Many suggested that when the Detroit Lions traded Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick at the NFL trade deadline Travis Fulgham Detroit Lions Jersey , they were essentially giving up on the 2018 season. Tate had been the centerpiece of the Lions offense for years, and sending him away was essentially waiving the white flag for a 3-4 Lions team that had just been dominated by a Seahawks team at home.A report from MMQB’s Albert Breer adds fuel to that fire. According to Breer, when the Eagles traded for Tate, they had competition:While it makes sense that the Lions would believe the New England Patriots would have a worse draft pick by the time the season was over—the Patriots were 6-2 at the time, the Eagles were 4-4—there’s something else going on here.The decision to trade Tate to an NFC potential Wild Card contender over a team in the AFC suggests the Lions didn’t view themselves as serious contenders in 2018. Making the Eagles stronger while obviously making themselves worse makes little sense if Detroit could send Tate to the AFC, where he couldn’t hurt the Lions’ playoff chances. This is a notion the Lions, and head coach Matt Patricia, vehemently denied during the season. Patricia insisted that the move wasn’t a sign of forfeiting, but expressing faith in the players in the locker room.“We have a lot of guys that are really good on this team that can produce and honestly, for me, we have confidence in everybody that’s on this team right now Travis Fulgham Jersey 2019 , that everybody can go out and do their job,” Patricia said the day after the trade.But the Lions’ actions don’t match that philosophy. A week later, the Lions scrambled to add Bruce Ellington, an oft-injured receiver that hadn’t had any of the accolades that Tate had. Ellington hardly produced in his short time with Detroit before succumbing to injury, leaving the Lions to rely on second and third-string receivers the rest of the way. Their offense averaged just 16.9 points per game in the final stretch, as the Lions finished 3-6 post trade.It seems clear the Lions prioritized draft position over playoff odds. It’s also interesting that the Lions chose not to trade with the Patriots, a team that general manager Bob Quinn obviously has a level of comfort working with, having traded with them a handful of times already in his young career. Though perhaps this is a sign of growth from the Lions general manager.Of course, there could be something else at play here, as Lions Wire’s Scott Warheit speculates: If that’s the case, it’s good to have friends in high places. ALLEN PARK Taylor Decker Jersey , Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have been nothing if not persistent in the NFL draft.The Lions picked an offensive lineman in the first round for the fourth time in seven years. Then they took a running back in the second round — the fourth time since 2010 they’ve drafted a player at that position in rounds one or two. They eventually moved on to the defense, but for Detroit, this draft was clearly an effort to improve the running game.“I think it’s supply and demand,” general manager Bob Quinn said Saturday. “Look at the board, I’d say, quite honestly, there was much, much more depth along the offensive line and at running back than there was at pass rush, and the pass rushers came off pretty early, and then there’s a huge drop-off.”Detroit picked center Frank Ragnow of Arkansas , running back Kerryon Johnson of Auburn and safety Tracy Walker of Louisiana-Lafayette on the draft’s first two nights. The Lions entered Saturday with only two picks left Graham Glasgow Jersey , but they traded into the fourth round and took defensive end Da’Shawn Hand of Alabama.Then Detroit added offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby of Oregon in the fifth round and fullback Nick Bawden of San Diego State in the seventh.Crosby faced some questions about his injury history, and he wouldn’t say how many concussions he’s had. Neither did Quinn.“I don’t actually know off the top of my head,” Quinn said. “But he came in, another guy that had the physical at the combine, passed the physical at the combine, came in here for a visit a few weeks ago, met our doctors and he’s cleared.”Some other things to know about Detroit’s draft:KINDRED SPIRITS: The Lions made two trades with New England, moving up eight spots in the second round Friday and then trading into the fourth Saturday. That makes six trades between Detroit and the Patriots since Quinn took over the Lions after the 2015 season.Quinn had served in a variety of roles in player personnel for the Patriots.“It’s really easy to work with people you know, right?” Quinn said Friday night. “You call some teams and it would take like 30 minutes to do a trade because they can’t make a decision. I’m just telling you how it is. Some teams you can call and you can get it done in like 30 seconds.”SEC FOCUS: In his three drafts, Quinn has picked eight players from the Southeastern Conference. That includes five of Detroit’s six picks in the top two rounds in that span.“I know I’m in Big Ten country here. I’m going to tread lightly here. The SEC has a great brand of football,” Quinn said. “I think when you watch SEC football Color Rush Travis Fulgham Jersey , it’s probably the closest thing in terms of scheme to the NFL.”HALF-DOZEN: The Lions had only six picks in the draft this year, their fewest since they took five players in 2011.POSITION SWITCH: Bawden was another example of Detroit’s effort to improve its running game. He actually was a quarterback at San Diego State before switching to fullback. He said he had to gain weight and started cooking his own meals. That led to a question about what he knows how to cook.“I can cook a chicken, like sweet potatoes, veggies, just really basic meals,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to taking cooking lessons, so I can learn how to cook with all the spices, and all the sauces and make everything really good. But I can definitely cook for myself, but I don’t know if someone else I cook for is going to love it because it’s pretty plain.”STILL NEED: The Lions didn’t address their defensive front until the fourth round and didn’t add any linebackers. They have a top cornerback in Darius Slay but may need to upgrade across from him. Detroit used a second-round pick last year on cornerback Teez Tabor, but he made only one start as a rookie.——