Just when you thought things were quieting down as we get closer to the draft, a three-team trade involving the Lions has emerged. The details of the trade, as first reported by Adam Schefter and later followed up on by Chris Mortensen, are as follows:
- Lions receive tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round pick from the Broncos
- Eagles receive linebacker Ernie Sims from the Lions
- Broncos receive a fifth-round pick from the Eagles
My first reaction is wow. I certainly did not see another trade coming involving the Lions before the draft, and I definitely did not expect Ernie Sims to be involved. I figured the Lions were content with Sims going forward and were happy to not have a major need at linebacker. As it turns out, though, you can put linebacker at the top of the list of needs and take tight end off the list altogether.
Tony Scheffler is a good receiving tight end that will be a nice complement to Brandon Pettigrew and another target for Matthew Stafford. It has been no secret just based on who the Lions were bringing in for pre-draft visits that tight end was a need, but I didn't think it would be addressed via a trade of this magnitude.
In addition to receiving Scheffler from the Broncos, the Lions are also going to get a seventh-round pick, giving them four total selections in the seventh round. You would have to think the Lions will consider packaging some of those picks together to move up into the sixth round or something. Only three are tradeable since one is a compensatory selection, but I kind of have a hard time believing the Lions are just stockpiling seventh-round picks for the hell of it.