That presser from Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes on Monday was electric. He did everything from present a strong message to the fans to cooking the media with receipts about the Lions draft picks over the years. As the kids put it today, it was cinema. On second watch I noticed something big later on in the presser that made me go “wait, what?” Did Brad Holmes just tease a trade our of the first round?
“Us hosting the draft means something because that’s what our team has been built upon really is the draft and through the draft. So I think it’s going to mean a lot on a lot of different levels. But I’m just excited that, you know, our city is going to get the recognition and the world’s going to see. I just know that we’re picking later so they’re going to be waiting to see our pick. If we trade out of the first. I’ll just send a memo.”
Hmm. Would Detroit host a draft and then not pick a first rounder in front of their own fans? Honestly, I don’t think that matters and I never have. At the end of the day, the Lions have to do what they have to do to build a championship team and if they bumps in the way of fan service, then so be it.
The Lions are currently slated to pick from the 29th spot in this draft. That’s already pretty close to the second round as it is. If the Lions have a chance to move down and collect more picks, that’s a win.
While it might not be your favorite Thursday night in downtown Detroit, the Lions might find it in their best interest to go ahead and make that move and it could mean that Friday and Saturday are a lot more fun. Even more important, it could meant that your future Sunday’s are a lot more fun.
There will be desperate teams looking to get back into the first round and teams will offer multiple picks to do it. How do I know that? Because history shows that it happens all the time. The 29th pick from last year belonged to four different teams before the fourth team finally used it. The 29th pick got traded in 2022 as well. The trading team got extra picks in all cases.
If the Lions can walked into day two with a solid handful of picks, they can really do some damage. It’s going to be interesting to see what Holmes and the Lions actually wind up doing. If history tells us anything, it’s that Holmes doesn’t mind trading the picks.