As the first day of NFL free agency wound down, the Detroit Lions finally made a couple moves. The second move was a trade, as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network first reported they will acquire cornerback Carlton Davis from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Lions will send a 2024 third-round pick to Tampa Bay, and they will also get a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 sixth-round pick. Once the new league year starts at 4 p.m. ET on March 13, the deal can become official.
Davis will fill a big void for the Lions at cornerback, as the depth chart there seems to be set for a lot of turnover. Kindle Vildor and Will Harris are free agents, while Jerry Jacobs, Khalil Dorsey and Chase Lucas were not tendered restricted free agent offers. Emmanuel Moseley was re-signed before free agency.
The third-round pick the Lions are sending to the Buccaneers will be No. 92 overall, which is their own pick and not the third-rounder they got from the Minnesota Vikings in the T.J. Hockenson trade. So they will still have three picks in the top-75 overall, and they have a capable veteran cornerback who can take on the opponent's No.1 wide receiver now.
Updated 2024 Detroit Lions draft picks after trade for Carlton Davis
After the deal to acquire Davis, here's an updated look at the Lions' 2024 draft picks .
Round 1: No. 29 overall
Round 2: No. 61 overall
Round 3: No. 73 overall
Round 5: No. 164 overall
Round 6: No. 201 overall
Round 6: No. 205 overall
Round 7: No. 249 overall
Adding a Day 3 draft pick in each of the next two years is not a great needle-mover, even knowing general manager Brad Holmes' strong track record in the draft. But it's fine to get a little extra draft capital in any trade, and it's obviously more ideal to give up the latter of this year's two third-round picks to get Davis.