The Detroit Lions made a huge trade with Matthew Stafford, nabbing Jared Goff, a pair of future first-round picks and a 2021 third-round pick in the deal.
In the days since that future deal was leaked, other possible trades have been discussed. Reports vary on who the runner up was in the derby for Stafford, but apparently, the Denver Broncos did make a decently strong offer for Stafford.
According to Dan Patrick on the Dan Patrick Show, the Broncos dangled a first-round pick this season as well as quarterback Drew Lock. The deal, though, didn’t move the needle for the Lions.
Source: The #Broncos made a run at trading for Matthew Stafford. They offered their 9th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and Drew Lock. #Lions pic.twitter.com/6uOYrdpeDs
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) February 4, 2021
Patrick said:
“I just learned this from a source. The Denver Broncos made a pretty good run at Matthew Stafford. Here’s the deal they offered the Detroit Lions. They offered their first-round pick, ninth overall and Drew Lock for Matthew Stafford. But Drew Lock is not as good as Jared Goff, and though you’re getting the ninth pick overall, if I’m Detroit, I still like what they did. But Denver did try, Denver tried to trade their ninth pick overall and Drew Lock to the Lions.”
Obviously, the Lions liked the idea of getting a pair of first rounders plus a third round selection as well in addition to a more accomplished young quarterback in Goff. Regardless, this is an interesting deal to ponder if it was indeed on the table.
Follow the Heavy on Lions Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content out of Detroit!
Denver Analyst Believed Broncos Offered Best Deal
Every city with a need at quarterback believed their team should be the one to land Stafford. Recently, before the trade played out, Mike Klis of 9 News in Denver made that case for the Broncos. Klis thinks that Stafford should have been a team in play for the quarterback thanks to Drew Lock.
In a piece, Klis maintains that the Lions should have looked at the Broncos closest as a trade partner with a deal centered around Lock, who could give them the young quarterback with experience they may crave plus picks. As Klis maintains, none of the other teams the Lions could trade with may offer such a deal.
He wrote:
“But consider the viewpoint of the Lions, who have already announced they will trade Stafford, their starting QB of the past 12 seasons. If you’re only other QBs are career backup Chase Daniel and David Blough, do you want to work a trade with the Indianapolis Colts, who don’t have a QB to swap after Philip Rivers just retired and veteran backup Jacoby Brissett is about to hit free agency, or the Broncos, who probably have the best young QB in Lock among all the teams who may be in the Stafford market?
Most of the trade speculation involving Stafford has the Lions asking for a first-round draft pick. But they are not expected to get a first-round pick better than the No. 7 overall selection they already have. At No. 7, the Lions figure to get the third or fourth-best QB in the draft. Would Zach Wilson, Justin Fields or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance be ready to start Game 1 of the 2021 season? No way. Only Trevor Lawrence in this year’s draft class is worthy of an opening-day start.
Of all the teams the Lions can dance with, it’s easy to assume Denver would be among their most preferred partners.”
Obviously, the Lions didn’t like Lock as much as Goff, and that was what tipped the scales in the end in addition to the extra picks. The Broncos likely didn’t want to pay the huge cost of extra picks, and provided the offer was only Lock and a 2021 first, the Lions certainly did better with this deal.
Many might not have felt that the Rams or Goff would be in the mix, but the deal came together quickly and ended up as a surprise.
Lions Turned Down Packages for Matthew Stafford
With as many as seven teams interested, the Lions had plenty of big offers to sort through start to finish for Stafford. Rumors have held that the Carolina Panthers were close by offering the eighth pick in the draft, but it’s possible Denver may have been a bit closer given Lock’s potential presence in the deal. Still, getting a pair of first round picks and a third is big for the team’s rebuild in the years ahead. That’s true wether or not Goff works out at quarterback.
Regardless, plenty of teams made their pitch and it sounds as if the Broncos did make a strong one for Stafford.
READ NEXT: Productive Free Agent Pass Rusher Visits Lions
No comments:
Post a Comment