In a Friday interview for the team website with Tori Petry, Lions general manager Bob Quinn said trading away the pick was a proposition he would entertain, though no offers have presented themselves.
"Open to any trades," Quinn said. "Those are conversations that generally the higher you are in the draft, the sooner the conversations begin. I have not had any trade conversations with anybody, as of yet. Those usually tend to start in the combine, in the hallway we kinda roll through. We'll see how that goes."
The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis runs from Sunday through Monday, March 2.
"Busy time of year for our staff," Quinn said.
A trade certainly isn't out of the question. It's even being predicted by NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter, who believes the Lions will swap with the Dolphins, the former moving down to select cornerback Jeff Okudah out of Ohio State. Cornerback is a huge need for the Lions, especially if things with Darius Slay go awry. NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah also sees Detroit taking Okudah even if it stays at No. 3.
Who or where the Lions select is still to be determined, Quinn said, as he stressed an open-minded outlook ahead of the combine.
"We're not ruling out anything right now. I think we're still in the evaluation mode," said Quinn, whose staff coached at the Senior Bowl. "I think we're going to the combine with an open mind, talk to a lot of prospects we haven't talked to. All the underclassmen are brand new to us. Obviously, there are a lot of them this year that are going to be at the combine. It's really going to be our first exposure to them in an interview setting, so a lot of things could change."
Following a 3-12-1 season of disappointment, it's of the utmost that Quinn and Co. hit in the draft.
"Extremely important," Quinn said. "As rookies, you want to get guys who can contribute early and often. ... This year, with the picks that we have, hopefully we get a couple of guys who can come in right away and help our team."
