Getty Desmond King playing with the Chargers.
The Detroit Lions have some major decisions to make when it comes to what to do in the NFL Draft, and it’s possible that the team decides to make a deal down in order to add selections.
Plenty of those deals have been speculated in recent weeks, but a new suggestion is quite interesting for the Detroit perspective. Recently, analyst Evan Silva put together a new mock draft at EstablishTheRun.com. Within, he had the Lions dealing back, but picking up quite a nice haul when doing so.
In the hypothetical scenario, the Lions trade back with the Los Angeles Chargers, who move up and select Tua Tagovailoa. In the trade, the Lions pick up pick No. 6, No. 37, a 2021 fourth round selection and defensive back Desmond King. Detroit uses the Chargers pick to select Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown, passing on cornerback Jeffrey Okudah in the process.
As Silva says, the trade would allow the Lions to beef up their defensive line, which should be a huge goal given how little the Lions have at the spot. The Detroit pick would allow the Chargers to select their next quarterback. The deal would also give the Lions an extra second round selection to continue to build their team depth.
Overall, if the Lions are going to make a trade, this is exactly the type of deal they should be looking at to improve the team.
Desmond King Stats
If the Lions were to add King, it would represent a homecoming for the Detroit native who played his college football at Iowa. King would be an interesting pickup for the Lions considering his transition to the NFL has been solid so far. King was a first team All-Pro in 2018, and so far has put up 189 tackles and 4 interceptions in the league. He’s also a dangerous return man, something the Lions could use given their struggles with that lately. King would give the Detroit defensive backfield some added punch and another young player to build around as they try and reshape their defensive line.
Writer Also Projects Lions Draft Derrick Brown
According to veteran Detroit News writer Bob Wojnowski, the Lions are going to have a surprise in store for everyone when they pick later on this April. That surprise? The selection of defensive tackle Derrick Brown from Auburn, who Wojnowski says the team will select. As to why, he admits he is simply connecting the dots as to what he thinks the team will do when all is said and done.
I can confirm what Valenti is saying on the air, and I appreciate his sentiment. Yes indeed, I believe the Lions will draft Auburn DT Derrick Brown at No. 3 …. even if Chase Young is available. I am not taunting or trolling Lions fans. I am connecting dots. Big fat dots.
Brown, who had a big finish to his season with the Tigers, figures to be one of the top players at No. 3. Detroit’s line has been close to the basement of the league in terms of getting after the quarterback and stopping the run. Who better to come in and remedy that than a guy like Brown. He would immediately be an upgrade for the Lions up front and is one of the most dynamic interior linemen set to be drafted in 2020.
Passing on others including perhaps Chase Young or in this case Okudah in order to get Brown would certainly look like a potential bombshell as it relates to the team’s pick this year.
Lions Biggest 2020 NFL Draft Need is Defensive End
Detroit cannot pressure the quarterback meaningfully in 2019, something that has been painfully obvious for weeks and that is a glaring problem given what the team has done to add to the front in recent months and years. Part of the problem has been injury, but beyond Trey Flowers and Da’Shawn Hand, the Lions simply don’t have any young building blocks they can count on right now. The team has to find some form of consistency in the trenches, and that is why it’s a major need for them moving forward.
If the draft were held today, the Lions would have to target some type of defensive end or pass rush specialist highly, and Young would be the top option. Players like Brown could also be considered.
That makes the potential selection of a lineman so vital, and a trade like this could lead to the Lions landing a lineman, even if it isn’t Young.
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