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.

Betts finished 2023 with 18 sacks and four forced fumbles in 18 games for the BC Lions. Following the season, he had a private workout with the Lions back in December, but due to strict CFL rules, they weren’t allowed to sign him until later. When that window eventually opened up, Betts opted to sign with the Lions over other options—despite them offering no guaranteed money—because he liked the fit in Detroit and saw a window of opportunity to their 53-man roster.

“That’s the roster we were the most confident that I could that crack,” Betts said in a videoconference in February. “It was the first workout that I had this offseason and the chemistry, the energy, the discussions I’ve had with the staff there just felt right.”

The Lions obviously liked what they saw, too. Beyond the stellar production, Betts’ relentless playing style fill fit right into Detroit’s culture.

“Man, that guy plays hard,” general manager Brad Holmes said this week at the owners meetings. “He plays like how we want to play, and obviously with all that production let’s go just take a shot and see where it goes.”

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.

But the Lions still have their own methods to try and parse through all the information. Holmes wasn’t willing to give up exactly what the Lions’ scouting team does but admitted it’s a little extra.

“When they don’t do that (play in all-star games), you’ve got to really do your work and we’ve gone through some exercises on it,” Holmes said. “I don’t even want to get into the details, but we’ve gone through some exercises that you’d probably call us pretty crazy for what we’ve done. I’ll say this, there’s a way where you can find the answers to the test and get your questions answered, but you’ve got to really dive deep.”

Under Holmes, the Lions haven’t dipped into the CFL ranks, but they have invested in a few small-school players. Jackson State’s James Houston proved to be a worthwhile investment in the sixth round, while the jury is still out on Western Kentucky defensive tackle Brodric Martin and William & Mary offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal.

Betts will certainly have a shot to compete and make Detroit’s final roster. With Julian Okwara headed to Philly, Romeo Okwara retiring, and Charles Harris currently unsigned, there are voided roles from 2023 that need to be filled. Betts is currently set to compete against the likes of Josh Paschal, John Cominsky, Marcus Davenport, Houston, and Mitchell Agude for a role with the team in 2024.

Meet the Prospect: Nate Wiggins