Detroit Lions 7-round 2021 NFL mock draft: Kenny Golladay tag and trade

The Detroit Lions hired Brad Holmes to be their new general manager earlier this offseason, giving him a five-year deal. About a week later, the Lions hired Dan Campbell to be their new head coach, locking him down for the next six years. Under the direction of Holmes and Campbell, the Detroit Lions appear to be in the beginning stages of a long rebuilding process and their long-term contracts suggest that they will get time to build slowly if they wish.

Trading Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams signaled the beginning of this rebuild and the Lions will likely have many difficult decisions like this to be made in the near future. The most important among them will be what to do with star wide receiver Kenny Golladay.

Golladay will hit the open market as a free agent this offseason and while the Lions would undoubtedly love to have him back, it is difficult to see Golladay being excited about their current situation. The Detroit Lions do have the franchise tag at their disposal and we would be wise to use it in this situation.

Placing the franchise tag on Golladay feels like a no-brainer for Detroit, as letting him walk simply for a compensatory pick next year would be a waste of resources. That being said, simply tagging him for one year and hoping for the best does not seem like the best plan of attack either. With this in mind, the Detroit Lions would be wise to look into tag and trade scenarios with Golladay this offseason and that is exactly what they do in this 2021 NFL mock draft.

To kick off this seven-round 2021 NFL mock draft, the Lions place the franchise tag on Golladay and then trade him to the Washington Football Team for their 2021 second-round pick (51st overall).

This trade would give the Lions a higher pick than any possible compensatory selection and give them the pick a year early. Washington making an aggressive move for Golladay to pair with Terry McLaurin gives them one of the best young duos at the wide receiver position in the entire NFL as they look to become serious competitors in the near future.

The Lions would obviously love to bring Golladay back into the mix, but that does seem relatively unlikely at this point. Moving him for a pick like this would make sense for Detroit as they look to jump-start their rebuild situation.

How will the Detroit Lions attack the 2021 NFL Draft with their increased capital? Find out as we make predictions through all seven rounds of this 2021 NFL mock draft.

Note: This 2021 NFL mock draft was completed using The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Machine.