It is officially Draft Week and over the next 3+ days, we are going to be seeing a plethora of mock drafts and rumors regarding our Detroit Lions and the No. 3 overall pick.
On Monday, Peter King of Football Morning in America released his first and only 2020 NFL Mock Draft and he has the Lions trading the No. 3 pick to the Miami Dolphins. That, in itself, is no surprise as most believe Lions GM Bob Quinn is looking to deal the pick to the highest bidder.
But what is a surprise is that King believes the return package for the Lions will be much lower than what others have speculated as he has them getting the Dolphins No. 5 overall pick (first round) and No. 39 overall pick (second round).
That’s right, folks, rather than the Lions getting No. 5 and No. 26 (both first-round picks) from the Dolphins, King believes the Lions will have to settle for No. 5 and No. 39. With the No. 5 pick, King has the Lions selecting CB Jeff Okudah out of Ohio State.
From Football Morning in America:
5. Detroit (trade with Miami)—Jeff Okudah, cornerback, Ohio State
Not sure of the return for Detroit, but let’s say Lions GM Bob Quinn deals the third overall pick for the fifth and 39th. Most Lions’ fans will scream and say, “Quinn should have gotten one of the other Miami first-rounders, either at 18 or 26.” I’m going to ask you this, Lions fans: If I told you before the draft that you could exit the weekend with CB1 on your first pick (Okudah), RB3 (Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor) on the second and G1 (Louisiana’s Robert Hunt) on the third, would you be doing cartwheels about that? Acquiring the 39th overall pick while still ensuring you’d get the corner you want would likely allow that.
One last thing: In the first draft in Carolina Panthers history, GM Bill Polian traded down with Cincinnati from one to five in the first round and acquired the 36th pick (only) in return. Polian didn’t have another trade option, and he didn’t want to pay the player he really wanted, quarterback Kerry Collins, first-pick money. So he picked the player he’d have taken at one, Collins, fifth, and had a bonus second-round pick. The point is, sometimes you take a deal even if it’s not the one the trade chart says you should make, because you’re going to improve your team by doing it.
Though getting No. 5 and No. 39 for the No. 3 pick is hardly ideal, Quinn is in a position where he will have to take the best deal that is offered to him. If that best deal is what is proposed by Peter King, then Quinn would be wise to take it rather than just standing pat at No. 3.
