The Detroit Lions remain a major wild card heading into this month’s NFL Draft. Common logic suggests that LSU quarterback Joe Burrow will go No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Washington Redskins are more than likely ready to take Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young with the second pick.
This leaves Detroit at No. 3 as the unofficial start of the annual draft. There’s plenty of options for general manager Bob Quinn.
According to Albert Breer of MMQB, that could mean trading down from the third selection.
“Detroit is open for business on a trade, and the idea that the Dolphins or Chargers might come up has to appeal to them for a very specific reason,” Breer reported. “There’s a consensus that there are four elite defenders in this year’s draft (Young, Okudah, Isaiah Simmons and Derrick Brown) and falling back to 5 or 6 in the order, while accumulating more capital, would ensure that the Lions would still get one.”
Detroit is said to be targeting a defensive player with that third pick. If it can move down and still nab an elite player on that side of the ball under defensive-minded head coach Matt Patricia, it would make too much sense.
That’s magnified by the fact that other teams will be looking to move up for either Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert of the Oregon Ducks. Specifically, it looks like one team is looking to trade up for Herbert.
Detroit is not in a position that one player will change its fortune. Moving down from the third selection and picking up further assets has to be the play here.