Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell won’t guarantee that the hometown fans see a selection on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
The Lions hold the No. 29 overall pick in the April 25 draft, which is being held in Detroit, but Campbell said the team could jump at the chance to trade back if it meant building up more picks.
The Lions head coach said he wanted to give fans a heads-up that they may not see a selection at all until Friday.
“Be ready,” Campbell warned.
Lions General Manager Also Discusses Trading Back
Campbell is not the only member of the Lions issuing a warning that the team might trade out of the first round. General manager Brad Holmes shared a similar sentiment earlier in the month, asking fans for forgiveness if they stay up late on Thursday night for nothing.
“Look, we have to do the right thing for the organization,” Holmes said on April 18, via Jeff Risdon of USA Today. “If it makes sense and it lines up and it’s the right thing to do, then we have to do the right thing. Say that happens where the fans have been waiting there all night for this pick and we get an offer that we can’t really turn down and makes sense, we’ve got to do the right thing.”
Risdon pointed out that Holmes has been aggressive on the first day of the draft in recent years, though not always in the same direction. The team traded up in the first round in 2022 to land wide receiver Jameson Williams and then back last season, moving back from the No. 6 spot to stock up on draft picks and then taking running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the No. 12 pick.
Lions Could Make Multiple Trades
Some analysts believe the Lions could make multiple moves. The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy predicted that the team would follow through on the warnings from Campbell and Holmes and move out of the first round, falling back to the No. 36 overall pick to take Arizona lineman Jordan Morgan.
But Pouncy does not believe that Holmes will be done with just one move. He predicted the Lions would trade back up in the second round moving to the No. 53 overall pick and taking Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman.
Pouncy suggested that Coleman would be a good addition to Detroit’s offense and work well with quarterback Jared Goff.
“Coleman is No. 37 on Dane Brugler’s big board, but could be available later in the second round,” Pouncy wrote. “While he lacks top-end speed, Coleman’s in-game speed is better than his 4.61 40 time would suggest. His size, leaping ability and yards after catch potential make him an intriguing prospect in this range for a team looking to develop an X receiver.”
Pro Football Focus also suggested that the Lions could move up in the first round. PFF’s Josh Liskiewitz predicted that the team would move up to the No. 15 overall spot to land Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.
“The Lions are clearly in ‘win now’ mode and make a move here by trading up for PFF’s 10th-ranked player in the draft class,” Liskiewitz wrote. “Over the past two seasons, Mitchell surrendered just 56 receptions on 140 targets into his coverage with eight interceptions and 36 forced incompletions.”
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