NFL Draft rumor: Detroit Lions preparing to draft at 5th overall

In his Zoom press conference last week, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said that if he were to agree to trade out of the third overall pick, he’d prefer a deal to be done prior to the start of the draft. That way, he wouldn’t have to deal with the additional stress of being on the clock trying to hammer out trade details in his makeshift, at-home war room.

“I think just the way the world we’re living in, with this being virtual, I think a lot of those things, if I’m going to do something, I think we’re going to have a pretty good idea Thursday afternoon of where we stand,” Quinn said. “I don’t think I’m going to be making a huge decision on trading the No. 3 overall pick while I’m on the clock, while I’m virtually talking to our head coach and our other personnel.”

Well, if you are to believe some draft day rumors, the Lions may already have an idea of where they stand on Thursday morning.

According to Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero, the Detroit Lions are already preparing to pick at fourth or fifth overall, picks currently held by the Giants and Dolphins respectively.

“The Lions have a degree of confidence they will be able to trade their pick to either the New York Giants or Miami Dolphins at some point either before the draft or while they’re on the clock,” Salguero wrote early Thursday morning. “No deal is said to be finalized as of this writing. That’s perhaps because the Lions may be trying to pit the Giants and Dolphins against each other.”

This goes against a recent rumor (coincidentally, also from the Miami Herald) that the Dolphins were trying to trade up with the Lions for a deal that doesn’t involve the fifth overall pick. Miami has two other first-round picks (18 and 26) they could offer Detroit in a trade further down, along with two second-round picks (39 and 56).

But that always remained an unlikely scenario for the Lions. Quinn, himself, said trading down far enough to miss out on the top-tier talent in this draft was something he wasn’t all that interested in doing.

“I could see a scenario, yes, but ideally, no,” Quinn said of trading beyond the top of the draft.

If the Lions are indeed preparing to pick a couple spots down, the question becomes what kind of compensation are they getting? Is it possible they snag another first rounder from the Dolphins or will they have to settle for a second-round pick (or later)? And if the Giants are in the conversation, will Detroit lure their second-round pick (36)? That would be a risky move for New York, as they don’t have another pick until late in the third round (99).