Detroit Lions Mailbag: Could Brad Holmes trade up in the first-round of the 2024 NFL Draft?
Welcome to another Detroit Lions Mailbag. It's been a few weeks since we've done one. Now that most of the free agency craziness is out of way, let's take a break and answer some questions. It is something the Lions have done a lot of since Brad Holmes took over in 2021. I can't say […]
Welcome to another Detroit Lions Mailbag. It's been a few weeks since we've done one. Now that most of the free agency craziness is out of way, let's take a break and answer some questions.
It is something the Lions have done a lot of since Brad Holmes took over in 2021. I can't say that he's had a ton of success with it, but it hasn't hurt the team. Levi Onwuzurkie is still struggling a bit, Emmanuel Moseley only played two snaps and we don't know what Hendon Hooker is.
There has been some upside. Josh Paschal has been pretty good once he got over his injury stuff. DJ Reader should be fine as well. He had the best season of his career after the last time he tore a quad. You can hope that he does that again this time. Jameson Williams has continued to grow and get better too. He's expected to have a big role in 2024.
While Holmes has been taking risks, the risks are small. Sometimes it's worth doing it to see what you can get out of a player.
I partly share in that feeling. Brad Holmes has already teased the idea of trading down twice and with the picks that he could be making in this draft, trading down is not a bad idea. The Lions could still get some solid talent with multiple second round picks. They can also increase their draft haul and then find a way to trade down a second time in the draft.
Unless there is a player that you just can't pass up on at 29, I fully expect trading down to be on the table way more than I do trading up.
LSU's Brian Thomas is the dream prospect here and there's a solid shot that he could be available at 29 depending on how the board breaks down after trades and what not.
If he's not there, South Carolina's Xavier Leggette is a guy that the Lions had a formal meeting with at the combine and he could be had in the second round.
Outside of those two guys, Texas' Adonai Mitchell, Oregon's Troy Franklin, Florida State's Keon Coleman, Florida State's Johnny Wilson and Michigan's Cornelius Johnson are other players to keep an eye on.
Probably in April. The last two times that the Lions had debuted new uniforms were in April ahead of the draft. I think there's a good chance we could get some information next week at the league meeting. Lions' president Rod Wood has discussed uniform stuff there in the past.
My guess is that we will see them the week before the draft and then the Lions first pick will be on stage with that new jersey the week after. We'll see. Some teams have waited until June. With the draft being in Detroit, I can't see them doing that when they have chance to make a big deal out of this in front of their fans.
The safety market is weird this year because a bunch of teams, the Lions included, moved off their veteran safeties to save some money. Now basically none of them have been signed and I'm wondering what day of this week will be the big safety day.
In terms of fits for the Lions, here's how I'll rank them:
- Quandre Diggs
- Nick Scott
- Tashaun Gipson
- Eddie Jackson
- John Johnson
I think it's pretty unlikely this year unless they feel head over heels for a guy. The Lions were able to trade up before because of the higher draft picks that they could move to do so. They're working with bottom of the round picks now and they just traded away a day two pick for Carlton Davis. Trading up in the first round this year would likely eat up a lot of draft capital. For a guy that does a lot of damage in the draft, I just can't see Holmes wanting to part with a lot of capital.
Robertson has played both outside and inside and he has been a lot better outside. I think he'll play a big role in the Lions rotation this year, but I don't see him taking that CB2 spot from Cameron Sutton. I think you'll see Sutton have a much better year now that he doesn't have to try to stop every teams top receiver.
The Lions could use some safety help like we laid out earlier. They have three safeties on the roster right now. An X receiver is something this team has needed for a while. An edge rusher would be good at some point, an extra cornerback too. The Lions could also use a third quarterback.
