How Trey Lance is likely the key to the Detroit Lions draft

Quarterback Trey Lance, who has slowly become one of the year’s most intriguing prospects, turned a lot of heads with an impressive Pro Day workout last Friday. With dozens of NFL coaches and executives making the trip to the campus of North Dakota State, including new Detroit Lions duo Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, Lance solidified speculation that he will rise all the way up into the top ten and beyond in April’s draft.

While playing at the FCS’s Missouri Valley Conference has largely kept him a secret to the casual fan, Lance’s size, speed, and arm strength have scouts raving about his potential as a true pro-style/dual-threat quarterback. Lance may only be the consensus fourth-ranked QB prospect in this year’s class, but his Pro Day performance was impressive enough that his stock will likely continue to rise in the lead up to the draft.

With the Lions picking at number seven overall, Lance could very well be the key to their entire draft, in two separate but equally intriguing ways:

1. Despite acquiring veteran Jared Goff in the Matthew Stafford trade, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Lions consider their quarterback room set.
2. With Lance widely projected to land somewhere between the 5th and 12th overall pick, any team looking for a QB but picking a little lower down the draft order could very well have to go through Detroit if Lance is their guy.

Let’s consider both scenarios and what the Lions stand to gain from either.