All offseason, a faction of Detroit Lions supporters has stated that “they won’t trade their first-round pick” because the 2024 draft will be held in Detroit. General manager Brad Holmes responded to the flimsy story during his pre-draft press conference, as predicted.The request is for forgiveness rather than permission to trade out of the first round on April 25.
“If it makes sense, it lines up, and it’s the right thing to do, then we have to do the right thing. So, if that happens, and the fans have been waiting all night for this pick, and we get an offer we can’t refuse, we’ve got to do the right thing.” We hope our followers will forgive us. We won’t expect immediate forgiveness right away, but perhaps we’ll be able to move past it once the season begins and that player is out there. “I completely understand that.”
Some teams may seek to trade into the late first round in order to secure a desirable fifth-year option on a player (a quarterback?). The Lions, ranked 29th overall, could get a lot of calls late next Thursday night.
According to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, two teams in particular may be attempting to stockpile draft resources in order to reclaim their first round position.
I’d be surprised if Arizona or Washington (or both) don’t shift some of their massive stockpiles of draft cash back into the first. I understand AZ has two picks in one, but I believe they’ll package another pick and improve 27.
Past relationships make the Cardinals and Commanders easy potential draft trade partners for the Lions.
Zierlein’s specific reference of the Commanders and Cardinals is intriguing in terms of draft trades for the Lions.
David Sears is the Cardinals’ assistant general manager. Previously, he was the Lions’ director of college scouting from 2019-2022. The Lions and Cardinals made two trades during last year’s draft, coincidentally or not, following Sears’ hiring in Arizona.
Lance Newmark spent 26 seasons in the Lions’ player personnel department before joining the Commanders as deputy general manager this offseason. Most curiously, Washington has five picks ranked between 36 and 100 overall. The “Rich Hill” draft pick value table shows that picks 36 and 100 are equivalent to pick 29.
This year’s pre-draft speculation will soon be done. However, if Holmes is prepared to move out of the first round and they want to move up, the Commanders and Cardinals appear to be the best trade partners.
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