If you were the Detroit Lions general manager, would you trade two first-round picks for Myles Garrett?
On Monday, former Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns so that he can chase a Super Bowl . Naturally, a lot of Detroit Lions fans’ ears perked up at the news, and for good reason. Seemingly, the Lions are in a pretty darn good position to make a theoretical trade for the elite pass rusher. They can certainly offer Garrett a shot at a title, they have ample cap space this offseason to take on a contract that will cost $20 and $25 million in the next two years, and they also happen to have a pretty serious pass rushing need opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
I broke down all the specifics of the trade—what it would cost, the financial implications, the likelihood of him actually getting traded, and my thoughts on what the Lions would do . But let’s put some things aside. Forget that the Browns general manager has adamantly said he doesn’t want to trade Garrett. Let’s ignore that Lions general manager Brad Holmes has insisted they want to build through the draft over making an “all-in” move.
What would you do? Today’s Question of the Day is:
Would you trade two first-round picks for Myles Garrett?
My answer: First, to be clear, I don’t know how much it’s going to cost to get Garrett (only the Browns know). One NFL general manager believes it’ll be a little less . The 2018 trade for Khalil Mack cost right around there . I’m just setting two first-round picks as a baseline.
While I’m typically against all-in moves, I’m at least open to this particular idea, but it hinges on one condition: Garrett doesn’t ask for an extension. To me, this is a very doable idea if the Lions can just inherit his current contract and make a two-year run with Garrett’s very manageable cap hits of $20 million this year and $25 million next year. That won’t be a huge hindrance to Detroit’s salary cap situation in the future, and while two first-round picks would be quite costly for just two years of Garrett, it’s at least worth considering.
The biggest downside is obviously the loss of two first-round picks, and that loss cannot be overstated. Pretty soon, the Lions are going to have elite players making elite money all across the roster, and while the salary cap rising will help mitigate some of that, it certainly won’t “fix” their “problem.” The only way to manage a salary cap when you have 7-10 players making elite money is to counter them with young, cheap talent. And if you take away the first-round picks for the next two years, you’re making it really hard to do that. You’re relying on Holmes consistently hitting on low second, third and fourth-round picks to fill out the rest of Detroit’s roster, and while he’s done well outside of the first round, you’d be asking for near perfection in the future.
All of that is to say it’s still a significant risk, even if you aren’t going to hand Garrett an extension. But it still may be worth taking it, because he is that good of a player.
Vote on whether you’d trade for Garrett and then explain your answer in the comment section below.