NYLion

I guess it depends on how one sees the value difference between Simmons and #18. If we're purely using the Buckner trade as a baseline then Simmons is probably worth more than #18 so maybe a more minor return than the draft point charts would indicate to drop from 6 to 11. So without looking at the charts currently, I would assume that it'll normally take roughly a 2nd to move up from 11 to 6 so I'd say that your 2nd trade of Simmons+#11+#72 for #6+#18 seems about right and would be a no brainer for me.

The Buckner trade was #13 I believe so I'm just spitballing that if the Titans want something in addition to #18 that maybe a swap of 6 and 11 would complete the trade. Maybe the Lions could add an additional mid round pick if that's preferrable.

I'd give up #18 for Simmons in a heartbeat if the Titans were willing. I'd even consider adding a future 3rd or something like that if need be. An elite DT right in the middle of his prime would be a perfect add. Yeah they'd have to pay him after next season but is something that I'd be more than willing to do. He's only 26 and DT's generally age pretty well. With that said, I just don't see Holmes going THAT big but then again I didn't think he would do much more than re-sign guys during free agency and he wound up making about 3 more big moves than I thought he'd make so I'll probably be wrong about this too. Edit: I'd probably do the above proposed #6+#18 for Simmons+#11 as well. Actually, I'd definitely do that. They'd have #11, Simmons both of their 2nds and 3rd. Sign me up for that.

I think you need to also account for cushions for in season moves, practice squad players being elevated, injuries etc. so I'd say it's around 8-10m to spend when calculating all the other budget spending. Still enough for one more significant add.

Incredible really. It also shows that players want to be here by taking paycuts to prevent getting cut outright. Okwara and Vaitai in particular took big paycuts, created around $16m of cap space between them two alone. I'm almost expecting Chark to be back now or at least one more fairly significant add of some kind.

I don't see Goff doing that and I'm not sure that Holmes is ready to commit to that.

Maybe but I think at this point in time that some people are skeptical that Goff will be worth top of the market money based on his up and down last 4 seasons. If he puts together another strong year next season and leads them to a playoff win or more, the perception will likely change but until that happens I can understand the concern of extended him at a premium rate. FTR, I went to bat for Goff a lot this season but also understand why there would be questions about committing to him as THE franchise guy long term.

The QB market is heavily inflated where mediocre to good QBs are getting premium contracts. I think most like Goff especially at $30m/yr but not at the $45-50m it will likely cost to retain him if he has another good season unless it's more than a good season. If he takes the Lions deep into the playoffs then I'm sure the next contract concerns will lessen somewhat.

Yeah, I was going to add backup QB too but I'm one of those fans who think the position is less critical than others seem to make it out to be especially since QBs (pocket passers specifically) don't get injured as much as they used to. I'd rather the QB be a developmental guy than a retread, in any event.

I don't see edge rusher as a real need although you can never have enough quality edge rushers (I have Wilson as my favorite for #6 even though he doesn't fill a big need). I think the biggest needs are a DT to team with McNeil, WR if Chark walks, long term solution at guard, long term solution at CB and linebacker obviously. However, I wouldn't say any of those are critical needs outside of LB which is a testament to how well Holmes has built this roster. It makes this draft process more fun because he could just pick talent as opposed to filling needs which leads me to believe that we might see more offense picks than people might think.

I think that's the likely top 5 with Richardson being taken before Levis. In this case, I take Tyree Wilson and he's the type of player this staff would fall in love with with all the size and athletic traits to go with versatility. He's kind of like the Travon Walker of this class with more college production.

Eagles are still the favorites.

Yep. 2014 was arguably the most talented Lions team maybe ever (as sad as that sounds) but the Suh leaving dark cloud was hanging over the team that season so it was kind of an "all in" season. Suh being all emotional after the Dallas loss basically confirmed that he was gone so expectations were tempered that offseason.

I never really believed in that team, 1991 seemed like a bit of a fluke playing above its talent level. I actually thought the 1995 and 2014 teams were the best Lions teams in my lifetime but there wasn't much offseason hype headed into either year, not like we're going to experience this offseason I'm sure.

You can never have enough depth on the defensive line but, yes, it's a lot of bodies although I wouldn't count on Levi to be a regular at this moment. It's the same with the secondary. Sutton, Moseley, CJGJ, Okudah, Jacobs, Walker, Joseph, Harris, Iffy, Moore, Lucas? The first 7 are all starter quality. I'm not sure if this will play into Holmes draft strategy but I do expect him to consolidate a few of the picks and trade up at some point early in the draft. I expected a trade up before free agency because Holmes mentality is to be aggressive but even moreso now after free agency.

I wouldn't be shocked. I know these are 1 year deals so it doesn't necessarily rule out corner and safety in the 1st round but it lessens the urgency to draft one early so it gives Holmes the flexibility to splurge on a luxury or take a risk. I think WR is possible in the 1st as well.

Holmes is a mad scientist this off-season and I'm here for all of it. These deals are perfect. It opens up the draft to more possibilities now and these guys will either re-sign here if they perform or the Lions will get a crapload of comp picks and filter in more cheap young talent to replace them while the new wave of "prove it" deals get signed. This is what good organizations do, this feels odd as a long suffering Lions fan and very settling.

I said this to you the other day. David has played his whole career in Tampa so he clearly took a discount to stay there. The Lions would have to overpay to bring him in and likely for multiple years. With that said, it's hard to argue that the Anzalone contract isn't an overpay but if he played like he did the second half of last season, it'll be fine value but that's a big IF considering the bigger sample size of his career not being at that level.

He was a turnstile at guard, was very good filling in for Ragnow the year before. The problem for his free agency status is that his play at guard was more recent so it likely created a very weak market for him. I think the Lions saw Glasgow as a more dependable option being the veteran and all.

Yeah he could have chosen better role models to inspire him but I just think it's a case of those two being the most identifiable modern black QBs. Mahomes has too much white in him.

Grant is also a lot more efficient once he freed himself of Casey and it's not like his usage has gone down in Portland so....yeah.

Precisely, I'm surprised that others didn't pick up on this sooner. Has nothing to do with their off the field stuff or their play style. it's more likely that it's a black athlete that is inspired by other black athletes at a position that's been predominantly white historically.

I highly doubt that David wanted to leave Tampa, he clearly took a discount to stay, and I'd bet that Wagner will either go to a SB contender or back to Seattle. Not that I'm a big fan of the Anzalone deal but it's better that they got him locked up early rather than end up with nobody or some lower tier guy who needs to learn the system.

His perceived character concerns were way different than Carter's, not nearly as serious off the field and he had no work ethic/laziness issues whatsoever. With that said, I'd still consider Carter at 6 because he has the highest upside of any player in this draft including QBs but there's real risk and I highly doubt it's a risk that Dan and Brad are interested in taking on. "No Turds Allowed", these guys live by that phrase.

No thank you. Didn't want to draft one of these corners at 6 before free agency and definitely not now. For me, it's either one of the top 2 defensive guys, Wilson or maybe even Kancey who has an intriguing skillset, continue to build a killer line. I just don't think any of these corners are standouts and the class is so deep at corner that they can get a quality one later in the draft perhaps with one of the 2nds.