After a tough 2021 season that saw the Detroit Lions finish with a 3-13-1 record, we have now shifted our focus to what is going to be an ultra-important offseason.
Free agency will be very important as the Lions will be able to add a few important pieces but nailing the 2022 NFL Draft is going to be the key to the long-term success of the franchise.
As it stands, the Lions hold the No. 2 and No. 32 overall picks in the first round of the draft but Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire has proposed a trade that would land Detroit with the No. 10 pick.
In this scenario, Risdon has the Lions trading up for the Jets No. 10 pick and selecting QB Malik Willis out of Liberty.
Here is Risdon’s proposal:
From Lions Wire:
The details here are strongly based on the trade Lions senior assistant John Dorsey executed while he was the GM of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL draft. Dorsey and the Chiefs sent No. 27 overall in that first round, their third-round pick in 2017 (No. 91 overall) and a 2018 first-round pick (wound up being No. 22 overall) to the Buffalo Bills to move up to No. 10 overall.
Lions send No. 32 overall, No. 66 overall, the team’s (projected) fifth-round comp pick in 2022 and the Rams’ first-round pick in 2023 to the New York Jets for the No. 10 overall pick (traded from Seattle) and a fourth-round pick (acquired from MIN, No. 115 overall) in 2022.Â
The Lions draft Willis at No. 10, getting in before the QB-needy Washington Commanders pick at No. 11 and Minnesota Vikings at No. 12. Both teams are legit threats to draft Willis, based on interactions I’ve had with people who cover each team.
Nation, would you make this deal if you were the Lions?
