Trades will, as always, be something to watch for on the opening night of the draft. The middle and latter portions of the first-round order could see plenty of movement with teams maneuvering around the board in a year lacking in top-tier prospects.
The Lions will be a team to watch closely on that front. Detroit has been making calls about a trade up the order, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. He adds other teams are monitoring the Lions as a candidate for a move higher up the board. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones also writes Detroit is among the teams which could swing a trade tonight.
The Lions have a second-round selection (No. 50) but do not own a third-rounder. That limited Day 2 capital could make restrict how far up the board general manager Brad Holmes is able to move. Nevertheless, a trade targeting a prospect Holmes and Co, are higher on than most would certainly not come as a surprise. Jones adds any deal moving Detroit closer to the top of the Day 1 order would likely result in an offensive tackle being drafted.
Adding up front has long been projected as a goal for the Lions. Ely Allen’s PFR mock has Monroe Freeling coming off the board at No. 17. Meanwhile, Fowler’s colleague Matt Miller and Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated each have Detroit drafting Kadyn Proctor at that spot. The Alabama product has previously been linked to the Lions, and the final mock draft from Dane Brugler of The Athletic also has him being selected by Detroit.
The Lions will not have Taylor Decker in the fold moving forward. Replacing him at the left tackle spot could very well include Penei Sewell shifting to the blindside, something which would allow Proctor or another rookie to take on right tackle duties right away. Proctor is the subject of maturity questions, per Breer, but a top-20 selection in his case can still be expected. In that event, the Lions will remain a landing spot to watch closely with or without a trade taking place.
There are multiple positions in this draft—offensive line and receiver in particular—where there are some very good prospects, but no one you’re jazzed to take in the top five. I think trades are likely to happen whenever the real runs on those positions begin.
If I was the Giants GM I’d be selecting Tate at 5
@Oooof. I think the only trades will be at the end of the first. After the top
10 it’s pretty equal til 60. I think its going to be stick n pick. After defensive ends it’s really just a couple in each position everyone else is a project or lotto ticket. I wouldn’t say its terrible but like steve smith said with Wr not elite talent just deep with decent players
A lot of it will be in the eye of the beholder, but if you have a first round grade on one of the remaining receivers or tackles and not the others, you might be enticed to trade up for him. I doubt we see a huge number of trades and I wouldn’t be surprised to see multiple pick for player trades during the first three rounds.
I see a team like Pittsburgh potentially trading up using one of their 3 3rd rd draft choices to do so, if they have a player that has fallen to a point that they have keyed in on. Maybe to Tampa Bay at 15, or at 13 to get in front of Baltimore.