Detroit Lions need to limit distance on first-round trade

The Detroit Lions are in prime position to trade down in the first round of the NFL Draft, but they need to limit the distance they’re willing to move down.

Rumored to have positive calls about a first-round draft trade, the Detroit Lions need to look at the possibilities and put a cap on how far these trade scenarios have them falling down the draft board. If they go too far, they will miss out on the game-changing talent they so desperately need.

To get one of the top three talents they need, the Lions should place that cap at the sixth overall pick. The top two targets for a trade down should be the Miami Dolphins at fifth overall and the Los Angeles Chargers at sixth overall. Both teams need a quarterback and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should still be on the board to tempt both teams.

This is based on the most likely scenario of the Miami Dolphins selecting LSU quarterback Joe Burrow first overall and the Washington Redskins selecting Ohio State defensive end Chase Young second overall. If the Redskins trade out and Young is still on the board, he’s the Lions pick and they don’t make a trade. Take the talent and start planning for the second round.

But, with Young gone and Tua on the board, the Lions should be trading down. There would be three talents available for the team to select at pick five or six. In order, those players are Ohio State cornerback Jeffrey Okudah, Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown and Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons. Any other talk is simply a smokescreen at this point.

Okudah is pretty much a slam dunk for the Lions at this point if there are no favorable trade offers on the table to trade up for Tua. And even if the team moves down to fifth or sixth, there’s a good chance he’s still available. He’s the best corner in this draft with a good mix of size and speed for the position. The Lions need someone to replace Darius Slay and Okudah would be a great start.

Brown is a beast of a defensive tackle that fits a huge position of need for these Detroit Lions. The loss of Damon Harrison and A’Shawn Robinson is hard to ignore (and one of them really wanted out of Detroit). Brown is also versatile enough to play along the line in odd or even fronts – something that should fit right into Lions head coach Matt Patricia’s defensive style.

Simmons is a playmaker on defense. He can play pretty much anywhere off the line of scrimmage including linebacker, slot corner and safety. He’s another versatile player that would be easy to see Patricia fall in love with. If the Lions trade back to number six overall and miss out on Okudah and Brown, Simmons would be a heck of a consolation prize.

The Lions can select any of these players to immediately improve their defense. If Miami jumps up for Tua, the New York Giants can select one of these three and Detroit still gets to chose between the other two. If Washington jumps, the Lions are left with one of the three for sure. Any further down, the Lions risk losing the playmaker their defense needs as the talent will start to drop off.

Cap the trade at the sixth overall pick and these Detroit Lions will have a fantastic start to the 2020 NFL Draft. Ignore all the quarterback and offensive line smokescreen. One of these three is going to end up playing in the Motor City.