Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes: No increased talks for trading No. 2 pick

Last month at the NFL owners meetings, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes told a group of local reporters that he had already had a couple of discussions about trading out of the second overall pick. He even said that if he found a deal worth making, he would be open to pulling the trigger before the Jacksonville Jaguars made their decision with the first pick.

Flash forward to this Thursday’s pre-draft press conference with Holmes, and the Lions general manager revealed that basically nothing has emerged in the weeks following those meetings.

“Actually, it hasn’t been a whole lot since the last time that we spoke down at the annual meetings,” Holmes said. “Actually, had a few dialogues before then, but not a whole lot.”

This development isn’t all that surprising given this year’s draft class and the lack of clear top-end talent. There does not appear to be a top-tier quarterback that would warrant a trade up to No. 2 and while there are a few options at other premier positions—edge and offensive tackle—there may be enough depth for teams to stay put and see which prospects fall further down the draft.

Of course, all it takes is one team to fall in love with one player, and Holmes sounded optimistic that further talks about a trade could heat up in the next seven days in the lead-up to next Thursday’s draft.

“I do say that I think heading into this weekend and the early portion of next week, I do think the possibility of some chatter and some more dialogue could increase but right now it hasn’t been a whole lot.”