Latest news:Why the Lions could take more than one edge rusher in the NFL Draft:see more .

DETROIT — Brad Holmes has heard the pleas. Hard not to when you’re in his position — a GM responsible for fielding one of the league’s best rosters, with a fan base that wants to see your team take the leap from contender to Super Bowl Champion.

The Detroit Lions don’t have many holes. But the one that continues to dominate offseason chatter is the edge rusher position.

That’s an expensive position,” Holmes said at the NFL’s annual meetings. “Like I told you guys at the combine, it’s not being ignored. Everybody’s asking for one defensive end. No, we’d love to get three or four, so, it’s something that’s not being ignored.”

The Lions haven’t ignored the edge position, but it’s hard to say they’re better than they were last year. Having a full season of Aidan Hutchinson will help, but he’s coming off an injury. The projected starter opposite of him is a player who’s only appeared in six of a possible 34 regular season games the past two years.

More is needed. The Lions know it.

“We feel good about where we’re at,” Dan Campbell said earlier this month. “And we’re not done, either. That’s the point: We’re not done. We don’t know when. Maybe it will be the draft. We’re looking at everything. It could be after the draft. It could be any time.”

Let’s discuss where they could look for help.

The edge rusher conversation is not a new one for the Lions. When Holmes and company arrived, there was work to be done at that position — one of the game’s most important. Romeo Okwara tore his Achilles in 2021 and was never the same upon return. Trey Flowers was released in 2022, with the Lions ushering in a new era by selecting Hutchinson second overall. Since then, Hutchinson has been Detroit’s best pass rusher and defender, but the production opposite of him has left much to be desired.

Charles Harris was solid but not a long-term answer. Josh Paschal, a 2022 second-rounder, is a good run defender and a solid interior presence but isn’t much of a pass-rusher on the edge. James Houston, a situational pass-rusher who racked up eight sacks in seven games in 2022, missed most of the 2023 season with an injury and was phased out in 2024. Marcus Davenport, an oft-injured 2024 free-agent addition, played just two games last year, but re-signed on a one-year deal this offseason. And finally, Za’Darius Smith — a midseason addition after a trade with the Browns and the most established of this bunch — was released this offseason. Holmes said the Lions couldn’t afford him at his price tag.

This rotating cast hasn’t provided much help for Hutchinson, which is why the Lions were often linked to star pass-rushers like Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson. However, with so many extensions on the docket, it’s hard to envision the Lions paying an external edge rusher $30 million-plus while also working to retain core players. Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Kerby Joseph, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell will all be up for extensions soon — not to mention deals given to Jared Goff, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Taylor Decker, Alim McNeill, David Montgomery and Derrick Barnes in the last calendar year.

I do think that’s part of the discipline that’s required for where we’re at as a football team right now,” Holmes said. “…This analogy popped in my head this morning — You have financial responsibilities. You have a mortgage or your kid’s college fund, your 529, you have insurance you have to pay. You know you have to pay those things, but that might require that you can’t take the vacation you really want right now this summer. So, that’s kind of where we are right now.”

It’s certainly an understandable perspective, and the Lions should be applauded for their patience and long-term view. However, there are ways to address the edge rusher position without breaking the bank.

The release of Smith, while not a surprise, is still a loss. He recorded 63 pressures (tied for 10th among edge rushers), a win rate of 18.7 percent (eighth among edge rushers — min. 115 snaps) and 18th in sacks with nine in 2024, splitting time with the Browns and Lions. One benefit of his contract at the deadline was that it came with an extra year to potentially share the field with Hutchinson. They would’ve formed one of the NFL’s best pass-rush duos. However, the void years tacked onto it made Smith difficult to keep around, and the Lions ultimately parted ways.

That said, Holmes didn’t close the door on a potential reunion with Smith, who remains unsigned.

“It was an amicable decision,” Holmes said. “We couldn’t afford it is the bottom line, you know? That was my communication with him and he understood that. …But we’ve been keeping in touch with his agent and he understands that process. We’ll just see how it goes.”

If not Smith, who else is still out there? Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Lions reportedly hosted veteran edge rusher Demarcus Walker for a visit last week. Released by the Chicago Bears this offseason, Walker is looking for a new team and also met with the New York Giants. Walker recorded 3.5 sacks, 39 pressures and a win rate of 11.1 percent this past season, per PFF. While he could be better suited as an interior lineman at this stage of his career, he could still be a solid addition to the room.

Elsewhere, veterans like Matthew Judon and Von Miller remain available and should be inexpensive, though they could be waiting until after the draft to make their decisions. The Lions could wait until roster cutdowns after training camp to add help if they don’t like their situation heading into the season, much like they did at wide receiver last year. However, you have to think they’d like to avoid that if possible.

That’s why the draft remains the most viable option.

The most likely scenario at this point ends with the Lions drafting an edge rusher on Day 1 or Day 2. They don’t typically draft for pure need, but this feels like a year where you could address it in a way that kills two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Per “The Beast” — The Athletic’s NFL Draft guide comprised by draft analyst Dane Brugler, there are 19 edge prospects with at least a third-round grade. There are 102 picks in the top three rounds (comp picks included). Essentially, almost 20 percent of prospects who could be selected in the first three rounds are edge rushers. Last year, by comparison, there were 11 edge rushers with a third-round grade or higher.