With the NFL trade deadline approaching, AtoZ Sports ran eight possible Detroit Lions targets through its trade simulator and came up with a range of prices that starts with modest draft picks and climbs toward a major package. The exercise gives Brad Holmes a quick map of what help might cost if Detroit decides to move before the deadline.
The cheapest path the simulator found was Charvarius Ward for a 2027 fifth-round pick, and the timing matters because the Lions had already called the Colts about him. That makes Ward one of the clearest cornerback options on the board, especially with Detroit looking at trade targets through a deadline lens rather than waiting for the offseason.
The simulator also put a 579-point value on Riq Woolen, with a proposed deal that would send a 2027 third-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Eagles. Woolen is 27 years old, which helps explain why the price sits well above the low-end asks attached to other names. JuJu Brents came back as a 2027 seventh-round pick, while Donte Jackson was also priced at a 2027 seventh-round pick despite his status as a 30-year-old career starter and the hamstring issues he has dealt with this season. For a team weighing whether to spend real draft capital now, those numbers frame the market in a way that is easy to compare.
Budda Baker landed at a 2027 sixth-round pick in the simulator, but that is where the math starts to clash with the likely market. Baker is 30, and the writeup said the Cardinals would probably want at least a fourth-round pick, which makes the simulated price look too cheap to be realistic. The same piece noted that the Andre Cisco trade makes a Budda Baker move seem less likely anyway, especially with Detroit set at safety with Brian Branch, Chuck Clark, Keith Abney and Cisco, while Thomas Harper might return at some point and Christian Izien can also play safety.
That left Zack Baun as the most blockbuster-ish option Detroit could chase this year, but the package was cut off after a 2027 first-round pick and a 2027 selection, leaving the full asking price incomplete. Even with that gap, the point of the exercise is clear: some Lions trade ideas are cheap enough to be realistic, while others would push Holmes toward a decision that changes the shape of the roster more than the deadline usually allows.
