Toss the mock draft projections in the garbage. Two trades with massive 2021 NFL draft ramifications happened within minutes of one another on Friday afternoon. The outcome of the trades has a direct impact on what the Detroit Lions can do with the No. 7 overall pick, too.
The trades
The Miami Dolphins trade the No. 3 overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 12 overall pick, a 2021 third-round pick and additional first-round picks in both 2022 and 2023.
That’s essentially the same return compensation the Lions received for trading Matthew Stafford to the Rams, with Los Angeles also throwing in Jared Goff and his considerable contract.
Miami wasn’t done, however…
The Dolphins quickly traded away the No. 12 pick and a 2022 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for the No. 6 overall pick.
So now the updated draft order, once the trades are official:
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- New York Jets
- San Francisco 49ers
- Atlanta Falcons
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Miami Dolphins
- Detroit Lions
- Carolina Panthers
- Denver Broncos
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Philadelphia Eagles
The 49ers still have QB Jimmy Garoppolo, but his long-term fate with San Francisco is directly in question now. If the Lions are looking to move up, the Jets at No. 2 make the most sense. And we now have the blueprint for the type of compensation it will take to get there, if that’s what GM Brad Holmes wants to do.
The second trade offers a glimpse into what Holmes and the Lions could get if they trade back from No. 7. While they lost a potential trade partner, the framework for what picks Detroit could expect is now clearer.