The 2024 NFL Draft is in just a few days and it really seems like there's a large possibility that the Lions may be looking to trade their 29th pick. Whether it's up or down, we don't know at this time. But a move feels likely. 

There's two teams that make the most sense for the Lions to make a deal with and it seems like both of them may be open for business during the draft. That's the Washington Commanders and the Arizona Cardinals.

I'll be pretty shocked if either Arizona or Washington (or frankly both) aren't moving some of their enormous stockpiles of draft capital and making a move back into the first. I understand AZ has two picks in one, but I think it's likely they package another pick and upgrade 27

— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 20, 2024

Here's why these two teams are right for the Lions to trade with. The first is that, like Zierlein says, both teams have a lot of picks right now. The Commanders have nine picks and the Cardinals have 11. They are both in positions to move up with those picks if they want something better or move down if they want more picks. 

The other reason is that both teams have front office members that came from the Lions. The Commanders have assistant GM Lance Newmark. He was with the Lions for 26 years before he accepted this position with Washington in February. 

The Cardinals have assistant GM Dave Sears. He was the Lions director of college scouting until he accepted this position with the Cardinals in January of 2023. 

Having relationships with teams is beneficial for both sides. You know that you're likely to get the best deal you can get without being jerked around. 

Speaking of deals, what would be the best deals to work out with each team? I don't foresee the Lions trading up to the 2nd pick or the 4th pick. But they could potentially make a move if either team trades down. The Cardinals are the most likely team to do so. The best bet here is to trade down though. 

With the Commanders, I would trade away the 29th pick for some solid second round slots. Here's the proposal:

Lions get: 36th and 67th picks
Commanders get: 29th and 164th picks

This would give the Lions four picks on day two with three of them being in the second round. They could do a ton of damage in this area. Then they could trade down from their 73rd pick and close that gap between 73 and 201. 

The Commanders are now reportedly going to be aggressive in getting back into the first-round. 

“We’re going to be aggressive,” a source in Washington said regarding a potential move back into the first round.

The target remains an offensive tackle, where a chance to select Oklahoma’s OT Tyler Guyton would be a “perfect world scenario.”

— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) April 25, 2024

For the Cardinals, it's similar, but you'd probably only have to give up one pick instead of bringing in that that 164th pick to balance things out. Here's the proposal:

Lions get: 35th and 90th picks
Cardinals get: 29th pick

So you're just moving down a few spots here. There should still be some players you're interested in here. Then with the 90th pick you do some work to close the game between 73 and 164. You still have the 61st pick as well so you have three day two picks. 

We'll see if the Lions are going to trade soon, and if they do, don't be surprised if it's with one of these teams.

Panic at the Stadium: How the NFL helps rookies fight against the mental health stigma

On February 2, 2024, I was in Mobile, Alabama checking off a big moment on my career checklist: I had just finished up a successful week at my first Senior Bowl. Myself and the rest of the A to Z Sports crew that were there and we had a productive time at the practices all […]