NFL Draft rumors: Detroit Lions attempted to trade up for Ja’Marr Chase

It’s NFL Draft week, which means you should take every report, rumor, and tweet with extreme skepticism. NFL teams and player agents are doing their best to put out rumors to throw other teams off their trail. So take the following with a grain of salt, but ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano are the sources of one rumor that seems a little wild for the Detroit Lions.

Per the ESPN duo, the Lions made a call to the Atlanta Falcons in order to trade up to the fourth overall selection and select LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

“There was chatter early in the week that the Lions tried to trade up to No. 4 to get Chase, but the Falcons’ asking price was too high,” the duo wrote.

Given the Lions’ massive needs all over the roster, to hear that they may have attempted to trade up—not for a quarterback—but for a receiver is pretty surprising. Most of the discussion has been around the Lions’ supposed efforts to trade down and accumulate picks. That being said, Detroit’s wide receiver crew is not exactly inspiring, and only 2020 fifth-round pick Quintez Cephus is signed beyond 2021.

Chase is largely considered the best receiving prospect in this year’s draft, and it’s easy to see why. Chase has the size, speed, production, and playmaking ability that comes with a prototypical NFL receiver.

Of course, just because the Lions made calls doesn’t mean they were too serious about making such a move. General manager Brad Holmes explained last week that making calls is just part of the process of exploring your options.

“You have dialogue with other GMs in terms of what your willingness is to move ahead or back within the draft,” Holmes said after admitting that the team has fielded calls for trades already.

Will those talks intensify on draft day? Does this speak to the Lions’ urgency to get the wide receiver position fixed? Or is this bunch of pre-draft nonsense?

Is it Thursday yet?