The Lions are in a weird spot currently with their roster. Do they move on from Matthew Stafford? What really is their biggest team need? Should they look to draft the quarterback of the future this year? If not, should they trade down? The Indianapolis Colts have a weird roster too, but more on the opposite end of the specturm. Who do they get to lead this offense, and the rest of this talented roster, to championships?
I think the last question would be the most important thing to consider for Detroit’s future. They could possibly trade the 3rd overall pick to a team Indianapolis, allowing the Colts to take Tua. I’ve heard plenty about the Dolphins jumping up two spots to select Tua, and even the Chargers finding a way to get up to the 3rd pick, but Indianapolis should be more considered in my opinion.
The Lion’s will have to pay Matthew Stafford at least $19M this upcoming season, even if he isn’t on the roster. They really have no reason to trade him, and his contract makes it even harder to do so. With that being said, they need to shift into win now mode ASAP if they don’t want to ruin another players career. Stafford is too good to be wasted on a roster that can’t beat an Arizona Cardinals team led by a rookie making his first start.
As usual, trading up into the Top 3 or 4 picks is an expensive move. Even more when the team trading up is looking to score their franchise quarterback. The Lions would receive the 13th overall pick, the 34th overall pick, and probably a few picks in 2021 as well. This could help them fill the roster with talent, as I said earlier, they have a lot of needs across it. Derrick Brown is great, but I think a haul of two really talented prospects would be better for the Lions at this time.
They could walk away with scenarios such as Javon Kinlaw, and Jeff Glandey, or Kristian Fulton and Jordan Elliott or even something like Mekhi Becton and Yetur Gross-Matos. There are endless possibilities. All of them pretty much will outweigh the impact a single player such as Derrick Brown, or Jeffery Okudah will make for you.
As for Tua, you probably couldn’t come up with a better situation in the NFL to be drafted to. Frank Reich is a great coach for Tagovailoa to learn under, and he gets his quarterback prospect to groom. Tua gets to sit behind Jacoby Brissett for a year before he is asked to take over for the franchise. The Colts have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL, allowing Tagavolia the protection he will need. Not only does he get the chance to heal up as long as he needs, but he will also get the protection he needs to have a great career.
On top of all of that, they are fresh off losing an extremely talented, young, 1st overall pick, to an early retirement due to his injuries. The Colts couldn’t afford to let something like that happen again. The pressure would be on to protect Tagovailoa, and avoiding yet another wasted opportunity with a talented young quarterback.
The Lion’s have been NFL poverty for as long as I can remember, and that isn’t going to change with a cornerback taken 3rd overall. If they are able to trade Stafford then that’s just extra picks to help rebuild the franchise. The Colts were getting really close to pushing towards the top of the AFC and now are without a real starting quarterback to lead them. They have the ammunition to make a move up to the 3rd overall pick, and the Lions are looking for as much ammo as they can get. Very rarely do you have two teams that fill each other’s needs so perfectly, in separate conferences, and not have a trade go down between them. Let’s get Tua the support he needs, and Detroit competing in football games again.