Inside a month from the draft, Trey Hendrickson is still available. Is there a world in which he winds up in Detroit?
ESPN's Bill Barnwell proposes the following trade: the Lions trade their first- and fourth-round picks (Nos. 28 and 130) to the Bengals for their second-round pick (No. 48) and Hendrickson -- the NFL's leader in sacks over the last two seasons.
"What is the downside?" says Mike Valenti. "You move down 20 spots, who cares about the fourth-round pick? Anyone you draft now is not going to start for this team."
The catch is that the Lions would have to give Hendrickson a new deal, as he reportedly won't play this season without one. That could cost them up to $35 million per year and prevent them from extending some of their own stars -- maybe someone like Kerby Joseph.
That runs counter to recent comments by GM Brad Holmes, who prioritizes paying his own players over sacrificing draft picks and cap space on external additions. Valenti is still hoping that Holmes might be cooking something up behind the scenes:
"Look, I understand full well what Brad Holmes has said. Is it wrong of me to hold out hope for a Hendrickson draft trade, that until Hendrickson either signs, retires or is traded somewhere else -- I'm not going to harangue the organization -- am I alone in holding out hope that they're saying what they're saying publicly but privately they're just waiting the Bengals out?"
Barnwell says "the time for action (for the Lions) is now," especially with the likes of Aidan Hutchinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Branch on rookie deals, "giving them a window to go after an expensive addition."
Hendrickson would slot in as a second elite rusher for Detroit. He would command a deal around $35 million per year, but the Lions could make that work with guarantees over the next two years. General manager Brad Holmes has generally done excellent work in the draft, but making an all-in move for Hendrickson is a reward for years of building things up the right way. If the Lions want to shift their defensive philosophy after losing coordinator Aaron Glenn to the Jets, Hendrickson would give them the ability to rush just four more often without needing to rely on blitzes.
