Daniel Jeremiah Believes Lions Could Move Up in NFL Draft

The idea of trading back is something that the Pittsburgh Steelers could easily find attractive in the 2024 NFL Draft. But it takes two to tango. Reportedly, the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals might be teams looking to come up the board. And Daniel Jeremiah thinks that the Detroit Lions, who hold the 29th overall selection, could be a team that gets aggressive and swings on a trade up, too.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t rule that out. They’ve got some age on the offensive line so if there’s a guy that they feel like they love to go up there and get one, that wouldn’t shock me at all,” Jeremiah said. “Corner position is one they can continue to look at. They’ve done a lot of homework on the corner class and talking to some agents over the last week. So, yeah, I think one of those top corners starts to drift a little bit, they could go up there and do that as well. But you hit it. I mean, they’re knocking on the door. They are right on the cusp of being a championship team. So if there’s a time to be aggressive, this would be it.”

The offensive line portion could lead to murky waters. The Lions could be fishing in the same waters as the Steelers and want to land Graham Barton, Jackson Powers-Johnson, or Zach Frazier. But if they want to come up for a cornerback, and that is not the position the Steelers look at as the best value for their first-round pick, a trade-back makes lots of sense. Detroit holds a second-round pick, too, so if Pittsburgh wants to pull off a trade, that makes sense. Also holding 73rd overall pick, Detroit has another day two pick to work with in that scenario.

For other partners, Arizona holds the No. 4 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and the No. 27 pick in the class, and they may want to move up from the No. 27 overall pick with a litany of day two picks at their disposal to make it happen. Pittsburgh might be the team that could let it happen, too.

Another team that made sense was the Buffalo Bills, and they could be a team that looks to come up for a wide receiver like Brian Thomas Jr. Depending on who’s on the board, it seems like this year’s draft could be a perfect opportunity for the Steelers to trade down for the first time in the draft since selecting Casey Hampton in 2001. The Steelers just have so many needs — wide receiver, center, offensive tackle and slot cornerback. Those four feel like the obvious top four needs and could be classified as positions they have to draft in some respects.