According to a rumor from Sports Illustrated, the Detroit Lions are seeking a trade up in the NFL Draft.
With the 2024 NFL Draft almost upon us, the draft rumor mill is spinning into overdrive. Sometimes rumors this close to the draft are complete BS. But every now and then, a team’s true intentions bubble to the surface. So keep that in mind with this latest rumor.
Because according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Detroit Lions have been recently looking to trade up in the first round.
“Among the teams exploring a trade up are the Detroit Lions, who are sitting at 29,” Breer wrote. “After two consecutive years of multiple first-round picks (which brought them Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell), the Lions are likely looking for an edge opposite Hutchinson, or perhaps another corner.”
On the surface, this looks like a completely plausible scenario. Lions general manager Brad Holmes has never been shy about trading up for a player he likes. In 2022, he moved from the 32nd overall pick to the 12th pick in order to grab Jameson Williams. And this year, there does seem to be a significant drop off in talent after the top 20 or so players.
Last week, Holmes said they’re open to trading up, but—like always—there has to be a level of certainty on that prospect.
“If it’s the player that we want, we’re just going to go and get them,” Holmes said. “There are a lot of boxes that need to be checked. I think we kind of said it a little bit at the end of the season, everybody can’t play here. It’s got to be identified. That player has to be identified as, ‘Okay, he’s checked all those boxes. He’s the right pick and he’s the right fit.’”
This could be a challenging year for the Lions to trade up, though. Unlike previous seasons, Detroit is lacking in draft capital. They have just three picks in the top 150, meaning they may have to dig into 2025 draft picks if they want to trade up.
As for potential targets, Breer earmarks defensive end and cornerback as two potential positional targets. If that’s the case, the most likely targets at cornerback would be cornerbacks Terrion Arnold or Quinyon Mitchell. And while it’s not a particularly strong defensive end class, Dallas Turner, Jared Verse, and Laiatu Latu are all expected to be top-20 picks.
Of course this is all just a rumor at this point. The Lions themselves seem to be preparing fans for a potential trade down and out of the first round. On Wednesday, coach Dan Campbell had this message for fans during a local radio spot.
“Anything can happen. We’re prepared to do whatever we need to do. Look, if our guy’s not there—we’re sitting there and our guy’s not there—we will move back,” Campbell said. “So I’m just preparing the fans. Be ready. You never know what’s going to happen here.”
That last line is probably the most important. We have no idea what’s going to happen Thursday night, but that only makes it more exciting.
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