The Seahawks may be the best trade down partner for the Lions

The NFL is going crazy with trades right now. Most of us have been sitting here wondering if and when the Detroit Lions will get involved in the trade craziness themselves. I have a move that should really entice them. All this time there’s been talk about the Lions potentially trading down from the second pick. Many teams have been involved in these conversations, but there’s one team that fits the best for a trade down situation with the Lions. That’s the Seattle Seahawks. Here’s my trade proposal.

Seahawks get: Second pick and 181th pick (sixth round).

Lions get: Ninth pick, 41st pick (second round) and DK Metcalf.

Why the Lions do it

For starters, the Lions get DK Metcalf out of the deal. The 24-year-old receiver is a physical monster and a very capable receiver. With Metcalf, DJ Chark and Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jared Goff would likely be the happiest man in the league. Throw in T.J. Hockenson, Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond, and the Lions could have one of the most dangerous and deep receiving groups in the league.

Metcalf would cost just less than $4 million against the Lions’ 2022 cap, but his contract is up at the end of the year, and that does present an issue for the Lions if they decide they’d like to keep him. Metcalf could wind up being one of the league’s highest-paid receivers going forward, and the going rate for that is around $30 million a year, thanks to Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill. Still, the ball is in the Lions’ court, because it’s not like they’d be forced to make that deal.

Aside from Metcalf, the Lions don’t lose out on much at all by moving down to the ninth pick. They would likely miss out on the top two edge rushers, Kyle Hamilton and Malik Willis, but they should still have a shot at some of the following players: Travon Walker, Jermaine Johnson, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Devin Lloyd. With another second-round pick, the Lions should have shot at players like Lewis Cine, Jaquan Brisker, Perrion Winfrey and Isaiah Likely to name a few options. This is a good draft to have extra picks in.

Why the Seahawks do it

The Seahawks need a quarterback after trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos. They could stick with Drew Lock or trade for Baker Mayfield, but Malik Willis is the best fit. They are already interested in Willis and that makes perfect sense for them. Who does Willis remind you of a little? Think about it. An undersized quarterback with a big arm and crazy mobility. Willis is like a young Russell Wilson. Willis won’t be nearly as polished as Wilson was coming out of college, but the Seahawks aren’t really expected to compete right away after losing a few key parts this offseason.

The problem is that the Seahawks at nine would have to hope that the Lions, Texans, Panthers, Falcons and maybe even the Giants decide to pass on Willis if they hope to get him. Could it happen? Sure, Willis is far from a perfect prospect. However, there are so many quarterback-needy teams right now, and we’ve already seen the desperate measures some teams are willing to take to get one. If the Seahawks are truly enthralled by Willis, their best bet is to trade up and get him.

Could they trade up with a different team? Yes, but the options are limited. Here are the teams between the Lions and Seahawks in draft order:

3. Texans
4, Jets
5. Giants
6. Panthers
7. Giants
8. Falcons

If the Texans, Panthers, Falcons and Giants are interested in Willis, then they’re definitely not going to allow the Seahawks to move up to take their guy. There’s the New York Jets, but there’s a good chance they’d jump on the opportunity to draft Kyle Hamilton after losing Marcus Maye to the Saints. So they’re less likely to trade down from four. The Lions are really the Seahawks only hope if they want Willis.

The Lions could kick in an extra sixth-round pick for a Seahawks team that's kind of light on picks that late in the draft. They currently don’t have any picks between early fifth round (153) and early seventh round (230).

Another reason for the Seahawks to make this deal is to get away from having to pay Metcalf. Now, Pete Carroll has publicly said that he wants to get a deal done for Metcalf. Just this week, he said the following on the radio:

But what an NFL coach says publicly is not always what’s happening behind closed doors, and with the recent NFL landscape, it seems nothing is impossible anymore. Tyreek Hill was in the midst of extension talks with the Chiefs before they reached an impasse. Days later, Hill was gone.

In fact, there are rumors this week that Seattle is listening to offers for both Metcalf and Tyler Lockett right now. If the rumors are true, the Packers and the Chiefs wouldn't be able to offer a deal as good as the second pick in the draft.

Everyone wins here. The Lions get a great receiver room with the options to grab more help at other areas, while the Seahawks get their quarterback of the future without having to pay big money to the receivers that quarterback would throw to.