The 2022 NFL Draft is exactly one week away and, to be honest, I am starting to get a bit nervous about what the Detroit Lions will do with the No. 2 overall pick.
I have been very clear that if Aidan Hutchinson is off the board (I believe he will be), the Lions should do whatever they can to trade down out of the No. 2 position.
On Wednesday, Bill Barnwell of ESPN released a trio of trade scenarios for the Lions but there is a pretty big problem…. he has them trading UP with all three proposals!
Here are the three trade-up scenarios for the Lions, along with Barnwell’s thoughts on each.
Lions get:Â 1-1
Jaguars get:Â 1-2, 2-34, 2023 fourth-round pick
And as a bonus this year, let’s throw in a second possible swap for the No. 1 pick. The Lions are probably on the edge rusher train after recording just 30 sacks a year ago (30th in the NFL), and there has to be at least some local sentiment for going after Aidan Hutchinson, who grew up in Plymouth, Michigan, and played his college ball at the University of Michigan. He already has talked about how much he admires Lions coach Dan Campbell.
Of course, there’s a chance the Lions can stay put and land Hutchinson if the Jaguars prefer Travon Walker or Kayvon Thibodeaux among the top edge rushers. With Hutchinson the betting favorite, though, the evidence seems to point toward Jacksonville taking him. If the Lions want Hutchinson, they can hope the Jags are bluffing or that the public is wrong, but are they willing to pay to guarantee keeping him in-state?
We’ve seen teams trade up for this sort of move in the past. In 2017, the Bears sent two third-round picks and a fourth-rounder to the 49ers to move up from No. 3 to No. 2 to draft Mitch Trubisky. San Francisco hadn’t yet traded for Jimmy Garoppolo at that point, so it was plausible that the 49ers could pick a quarterback or trade that pick to a team that wanted Trubisky. San Francisco general manager John Lynch was able to leverage that fear into three midround picks, which eventually yielded the two best players in the deal in Alvin Kamara (in a separate deal with the Saints) and Fred Warner.
With this trade, the Lions send their second-round pick and a future fourth-rounder to move up and lock in their guy. This doesn’t feel like much to move down one spot, but it’s a win on both the Johnson and Stuart chart for the Jaguars, who would still be able to take Walker. This deal won’t look good if Hutchinson turns into the best edge rusher in the class, but given how overconfident teams typically are at the top of the draft, the Jags are better off moving down a spot and adding a valuable selection at the top of the second round.
Lions get:Â 1-17, 3-79
Chargers get:Â 1-32, 2-34
As Mel Kiper Jr. noted in his most recent mock, the Chargers really need only to add a right tackle and aren’t in a good spot to take one here. Having traded their second-round pick to the Bears for Khalil Mack, they could stand to trade down and add one of the best second-round picks to their portfolio. They can attack the line of scrimmage with two picks in the 30s.
Detroit general manager Brad Holmes comes from the Rams organization, and L.A. has typically treated late first-round picks as opportunities to get more valuable picks or players. Moving up here would get the Lions ahead of the Steelers if they do want to grab a quarterback, or land them in front of the Eagles and Saints if Detroit wants to take a wide receiver.
I’m not sure either of those teams will actually use an early pick on a wide receiver, but we could also see some of the teams drafting later in the first round move up for a wide receiver. Here’s one of those teams in the next deal …
Lions get:Â 1-14, 4-141
Ravens get:Â 1-32, 2-34
Let’s finish up with getting the Lions that wide receiver. Their quarterback of the future probably isn’t on their roster, but having Amon-Ra St. Brown, D’Andre Swift, T.J. Hockenson and a wideout such as Chris Olave would give Jared Goff plenty of options in Detroit.
Landing one of the top edge rushers at No. 2 and an impact wideout at No. 14 would be an exciting haul for the Lions, while the Ravens would have plenty of options for defensive line help with picks Nos. 32 and 34.
In my opinion, it would be a HUGE mistake for the Lions to give up valuable draft capital trade up in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Nation, would you like any of these trades?
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