Dan Campbell wants Lions fans to be prepared for anything in the draft
Detroit is hosting this year's NFL draft, which has driven the idea from a surprisingly large segment of Lions' fans who say they won't trade their first-round pick (No. 29 overall) because they're hosting the draft. That's been a flimsy idea all along, but it just won't go away. During his pre-draft press conference, general manager Brad Holmes openly addressed the idea of trading down and out of the opening round.
"If it makes sense and it lines up and it’s the right thing to do, then we have to do the right thing and so, say that happens, where the fans have been waiting there all night for this pick and we get an offer that we really can’t turn down, we’ve got to do the right thing. And hopefully our fans will forgive us."
Head coach Dan Campbell appeared on 97.1 The Ticket Wednesday morning, and of course the draft was the primary topic. Starting with quarterbacks all but sure to go off the board with the first three picks, Campbell talked about the offense-defense balance at the top of this year's draft (h/t to SI.com).
"This is an offensive draft, there’s more offensive players than defensive players overall at the top of this.” Campbell said.
Dan Campbell warns Lions fans about something they can't get out of their heads
It's abundantly clear how aligned Campbell and Holmes are, which is a big reason for the Lions' rise under their regime (along with being right on their choices of players far more often than not). So naturally, and however broadly obvious, Campbell is fully aligned with Holmes on the possibility the Lions trade out of the first round on Thursday night.
Dan Campbell on possibility of Lions trading out of 1st rnd: “Here’s what I’d say: It’s 1 sleep and then you get 2 picks. And look, if we’re sitting there and our guy’s not there, we will move back. So I’m just preparing the fans. Be ready, you never know what’s going to happen.”
— Will Burchfield (@burchie_kid) April 24, 2024
Dan Campbell on @costaandjansen on possibly trading out of Round 1 (and disappointing fans): "It's one sleep and then you get two picks. ... If our guy's not there, we will move back, so I'm just preparing the fans. Be ready. You never know what's gonna happen here."
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) April 24, 2024
The Lions have all kinds of options in the draft. That includes trading up aggressively in the first round to go get a player they particularly covet, or a trade down and entirely out of the first round if the board falls the wrong way. Fan sentiment will not drive what's done on Thursday night, as it shouldn't and we've known (or should've known) it wouldn't all along.
Next. 5 local prospects the Detroit Lions may take in the 2024 NFL Draft. 5 local prospects the Detroit Lions may take in the 2024 NFL Draft. dark
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