We're in peak Speculation SZN, which is a little stretch of time that exists inside Draft SZN when things get extra silly. There really isn't anything new to talk about, so everyone bends over backwards to convince themselves of the most outlandish scenarios because 1. it's fun and 2. outlandish scenarios come with outlandish headlines and that's how the bills get paid. What's wrong a little harmless daydreaming during the last few dreary weeks of winter?
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So, with "fun, harmless speculation that definitely won't make me irrationally angry the writer of this blog" in mind, let me present you with the juiciest bit of Lions' draft daydreaming that we've seen in a hot minute: a Bill Barnwell article detailing how the Lions should swing a big ol' trade for an elite edge rushing prospect.
In the piece – which ESPN published on Monday morning – Barnwell goes through a handful of NFL teams and argues for whether they should move up or down in next month's draft. He then presents on a pretttttttty convincing argument that the Lions should make some noise on night one.
Bill Barnwell thinks the Lions should trade up to get a premier edge rusher in NFL Draft
"Their bigger problem is at edge rusher, where they've struggled to find a secondary player on the other side of Aidan Hutchinson ... It's fun to imagine the Lions trading up to make an all-in move for top-ranked edge rusher Abdul Carter, but that's probably not realistic. Could they jump from No. 28 into the teens for Mike Green (Marshall) or Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M), though? This might be the time for Detroit to take a bigger swing on that second edge rusher next, especially with Hutchinson now eligible for what will surely be a significant contract extension."
It's honestly too bad he backed off the Abdul Carter stuff, because that prediction would have been electric. Jumping up from 28 to the mid-teens is exciting, but it's not Abdul Carter Exciting. Still, moving up that far would be the type of stuff that wins offseasons, and that's good enough for me to waste time thinking about between now and when the draft actually starts. And, you know, if you just want to assume they're going to absolutely send it and go get Carter, that'd probably be fun to. As the internet consistently shows us, there's no limit to what you can imagine during Draft SZN.