Detroit Lions: 3 reasons to draft a wide receiver early
3. Recent trades are pushing value into Lions’ laps
Remember when I just said the Holmes and Campbell might have their pick of the three receivers? Recent trades at the top of the draft are the reason why. It started when the San Francisco 49ers traded up with the Miami Dolphins for the third-overall pick. That pretty much secured the first three picks in the draft would be quarterbacks.
Next, the New York Jets traded quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers, cementing their pick as a quarterback of the future at second overall. Now, the exact quarterbacks taken might help the Lions if they want to trade down, but knowing three come of the board in the first three picks already pushes value into their laps at seventh overall.
An even bigger question might be: what do the Atlanta Falcons do with the fourth-overall pick? There are already trade rumors involving the fourth pick. Could it be another team, say the Denver Broncos, trying to land a quarterback?
Or maybe a team with a pick in the teens or twenties is looking to make a big move up the draft board? Or will the Falcons sit tight and take their quarterback of the future to sit behind Matt Ryan for a year or two?
If the Falcons trade out, another quarterback comes off the board and the Lions are guaranteed one of the big three wide receivers mentioned above. If the Falcons sit tight and draft anything other than a quarterback, the Lions should be in great shape to trade down.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins aren’t looking for quarterbacks and someone else down the draft order might want to pounce on the fourth or fifth-best quarterback that still sitting on the board.
light. Related Story. Brad Holmes is moving the Detroit Lions into the fast lane
Final thoughts on drafting a wide receiver
What does all of this add up to? The Detroit Lions should have their pick of the top three wide receivers in this year’s NFL draft. While many factors can come into play, including the possibility of trading back from the seventh overall pick, a wide receiver should be the Detroit Lions selection to bolster their thin receiving corp with blue-chip talent.