Lions GM Brad Holmes talked about the difficulty of scouting CFL’s Mathieu Betts and hinted at their ‘crazy’ methods.
Back before free agency started, the Detroit Lions signed CFL edge rusher Mathieu Betts. Given that Betts was named CFL’s “Most Outstanding Defensive Player” in 2023, it was a signing that drew significant interest from Lions fans—particularly ones who understandably believed Detroit needs some more juice in their pass rush.
But Holmes preached a lot of caution with Betts, too. Good offensive line depth is hard to find in the NFL, so imagine the kind of players Betts was rushing against at the CFL level. Holmes knows you can’t put too much stock into CFL production.
“Obviously had a lot of production and but you look at the competition and it’s not the same as what he’s going to be facing at this level,” Holmes said. “So you got to keep that in mind as well, with all the production he has.”
Scouting players who played against lower competition is nothing new to the Lions or any NFL team. That’s exactly the challenge in college scouting. Holmes compared the process to evaluating a small-school prospect. However, the added complication with a CFL player—especially if they’re no longer draft eligible—is that they likely aren’t playing in All-Star games like the Senior Bowl or the East-West Shrine game to line them up against better competition before investing in them.
