Dan Campbell preparing Detroit Lions fans for a potential trade back

We’re officially deep into lying season for the 2024 NFL Draft, so take everything you hear between now and Thursday night with a grain of salt. That said, the Detroit Lions almost seem likely they’re actively trying to prepare fans for a trade out of the first round.

The latest sign comes from coach Dan Campbell, who joined the Costa & Jansen with Heather show on local radio station 97.1 The Ticket. Campbell was asked if the fact that the NFL Draft was in Detroit would factor into a potential plan to trade out of the first round.

“Here’s what I’d say, well then all you’ve got to do is, it’s one sleep and then you get two picks,” Campbell said. “That’s what I would’ve told the kids when they’re young.”

Campbell would later add:

“Anything can happen. We’re prepared to do whatever we need to do. Look, if our guy’s not there—we’re sitting there and our guy’s not there—we will move back. So I’m just preparing the fans. Be ready. You never know what’s going to happen here.”

This sentiment echoes what Lions general manager Brad Holmes said during his pre-draft press conference when asked a similar question.

“We have to do the right thing for the organization,” Holmes said. “If it makes sense and it lines up and it’s the right thing to do, then we have to do the right thing. Say that happens where the fans have been waiting there all night for this pick and we get an offer that we can’t really turn down and makes sense, we’ve got to do the right thing and hopefully our fans will forgive us.”

Now, it’s important to point out here that the Lions aren’t going out of their way talking about a trade down. They’re being asked these questions, and providing—what we assume—are honest answers. I think it would be a wrong interpretation of these quotes to assume that the Lions are publicly tipping their plans for Thursday night.

That said, under Campbell and Holmes, the Lions have actually been quite honest and upfront about their process. So I think these quotes reveal that Detroit has been seriously considering a trade down. I would take Campbell at his word that if they aren’t sold on a prospect at 29, they are going to do everything they can to trade out of the first round.