Pros and Cons of Lions Trading for EDGE Danielle Hunter
With a week to go until the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline, it's time for Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes to make a splash.
In case you missed it, the Lions are coming off an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
In the Week 7 contest, Aaron Glenn's defense was exposed at every single level. It failed to stop the run, failed to stop the pass and failed to get a sufficient amount of pressure against Jackson.
Ultimately, Detroit was thrashed by Baltimore, allowing a season-high 38 points and 503 yards. Additionally, it permitted 357 of those yards, along with three touchdowns, to Jackson through the air.
Simply, it was a performance to forget from Glenn's unit.
And now, with the deadline rapidly approaching, Holmes & Co. should be looking to provide the Lions with defensive help.
If I were Detroit's third-year general manager, I'd make a concerted effort to upgrade the team's inconsistent pass-rushing department. And, I'd specifically target EDGE rusher Danielle Hunter, of the divisional rival Minnesota Vikings.
Before you say that the Lions would never strike a deal within the NFC North division, consider this: Detroit has made two trades with Minnesota just over the last year.
First, it struck a draft-day trade with the Vikings that landed the organization Jameson Williams at No. 12 overall in the 2022 draft. Second, it facilitated a deal at last year's deadline that sent Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson to Minnesota.
So, there is certainly precedent for the two organizations working with one another to put together a trade.
The Vikings, however, might be becoming increasingly resistant to dealing Hunter, a three-time Pro Bowler. The reason why: The Vikings are winners of their last two games, after knocking off Brock Purdy and the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers on Monday. And because of such, they might now be feeling that they have a chance to make a late-season run, plus the ability to catapult Detroit for first place in the NFC North.
If the Vikings still decide to deal Hunter, though, he'd make a lot of sense for the Lions.
Through seven games this season, he's already recorded 12 tackles for loss and nine sacks, including at least one sack in each of the last three weeks. He'd be a perfect complement to fellow EDGE Aidan Hutchinson on the opposite side of the defensive line, and the two of them would form one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL.
There'd be two downfalls to acquiring Hunter, though. First, the soon-to-be 29-year-old – he turns 29 on October 29 – is in the final year of a five-year, $72 million extension he inked with the Vikings before the 2018 season. Second, the Lions will likely have to part with both an early-round draft pick and a player that could potentially be a core member of their future --i.e. EDGE James Houston – in order to land the impact pass-rusher.
To me, the pros of trading for Hunter still outweigh the cons. And, it's why if I were Holmes, I'd be making a call to Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah regarding the EDGE defender.
