Notes PFF offers what a 32 down trade for Lions

Notes: PFF offers what a 32 down trade for Lions might look like

Sports News / By /

While much of the media spends their pre-NFL draft days debating trades within the top 5 picks, those trades aren’t all that common. That’s not to say it definitely won’t happen this year. You never know who might fall in love with a starting quarterback or one of the coveted offensive tackles in this year’s class. It could happen. But statistically it’s unlikely, especially in a year without elite quarterback talent or a near-perfect EDGE player.

For general manager Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions, trade speculation doesn’t stop with their number two pick overall. Due to their trade that sent former franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions own 32nd overall pick to join No. 2 and pick 34. This gives Holmes and the Front Office plenty of options as to how they want to approach the second year of Reconstruction.

In a mock draft on PFF, salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger has the Atlanta Falcons trade picks 43, 114 and 190 to the Lions for pick number 32.

“The end of the first round is a popular trade spot as teams look to secure the fifth-year option with a prospect, particularly a quarterback,” Spielberger explained the logic behind the proposed trade. “Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is entering his fifth-year option season after the team climbed 32nd overall with the Eagles in 2018, so here we have the Falcons taking the same approach.”

This fifth-year team option means a lot to franchises looking to pick a quarterback in the draft. It gives the quarterback an extra year for his rookie deal, or in other scenarios it may give the respective front office an extra year to consider whether or not they want to give the player a second contract.

To me, this is a solid team building strategy. If a general manager wants to roll the proverbial dice and pick a quarterback, he might as well make the selection within the first 32 picks, allowing that extra year to act as a kind of buffer if needed. And while the Falcons still had to part with some draft capital to pick 32 again, it still is much less than the required capital that would be required to achieve second place overall.

And now for the rest of today’s notes:

  • Dan Campbell turned 46 today, and in preparation for this summer’s Hard Knocks, the Lions got us going with a recap video from last training camp, miked by the Lions coach.
  • Mel Kiper ruffled some feathers with his latest mock design. Erik Schlitt placed more emphasis on the surprise selection.
  • MLive’s Kyle Meinke shares his thoughts on the Lions potentially picking another cornerback with a top-five pick.
  • The Lions invited free agent safety DeShon Elliot to visit. Jeremy Reisman has more on the potential suitability for the former Baltimore Raven.