Trading one player could lead to a dominant pass rush for the Detroit Lions

AtoZ Sports

Mike Payton speculates how a Sam LaPorta trade could get the Detroit Lions into the top five to draft Abdul Carter in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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00:00There is always a nuclear option and if the Lions were to go with that nuclear option to get up to

00:07the top five in the NFL draft they're going to have to get rid of somebody and here's who we

00:12think it could be. I'm Mike Payne with A to Z Sports to Trade. Today we're going to talk about

00:18why there is a nuclear option for the Lions to try to trade up to the top five to get one of

00:23the best edge rushers in the class and why they would have to trade a player away to get that

00:29and that player would probably be Sam Laporta. Now look calm down I know you might be freaking out

00:35just by the very thought of this being a possibility but it could be and you really have to look at it

00:42in a few different ways. The first one is this gives you the chance to get that edge rusher that

00:48premier guy that elite guy across the way from Aiden Hutchinson and just really stabilize that

00:56defensive line and just be one of the best defenses in the league. Imagine if you could

01:00have Abdul Carter on the opposite side of Aiden Hutchinson that's a possibility it's a real life

01:05thing that could happen but you're going to have to give somebody up to get that and Laporta would

01:10be really the only guy that makes sense. Any team that's going to make this type of trade with the

01:14Lions they're going to want a good player. They're not going to want you know the third linebacker the

01:20third cornerback. As good as you think Hendon Hooker is no team's going to trade you a top five pick for

01:26him because he's just not that. He's just not that guy. The Lions are going to have to trade somebody

01:31good and it's just like you know when the Titans traded up with the Eagles they sent AJ Brown over

01:37there. Tyreek Hill recently got traded for a first round pick. Aaron Rodgers got traded for a first round

01:43pick. These are some of the guys that are getting traded for these very high picks. So that's why you look at

01:50Sam Laporta. The reason I bring him in is because when you look at some of the guys like Aiden Hutchinson,

01:56Kirby Joseph, Jamison Williams, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell, Jameer Gibbs, some of these guys that

02:01have to get extensions soon you are going to have to make Aiden Hutchinson the highest paid edge rusher.

02:06You're going to have to make Kirby Joseph the highest paid safety. You're going to have to make

02:10Jameer Gibbs probably the highest paid running back. You're going to have to make Jamison Williams not the

02:16highest paid receiver but a pretty well paid receiver. You're going to have to make

02:19Brian Branch one of the highest paid safeties if you know he's probably number two right after Kirby

02:25Joseph. You have to make all these guys not just well paid not high paid guys but like the highest

02:31paid guys. These are some of the best players at their market and when it comes time for them to get

02:36contracts they're going to get paid and Sam Laporta is not going to be any different. He's going to wind

02:41up being the highest paid tight end in the game. Now when you think about all the things that you can

02:46sacrifice to try to make all those other guys get paid to have that strong defense to have all these

02:53great things that you want you start really thinking about you know do what we really need

02:59to have the highest paid tight end in the league. You look at Trey McBride's contract it was it was

03:04gigantic. It's it's big. Laporta is going to get more than that. What is the one player that you would

03:10be willing to sacrifice? And now look I don't want Sam Laporta to go. I'm right there with you. I would love if

03:15the Lions were able to pay all these guys and keep everyone and everybody's happy and we all

03:21you know just sleep well at night and don't even think about it but one of these guys is going to

03:28have to go. And you find yourself between Jack Campbell and Sam Laporta every time I get to this

03:36conversation in my head it's Sam Laporta or Jack Campbell and I look at Campbell and I think how good

03:41can he get and can he be the green dot of this defense can he be a very important linebacker very

03:47important part of this defense versus can the Lions probably find another tight end and I feel like

03:54I feel like it's the latter and I maybe I'm crazy for that but again we thought it was crazy when

03:59they traded TJ Hawkinson but it was the same similar situation they they didn't want to have to pay him

04:06what he actually wound up getting paid which was a lot. You have to make the decision at some point

04:10do you want to be a good team that pays everybody that everybody loves or do you want to be a great

04:17team that goes out and gets the players that they need at you know at the sacrifice that you lose

04:26somebody that you love and and that's kind of the sucky part of this whole business and again I don't

04:30want Laporta to go anywhere but this is a this is something that makes sense if the Lions could trade up

04:36to the top five pick and it costs them Sam Laporta they get Abdul Carter and they have two unbelievable

04:42edge rushers it's hard not to pay that price it really isn't let me know what you guys think in

04:49the comments I'd love to hear it maybe I'm crazy but this is the nuclear option the last thing you

04:55want to do but it is there it's break glass in case of Sam Laporta I guess you could call it let me

05:02know what you guys think we'll see you next time

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