NFL Trade Rumors 2014: Detroit Lions Like Sammy Watkins As San Francisco 49ers Trading Up In Draft With St. Louis Rams?

Apr 10, 2014 09:31 AM EDT
Clemson Tigers wide receiver Sammy Watkins
Clemson Tigers wide receiver Sammy Watkins participates in a pass catching drill during the 2014 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. "

The NFL draft is coming in one month and as it gets closer more rumors will start to fly and the latest is the Detroit Lions looking to trade up for Sammy Watkins, which is something the San Francisco 49ers are also reportedly interested in doing and the St. Louis Rams could be the potential option with the number two pick in the draft.

The Lions, according to ESPN.com, are in love with Watkins and his ability and there is a good chance they will look to trade up for the speedy receiver from Clemson. The report says that since the Lions know that Watkins likely will not be there when they pick at number 10, they may discuss moving up to the number two pick with the Rams. St. Louis got that pick in the Robert Griffin deal and now they may look to trade out of it since they do not have as many needs as other teams and that also could enable them to get a number of picks in return.

The Houston Texans are likely not taking Watkins, as they are deciding between a quarterback of the main group in Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater, or a pick of Jadeveon Clowney and that means Watkins could be in the mix at number two. There is not a chance he is making it out of the top 10 with his speed and production and that is one reason why teams are looking to trade up. Watkins spoke about the interest and said he would love to be an offense with Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson and coming into the draft he is considered to be the number one wide receiver option in what many say is a deep class and Mel Kiper projected him going to the Buccaneers with the seventh overall pick.

Michael Rothstein from ESPN.com writes that since the draft is deep at wide receiver this year and the team already signed Golden Tate as a free agent, the team should go after defense instead. This draft is considered deep in a number of areas and the top part of the draft has plenty of talent and while Watkins is a great prospect, Rothstein writes that the defense has a number of needs after going 7-9 and that should be the focus. Also, don't rule out the Rams taking Watkins with the second pick as well, despite the fact that they have Tavon Austin, as they are in a great situation after making the Redskins trade.

The San Francisco 49ers have long been considered a team that could trade up and they are also interested in picking Mike Evans with their first round pick if they can move up with a deal. The team likes both Watkins and Evans and they could make a deal since they have double digit picks again after making a trade last season as well.

Get the Most Popular Stories in a Weekly Newsletter
© 2015 Sportsworldreport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

  • Get Connected
  • Share
  • Like Us on Facebook
  • @sportswr
  • Recommend on Google
Real Time Analytics