Wednesday open thread: What should the Lions do with their first-round draft picks?

The Detroit Lions are near the top of the league in terms of their offseason ammunition. They’re sitting pretty with four picks in the first two rounds, and eight in total.

On top of that, the Lions have a relatively solid cap situation. Another aspect that’s not often measured is the quality of the team’s contracts—Brad Holmes has signed a lot more players to one-year contracts than we’ve seen in previous regimes, meaning the Lions aren’t tied down to many contracts with sunken money. Overall, the Lions enter the offseason with the seventh-most offseason capital in the league according to a PFF model.

Question of the day: What should Detroit do with their first-round picks?

Brad Holmes has shown that he’s not afraid to make moves for the right price. In the past nine months alone, we saw Holmes package three day two picks to move up and draft Jameson Williams, and then send away a cornerstone of the offense in T.J. Hockenson at the trade deadline. He’s not afraid to pull the trigger when he sees the right value, no matter which direction he’s moving, and he re-emphasized that after the season.

My answer: I think Brad Holmes has earned my trust no matter what he does this draft, but unless he’s moving up for the quarterback, I think the Lions should stay put.

I’m of the belief that C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson are the best fits for the Lions in the upcoming draft, the latter being more of a fit for what Holmes described in sitting behind Jared Goff. I don’t think Richardson warrants moving up from six, and I don’t think I’d be a huge fan of moving up higher than the four to five range for Stroud if the plan is to sit him for a year or two.

Likewise, I don’t think the Lions are well-rounded enough to move back. The sixth overall pick gets you a day one high impact player, and the 18th pick should at least get you a solid long-term starter. The opportunity to make such upgrades across a roster—particularly a defense that still has major holes—is an opportunity too good to pass up. The Lions could really benefit from an additional edge rusher, and they have serious question marks at the linebacker position entering 2023. Cornerback is a disaster of its own, while the idea of adding a third high-caliber safety is tempting.

Overall, Brad Holmes has done enough to earn the benefit of the doubt through two years. His 2022 draft class was a grand slam and I wasn’t a huge fan of several of those picks, so what do I know. If he decides to get aggressive or to move back and accumulate capital come April, I’ll trust he knows what he’s doing. If it were up to me, though, I’d stay pat.

What do you think the Lions should do with their first-round picks? Is a quarterback calling their name atop the draft? Should they try to drop back and get more picks? Vote below and let us know your thoughts.