The Detroit Lions traded up from No. 29 to No. 24 in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft to land Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold. Lions GM Brad Holmes sent No. 29 plus a third-round pick, No. 73 overall, to the Dallas Cowboys to acquire No. 24 and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
At the time, many pundits questioned if the Lions overpaid in the trade. On the Rich Hill trade value chart, Detroit paid the equivalent of an extra fourth-round pick to Dallas to move up. That’s not an insignificant amount of draft capital to sacrifice.
It turns out, the Lions were not the only team looking to move up to that No. 24 spot with the Cowboys. The Arizona Cardinals also made an offer to Dallas for the same pick. In fact, the Cardinals’ behind-the-scenes draft documentary ‘Cardinals Flight Plan’ shows exactly what Arizona offered for the same pick.
Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort offered the Cowboys No. 27 and No. 104 overall for No. 24, but he also wanted a fifth-round pick back in return from Dallas. Based on the same trade chart, that deal would have been a net negative for Dallas in value.
Interestingly, Ossenfort believes the Green Bay Packers are the team most interested in trading to No. 24, with their desire to land Arizona OL Jordan Morgan. The Packers did land Morgan after the Lions swooped in and snagged the trade to land Arnold.
The segment involving the Lions-Cowboys deal in the draft begins around the 4:45 mark in the video below:
The Cardinals wound up getting the guy they wanted, Missouri DL Darius Robinson, at No. 27 after losing out on the potential trade with Dallas.
