After releasing Terrion Arnold earlier this week, the Detroit Lions need more security at cornerback. They will most likely turn to George Paton and the Denver Broncos front office to see what they have to offer at the position. A couple of Broncos podcast hosts believe the Lions could propose a trade in exchange for one of Denver’s cornerbacks. David Marshall, the host of David Talks Broncos and David Talks Buffs, thinks the Lions could offer tight end Sam LaPorta for Jahdae Barron, Riley Moss, or even Kris Abrams-Draine. Trace Moustakas, the host of Broncos Breakdown by ChatSports, also thinks Abrams-Draine could be sent to Detroit for a fifth-round pick. Now it’s time to analyze how each trade scenario can benefit both teams.
Broncos Could Trade Cornerbacks to Lions
LaPorta Can Get Back on Track If Sent to Denver
LaPorta has played well in his time with the Lions and can play well alongside quarterback Bo Nix. However, the tight end hasn’t been as productive most recently due to Detroit’s other wide receivers, coaching changes, and an injury.
“I think that [LaPorta] would be just a perfect fit here in this offense with Bo Nix as that receiving tight end,” Marshall said. “His production has kind of dropped a bit, and with the emergence of some of the other wide receivers, Amon-Ra St. Brown and now like Jameson Williams, change in an offensive coordinator, you know, Ben Johnson wasn’t there this past year, but that also had to do with him missing half the season.”
Marshall also pointed out that LaPorta was just as effective as he normally is, but it wasn’t as noticeable because of his injury. At the same time, there’s a possibility the Lions won’t give him an extension given that he’s in his contract year.
“Maybe now that I’m looking at it, he was just as productive as he would’ve been if he had played the full 16, 17 games,” Marshall said. “He is in his contract year, and the Lions might not look to extend him.”
The Broncos Have a Ton to Offer the Lions at Cornerback
Denver is one of the teams in the NFL with a lot of depth at cornerback, and Marshall mentioned three different trades he could see happening between the two teams, with the first scenario to fill the Lions’ void at cornerback being the Broncos trading Barron for LaPorta.
“When you look at the Broncos, I mean, guys, we’ve got so many good corners,” Marshall said. “A player-for-player trade that I think would be really great would be Jahdae Barron for Sam LaPorta; the Lions get a cost-controlled corner that they could potentially start over there, and the Broncos get definitely one of the best up-and-coming young tight ends in the NFL.”
The second trade option Marshall mentioned is Denver sending Moss to Detroit in exchange for his former teammate at Iowa, LaPorta, which could work well since both players are in contract years and could help both teams improve in the positions where they currently have a lot of uncertainty.
“Trade number two, Riley Moss for Sam LaPorta, Detroit could look to extend him, and they could invest a little bit more on their defense,” Marshall said. “The Broncos get Sam LaPorta, who they can sign to an extension, and get Bo Nix some more help that he needs.”
The final trade scenario Marshall listed is Denver trading Abrams-Draine to Detroit for a third- or fourth-round pick. However, Marshall doesn’t think it should be the Broncos’ first option, as Abrams-Draine is still in the early stages of his rookie contract.
“They could also look to just trade away Kris Abrams-Draine and maybe that would net you another third or fourth round pick,” Marshall said. “But we still have him under a rookie-scale deal, I believe, through next season. If I’m the Broncos, I want to have as many proven cost-controlled young assets on the team as possible.”
Trading Abrams-Draine May Be the Best Scenario
Moustakas has somewhat of a different take on which cornerback Denver will most likely offer Detroit. In fact, he thinks the Lions could give the Broncos a call about Abrams-Draine, a player who could meet Detroit’s criteria at cornerback now that the team no longer has Arnold.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they were making calls on players like Kris Abrams-Draine,” Moustakas said. “I could very easily see them wanting a long corner to fill in for Terrion Arnold. He’s got length, he’s got strength, and he is a zone corner through and through.”
Another difference from Moustakas’ trade scenario is how he thinks the Lions would potentially send the Broncos a fifth-round pick for Abrams-Draine, which may be due to where he currently is on the depth chart.
“If there was a trade offer, this is probably what the Lions would offer; they’d get Kris Abrams-Draine, and we’d get a fifth-round pick,” Moustakas said. “You’re probably not going to get much more than that for a backup corner.”
Even though Marshall thinks it’s possible the Lions could trade LaPorta for Moss, Moustakas disagrees mainly because of what LaPorta has accomplished during his tenure with the Lions. He thinks Denver would have to offer more than just Moss for LaPorta.
“I love you, David, but there’s no shot in hell this happens, no way, mostly because Sam LaPorta, although coming off a big injury, had an unbelievable start to his career in Detroit,” Moustakas said. “I mean last season alone before the injury happened [he] didn’t drop a single ball, [had] a 90.2% snap share and an 18.6 target share percentage; they don’t want to give him up for just one player.”
A reason why the Lions could trade for Abrams-Draine instead of Moss is due to how many receiving yards Moss allowed last season. Moss allowed the third most receiving yards in 2025, while one of the players also included in this list was on Detroit’s roster last season.
“[Moss] was targeted 118 times and allowed 859 yards,” Moustakas said. “He was number three last year in receiving yards allowed, and look who was right above him, another Lions corner, Amik Robertson, so clearly the Lions have a problem. I’m just saying it might be a phone call here within the next couple of days or weeks from Brad Holmes, the GM of the Detroit Lions, to the Denver Broncos and George Paton.”
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