KANSAS CITY — The Detroit Lions, for the second straight year, have made a trade in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
The Lions traded out of the No. 6 pick Thursday, swapping first-round choices with the Arizona Cardinals. In exchange, the Lions received the 12th overall pick, No. 34 early in the second round and Pick No. 168 in the fifth round. The Lions also included Pick No. 81 in the third round in the deal.
The Lions stunned by picking Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick. Bijan Robinson, the draft's top back, went to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 overall.
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According to the popular draft value chart, the Lions received 1,783 points with the three picks they acquired from Arizona, while the traded away picks valued at 1,785 points.
Last year, the Lions sent three picks to the Minnesota Vikings to move up and take wide receiver Jameson Williams with the 12th overall pick. The Lions gave up Picks 32, 34 and 66 in the deal, and also received a second-round pick.
Williams appeared in only six games as a rookie because of a college knee injury and finished with one catch and one carry on the season. He was suspended last week for six games violating the NFL's policy on gambling.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes has been an active draft-day trader in his two drafts as Lions GM. Along with the Williams trade, he acquired sixth- and seventh-round choices from the Philadelphia Eagles last season in exchange for the sixth-round pick, and in 2021 he dealt a future fourth-round choice plus a fifth-rounder that year to the Cleveland Browns to move up and draft Derrick Barnes. Holmes also acquired a seventh-round pick in the Browns deal.
The Lions opened this year's draft with nine choices, including five of the first 81 picks. They had extra selections in Rounds, 1, 2, 5 and 6 from trades with the Los Angeles Rams (for Matthew Stafford), Vikings (for T.J. Hockenson), Atlanta Falcons (for Jeff Okudah) and Denver Broncos (as part of the Trinity Benson trade).
Contact Dave Birkett atdbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@davebirkett.
