- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,129,841
- Reaction score
- 59
Brad Holmes “strongly” considered moving up in the NFL draft before selecting Blake Miller with the 17th overall pick, and one of the deals the Detroit Lions general manager had in place but chose not to execute was with the Baltimore Ravens.
In their behind-the-scenes draft video released Monday, May 18, the Ravens are shown exploring two trade-downs with the Lions, including one in the first round.
Around the 24-minute mark of the video, during the string of picks that came off the board in front of them – Caleb Downs to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 11, Kadyn Proctor to the Miami Dolphins at No. 12 and Ty Simpson to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 13 – general manager Eric DeCosta tells his draft room, “We have a trade offer.”
DeCosta never mentions the Lions by name, but Ravens vice president of football administration Nick Matteo explains the deal: The Ravens’ pick at No. 14, for Picks No. 17 and 118 – the Lions’ first- and fourth-round choices – and a third-round pick in the 2027 draft.
Moments later, after the Rams made Simpson the surprise pick of the first round, Matteo phones an unnamed Lions executive and asks, “Would you do your original offer, 14 for 17, 118 and next year’s three?”
With a couple minutes left on the clock, the Lions appeared to think better of the trade.
“You’re out?” Matteo repeats into the phone. “All right, thanks.”
HELP WANTED: 5 players who could assist Detroit Lions in NFL free agency
The Ravens took Penn State guard Vega Ioane with the 14th pick, and after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers followed with defensive end Reuben Bain Jr. and the New York Jets took tight end Kenyon Sadiq, the Lions took Miller at No. 17 to be their right tackle of the future.
Holmes said after the draft he talked to teams about moving “way up” but decided to stay put after the Rams’ selection.
“We definitely explored strongly about trading up and just kind of seeing how it started to fall,” Holmes said. “Probably about ... right after L.A. took the quarterback, I felt pretty good that we might be able to just get Blake. Because the other thing is that there’s just a little scare of, OK, I felt like from the outside looking in we had this big tackle target on our back, so if a team behind us was in the tackle market, then they might want to jump us, as well. So we definitely explored that. But right about 14, I felt pretty good that we’d be able to keep our assets and still get Blake.”
Miller was the fourth offensive tackle and fifth offensive lineman taken, and two other tackles went in the next four picks.
Holmes did pull off a second-round trade, sending the Lions’ second fourth-round pick, No. 128 overall, to the New York Jets to move up six spots and take Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore at No. 44.
In the New York Giants’ behind-the-scenes draft video, general manager Joe Schoen rebuffed the Lions’ offer of both fourth-round picks and a fifth-round choice to move down from No. 37 to No. 50.
Matteo also shared a text with a second-round offer from the Lions: The Ravens’ pick at No. 45 for the Lions’ Picks No. 50 and 128 “if their guy is there.”
When the Lions made the same deal with the Jets, DeCosta worried they were moving up for Missouri defensive end Zion Young – whom Baltimore took with its pick at 45.
Holmes said after the draft Moore was the Lions’ top available edge rusher entering Day 2 and the last player left in the cluster of players they had atop the board at the start of the round.
Asked if he felt the need to trade up in front of the Ravens because he worried they would take Moore, Holmes said, “I don’t know if they wanted him or not, but kind of got a sense that they were in the edge rusher market, though.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions nearly pulled off 2 NFL draft-day trades with Ravens
Continue reading...
In their behind-the-scenes draft video released Monday, May 18, the Ravens are shown exploring two trade-downs with the Lions, including one in the first round.
You must be registered for see images
Around the 24-minute mark of the video, during the string of picks that came off the board in front of them – Caleb Downs to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 11, Kadyn Proctor to the Miami Dolphins at No. 12 and Ty Simpson to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 13 – general manager Eric DeCosta tells his draft room, “We have a trade offer.”
DeCosta never mentions the Lions by name, but Ravens vice president of football administration Nick Matteo explains the deal: The Ravens’ pick at No. 14, for Picks No. 17 and 118 – the Lions’ first- and fourth-round choices – and a third-round pick in the 2027 draft.
Moments later, after the Rams made Simpson the surprise pick of the first round, Matteo phones an unnamed Lions executive and asks, “Would you do your original offer, 14 for 17, 118 and next year’s three?”
With a couple minutes left on the clock, the Lions appeared to think better of the trade.
“You’re out?” Matteo repeats into the phone. “All right, thanks.”
HELP WANTED: 5 players who could assist Detroit Lions in NFL free agency
The Ravens took Penn State guard Vega Ioane with the 14th pick, and after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers followed with defensive end Reuben Bain Jr. and the New York Jets took tight end Kenyon Sadiq, the Lions took Miller at No. 17 to be their right tackle of the future.
Holmes said after the draft he talked to teams about moving “way up” but decided to stay put after the Rams’ selection.
“We definitely explored strongly about trading up and just kind of seeing how it started to fall,” Holmes said. “Probably about ... right after L.A. took the quarterback, I felt pretty good that we might be able to just get Blake. Because the other thing is that there’s just a little scare of, OK, I felt like from the outside looking in we had this big tackle target on our back, so if a team behind us was in the tackle market, then they might want to jump us, as well. So we definitely explored that. But right about 14, I felt pretty good that we’d be able to keep our assets and still get Blake.”
Miller was the fourth offensive tackle and fifth offensive lineman taken, and two other tackles went in the next four picks.
Holmes did pull off a second-round trade, sending the Lions’ second fourth-round pick, No. 128 overall, to the New York Jets to move up six spots and take Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore at No. 44.
In the New York Giants’ behind-the-scenes draft video, general manager Joe Schoen rebuffed the Lions’ offer of both fourth-round picks and a fifth-round choice to move down from No. 37 to No. 50.
Matteo also shared a text with a second-round offer from the Lions: The Ravens’ pick at No. 45 for the Lions’ Picks No. 50 and 128 “if their guy is there.”
When the Lions made the same deal with the Jets, DeCosta worried they were moving up for Missouri defensive end Zion Young – whom Baltimore took with its pick at 45.
Holmes said after the draft Moore was the Lions’ top available edge rusher entering Day 2 and the last player left in the cluster of players they had atop the board at the start of the round.
Asked if he felt the need to trade up in front of the Ravens because he worried they would take Moore, Holmes said, “I don’t know if they wanted him or not, but kind of got a sense that they were in the edge rusher market, though.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions nearly pulled off 2 NFL draft-day trades with Ravens
Continue reading...
