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All offseason, we heard Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn say that he had interest in trading down in the first round of the draft. Yet according to several sources, Quinn turned them all down when they were actually on the clock.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that the Lions made their pick of T.J. Hockenson instead of taking offers of a trade down:
Lions received calls to trade out....but decided to pick.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2019
How good were the offers? We’ll likely never know—though you can expect Quinn to be asked about it in his presser at the end of Round 1. According to at least one NFL insider, former NFL executive Gil Brandt, the Lions had “good offers” for their eighth pick:
Lions had some good offers for this pick. Hockenson too valuable to pass up.
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) April 26, 2019
It’s always a little disappointing as a fan to hear that the team turned down trade offers—more picks are undeniably good—but this also shows the team’s commitment to Hockenson. He was very clearly their guy all along. That sort of devotion to the pick will either prove Quinn right in the long term, or potentially very, very wrong.