Detroit Lions Mock Draft 3.0: Trading back in the first round

We’re less than two weeks away from the start of the 2021 NFL Draft.  In this Mock Draft, we have a few surprises in store for you, including a blockbuster deal with the Detroit Lions trading down and adding additional draft capital.

The Detroit Lions have plenty of options surrounding the seventh overall pick leading up to the start of the NFL Draft.

You can build a case and justify numerous ways the new regime needs to attack this draft, and there isn’t really a right or wrong theory; that’s the best part about this time of year.  Depending on how the first six selections go, the Lions shouldn’t be in any rush to move their first-round pick.

There are a couple of elite options for the organization picking seventh if they choose to hold onto the pick or if they fail to find a trade partner to trade back with.  My first choice is left tackle Penei Sewell; if he’s available at seven, I feel he’s far too talented to pass up.

Another option is drafting a quarterback, but we need to recognize this could be the fourth or fifth-best player at the position depending on what transpires at the top of the draft.

We know the first three picks will be quarterbacks, with Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson expected to go one-two to the Jaguars and Jets.  The San Francisco 49ers spent a small fortune to move up from twelfth to three in a deal with Miami via the Houston Texans.  Head coach Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch didn’t mortgage their future not to draft a quarterback.

Plenty of experts are linking Mac Jones to the 49ers, which comes to many, including myself, as a surprise, but if the 49ers select the Alabama product, it may leave someone like Justin Fields available for the taking at seven.

It is worth noting that along with the Detroit Lions, the 49ers brass was in attendance for Fields second pro day, where he once again showcased his skill-set to a more condensed group of onlookers.

There is a chance either Fields or Trey Lance is available when the Detroit Lions are on the clock, even with the fourth pick potentially being a quarterback, whether it’s the Atlanta Falcons making the pick or trading out.

IF general manager Brad Holmes feels confident with either quarterback or whichever is available, I am not opposed to taking a quarterback to sit a season or two behind Jared Goff.  I don’t want Holmes to select a quarterback for the sake of taking a quarterback.

Without further ado, let’s jump right into our latest edition of the 2021 Detroit Lions mock Draft.

For this exercise, I will once again use The Draft Network’s mock draft machine.

We have a trade.