise.”
On if he feels the roster is talented enough to get into the postseason: “I do, yes.”
On the perception that he drafted players this draft who can make an immediate impact and if that implies his expectation to win now: “It doesn’t always line up that way, but it does. I think you take a (Lions RB) Jahmyr Gibbs, he’s right now. He’s day one. Now, again, you take into account that they are rookies. They’re all rookies. But we expect him to make an immediate impact. (Lions LB) Jack Campbell, we expect him to make an immediate impact. I know you asked about the schools that they come from. When you get players from Alabama, and Iowa, and those well-respected programs, obviously, it’s a huge credit to (Iowa Head Coach Kirk) Ferentz, and (Alabama Head Coach) Nick Saban. You get some high-floor players, especially when you’re acquiring them as high as we did. We expect immediate impact. We don’t have a crystal ball, but I would expect that we can get some instant impact. You go even to (Lions TE) Sam LaPorta, a guy that I would say more along the terms of a gritty weapon. I do think that Sam would be able to make an early impact. You get into a (Lions DB) Brian Branch, now look, we made a lot of moves in the secondary in the backend during free agency, and where we are as a roster, you can get to a point where you’re going to take a guy in the second round that might not be an immediate impact. But I will say this, he might be, and if he’s not making an immediate impact on defense, then he’s going to make an immediate impact on special teams. Again, it goes back to not just laser-focus on the present, but also the future.”
On the balancing act between reinforcing a roster strength and addressing roster weaknesses: “Those are some reminders that I put down for myself, heading into this offseason in terms of all three phases of the ball. Yeah, we were highly productive on offense last year, and then we ranked where we ranked on defense at the end of the year. I do think that we got a lot better in the second half of the season on defense, but it is what it is. We just needed to get better. You’ve got to be mindful of, ‘Well, OK, let’s just ignore the offense and just kind of just put all the eggs on defense.’ No, you’ve got to keep it balanced. You’ve got to make sure that your offense is staying explosive. You want to have a top-10 defense. Usually, when you have a top-10 defense, you’re going to have a chance. You want to kind of keep your special teams. Special teams is a high emphasis for us on our football team. We want to have special teams as a weapon for us. And so, just all three phases of the ball, you just can’t ignore any of it. You want to keep all of them at a high level. So, hopefully, we made enough improvements on defense. Hopefully, we can keep our offense explosive, and then hopefully we can continue to have our special teams unit as a weapon.”
On if he sees Lions seventh-round draft selection (219th overall) WR Antoine Green as a special teams contributor: “Yeah, that would be the goal. We’ll see how much he can impact. Again, he’s a rookie. He’s still got upside. He’s got development. We’ll just see how far it goes, but in the meantime, with all these rookies, they’re going to have to prove themselves on special teams. So, hopefully, that’s the case.” |
