ESPN suggests surprising new cornerback trade target for Detroit Lions, and the potential price makes him hard to ignore
The Lions are reportedly calling about cornerbacks, and ESPN has identified an unexpected possibility in Miami. His statistical profile raises some interesting questions, but the potential trade cost might be the most appealing part.
Everyone knows the Detroit Lions need cornerback help, even with the defense playing a lot better lately. The good news is that Detroit is doing exactly what most of us figured it would be doing ahead of the NFL trade deadline. It’s making calls and shopping around for corners.
According to ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano, the Lions are making phone calls about cornerbacks. Graziano also wondered whether Detroit might check in on linebackers, but the cornerback calls are the part he was clear about.
The name that stuck with me came from a separate ESPN piece. Aaron Schatz, one of the creators of the DVOA metric (which I’m a huge fan of), suggested the Lions trade for a player I hadn’t even thought about:
“Dolphins cornerback JuJu Brents. The Lions secondary is helped immensely by getting safeties Kirby Joseph and Brian Branch back from injury, but they could still use another cornerback. Brents becomes a free agent at the end of this season and has been surprisingly effective for the Dolphins, ranking 3rd among qualifying quarterbacks in my coverage DVA, DVOA metric behind Trent McDuffie and Ja’Dae Baron.” — Aaron Schatz
Is JuJu Brents actually a good fit for the Lions?
Brents wasn’t on my radar, and that’s mostly because of Miami. The Dolphins are struggling right now, and it’s easy to assume nobody on that defense is playing well.
Pro Football Focus doesn’t help his case either. PFF isn’t the end-all, be-all, but it has Brents with a 52 grade. That ranks 83rd among the 102 cornerbacks it has graded. He has started for the Dolphins all season, and PFF has him allowing a passer rating of 128.6.
So which is it? DVOA is a metric I put a lot of stock in. I use it constantly. I use PFF a lot too, though, so the gap between the two is worth digging into.
The raw numbers lean toward Schatz. Brents has been targeted just 19 times. He has allowed 14 receptions on those targets for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Compare that with Roger McCreary. McCreary has been targeted 44 times and has allowed 27 catches for 345 yards and three touchdowns. He has also started fewer games than Brents.
That tells me PFF might be a bit off here. Brents looks like a pretty decent player, and the low target count suggests opposing offenses are steering clear of him. Quarterbacks don’t avoid corners they think they can pick on.
The price makes this hard to ignore
The big draw here is the cost. Brents turns 27 in January, so he’s still on the younger side. Since he’s set to hit free agency after the season, Detroit could have a shot at locking him up cheaply once the year is over.
The trade itself would be even cheaper. Brents might be the most affordable option the Lions can find. Our trade simulator has Detroit sending a 2028 sixth-round pick to Miami for Brents. Not a 2027 sixth-round pick. A 2028 sixth-rounder. The simulator calls that a fair trade, almost right down the middle.
That’s not a bad deal at all. If I’m the Lions, I’d still make more than one move before the deadline. Brents shouldn’t be the only answer in the secondary. Still, at that price, he’s a player I’d definitely consider adding to the mix.
Lions fans will get a good look at him in person when Detroit plays the Dolphins on Sunday. That should give everyone a better idea of which metric has him pegged correctly.
It’s not a name I’d thought about before, but it’s one worth thinking about. We’ll see what happens.
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