Should Lions Trade Down in 2022 NFL Draft?
Could 2022 be the year in which the Lions trade down in the first round of the NFL Draft?
General manager Brad Holmes and the organization find themselves in the midst of a multi-year rebuild, with a myriad of holes on both sides of the ball.
And the best way for addressing those needs, for a rebuilding franchise like the Lions, is to stockpile draft picks.
Draft capital will be at a premium for Detroit in next year's draft, and Holmes could easily obtain more of it by trading out of the No. 2 overall pick (the Lions' present spot in the 2022 draft order).
As of right now, it's highly expected that EDGE rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) and Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) will go No. 1 and No. 2, whether in that order or vice versa. Both are expected to be high-impact pass rushers at the next level, and would immediately upgrade Detroit's rather anemic pass-rushing unit.
So, if Holmes & Co. end up with the second pick, it'd be hard to trade out of that spot, knowing that one of those guys can be attained.
However, if the Lions' front office decided to trade back, the draft capital that could be had would be immense.
There are numerous teams -- both losing ones and teams that are going to make the playoffs this season -- that would prepare an offer for Detroit, with a generational pass rusher like Thibodeaux or Hutchinson still on the board with the No. 2 pick.
Kirthmon F. Dozier, USA TODAY NETWORK
So, Holmes & Co. should easily be able to acquire a mid-first-round pick -- if not a pick still in the top 10 -- and an early second-rounder for the rights to the second overall selection.
Remember, the Lions also possess the L.A. Rams' 2022 first-rounder, as the result of the Matthew Stafford blockbuster trade this past offseason.
So, trading back would feasibly leave Detroit with two first-round selections and provide the organization with two second-rounders.
Maybe that's not a good enough reason to trade down from the No. 2 pick, though.
If you're in that camp, I don't disagree with you.
I believe that a trade back becomes more feasible if the Lions end up with the No. 3 pick. At that point, you'd be losing out on both Thibodeaux and Hutchinson, plus there's no clear-cut franchise passer available at the top of next year's draft.
It seems like Ole Miss' Matt Corral and Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett could develop into that type of QB one day. Heck, maybe even Liberty's Malik Willis could.
However, none of them are worth taking with a top-three pick or even a top-10 pick, for that matter.
Additionally, if the Lions really wanted to land a signal-caller in the first round, it could get one with the Rams' first-rounder (slotted to be in the mid-to-late 20s, at this point).
This above scenario provides Holmes & Co. with a reason to trade down.
Yet, the Lions, standing in at 2-12-1 with only two games remaining, are more than likely going to end up with the No. 2 selection.
Also working in Detroit's favor is the fact that the three immediate teams behind it in the draft order all have four wins -- the Houston Texans, the New York Jets and the N.Y. Giants.
So, the chances of any of them passing the Lions for the pick are extremely low.
With that said, if I were Holmes, I'd be holding on to the No. 2 overall pick and taking advantage of the opportunity to select either Thibodeaux or Hutchinson.
