Why a Jalen Ramsey trade to the Detroit Lions still makes sense

While the Detroit Lions’ secondary did a fine job last week in Darius Slay’s absence, adding a two-time Pro Bowl corner could make a solid unit elite.

Bye weeks for NFL teams are a time for players to relax, recharge their batteries and heal the injuries that they have been dealing with. While many key players such as defensive tackle Mike Daniels, tight end T.J. Hockenson and defensive end Da’Shawn Hand are all not at 100 percent, the injury that Detroit Lions fans should be the most concerned about is that of cornerback Darius Slay.

The two-time Pro Bowl Lions corner exited in the second half of the Week 3 win against the Philadelphia Eagles and sat out of the Week 4 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. Even though Slay missed that last game, the Lions secondary did a fine job, as they caused reigning MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes to miss 18 of passes and held him to zero passing touchdowns for the first time since 2017.

This solid performance by a depleted unit was mostly due to the quality play of cornerbacks Justin Coleman and Rashaan Melvin have been one of the better duos at corner in the NFL this season, according to advanced statistics provided by Pro Football Focus’ Detroit Lions Twitter account.

"“The #Lions CBs have combined for 11 Forced Incompletions (T-3rd) and a completion % allowed of 52.8% (3rd). That’s with a well-rounded effort throughout the young season, 4 by Melvin Weeks 1-2, 4 by Coleman in Weeks 4-5.”"

While this solid start to the year is encouraging to see combined with the improved play of fellow defensive backs like Mike Ford, Will Harris and Tracy Walker, the unit doesn’t have a very high floor without their star member.

One more injury to the unit may lead to a drop in performance, and with as competitive as the NFC North is, it may be helpful for them pick up another two-time Pro Bowl cornerback.

Even though the Jaguars have made claims that they are not trading star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, every offer in the NFL is negotiable for the right price.’

And the Lions can offer a pretty penny for Ramsey, given that they have all of their top-50 draft picks in the next two years, as well as many young players that could be thrown in as capital.

Ramsey would be a great fit in head coach Matt Patricia’s defensive scheme, as the man’s talent in coverage and speed rushing in on blitz could more than make up for Slay should he remain on the sideline the next few weeks.

A lot of NFL teams can manage to be average, or even good. But NFL teams that can manage to be truly great are ones that are willing to make big moves and trade draft picks to get franchise players in return.

Last season, a similar trade happened before the season started, as the Oakland Raiders traded star linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears for a first round pick. While that pick allowed the Raiders to pick a promising young running back in Josh Jacobs, Mack has become the cornerstone of the Bears the defense, as he made a deep defensive unit elite.

The Lions should take a page out of their NFC North rival’s playbook and trade a first round pick to get Ramsey, who has publicly stated that he doesn’t want to be in Jacksonville anymore.

Ramsey gives this Detroit defense such a high ceiling, as once him and Slay return to 100 percent, the Lions could boast the best secondary in the NFL. Two multi-time pro bowlers and more than a few solid young players makes the unit quite remarkable, as that theoretical unit could rival Seattle’s Legion of Boom as one of the best pass-covering units in league history.

Teams in the NFL can only manage to get to the Super Bowl if they have one or two elite units, and adding Ramsey to an already strong secondary gives the Lion’s one of the league’s best group of cornerbacks.

So go ahead and pull the trigger, Bob Quinn. Guys who can cover the league’s best receivers and manage to put up a few picks, deflect more than a dozen tackles and make 60+ tackles don’t just grow on trees. And they won’t draft anybody with their draft pick who is better than Ramsey is right now, so why not take the risk?

Trading for Ramsey isn’t a move average teams make, it’s a move teams who want to win a championship make. The Lions need to decide who they want to be soon, but it might be smart to put Jaguars GM David Caldwell’s number on speed dial just in case.