Saturday open thread: Should the Detroit Lions consider trading up for Chase Young?

The 2020 NFL Draft order hasn’t quite been set yet, but if the Detroit Lions lose this Sunday—and they’re currently 12.5-point home underdogs—they’ll be holding onto at least the third overall pick, maybe even the second pick.

They need Washington to beat the Cowboys on Sunday for a chance at the No. 2 pick, and currently Washington is an 11.5-point dog.

In other words, prepare for the Detroit Lions to have the third overall pick.

Of course, the third overall pick is a precarious spot, because—at least at this moment—it seems like that’s a spot too late in the Chase Young Sweepstakes. While things could certainly change between now and April, Young is the consensus best non-quarterback in the upcoming draft (assuming he declares), and he seems very likely to be taken with the second overall pick, no matter who has it.

With the Lions in desperate need of a pass rusher, it seems like a match made in heaven, but Detroit may need to be aggressive to find Mr. Right. So today’s Question of the Day is:

Would you be willing to trade up one spot to grab Chase Young.

My answer: Before I make a decision, let’s first remember how much this will cost. Just a couple years ago, the Chicago Bears moved from three to two to grab quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The price to swap picks?

• Third-round pick (67)
• Fourth-round pick (111)
• Future third-round pick

If general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia were actually given a playoffs-or-bust ultimatum for 2020, that looks like a deal they may actually do if they like Young enough.

But, ultimately, I’m just not a huge fan of trading away draft picks, especially when you’re already in a great position to take a blue-chip player. This team is not likely to be a single player away from Super Bowl or even playoff contention. They have holes all over the defense, and if you made this trade, you’d basically be accepting the fact that you’d only likely get one or two rookie contributors in 2020.

This draft is not make-or-break based on Detroit’s ability to get Chase Young. They’ll have their crack at plenty of good players, and selling out to get one will not prove to be the right move in the long run.

Your turn.

Note: Our own Jerry Mallory first posed this question on Twitter, but I was curious if the results were any different here.