The Lions own the No. 2 pick in the draft, for now. We'll see where they stand come draft day April 28.
GM Brad Holmes acknowledged Tuesday that the club has had preliminary talks about trading down.
“Yeah, we’ve had dialogue with a couple of teams,” Holmes told reporters at the owners meetings in Florida. “I wouldn’t say it’s been a lot, but it has been a couple teams we’ve had some dialogue with.”
It's not a great year to be selling a top-of-the-board pick, but it behooves the Lions to try. If they can land an extra first- or second-rounder while staying in the top 10, they could give their rebuild a significant boost.
And Holmes isn't limiting himself to pulling the trigger on the day of the draft if the right offer comes along.
“Definitely we could pull that trade off, if the other team is willing, before the draft,” he said.
Holmes said he'd had a similar level of dialogue with inquiring teams at this time last year when the Lions held the seventh overall pick, and he expects those talks to "increase" over the next month.
"Right now, it’s still relatively early for those discussions. But I would expect for it to heat up, especially with the pick that we have this year. Because it definitely heated up, even with us at No. 7," Holmes said. "So I expect to have more dialogue."
In a weak quarterback class, the Lions won't have much leverage in trade talks. But if a QB-needy team already picking in the top 10 like Carolina (No. 9), Atlanta (No. 8) or Seattle (No. 9) falls in love with, say, Malik Willis, Detroit might be in business.
There are also a pair of elite offensive tackles at the top of the board in Alabama's Evan Neal and NC State's Ikem Ekwonu and several teams inside the top 10 believed to be in the market at that position.
The Lions seem to be zeroing in on Michigan pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, so much so that they've reportedly gauged the price of trading up to No. 1. But they're not in position to be forfeiting assets in the early stages of their rebuild, making a trade down more likely.