Did Giants GM Joe Schoen save Brad Holmes from himself in draft?

Brad Holmes and the Lions wanted Derrick Moore entering Day 2 of the draft, and made sure they got him. They sent a fourth-rounder (No. 128) to the Jets to move up six spots and take the edge rusher from Michigan No. 44 overall.

It appears that the Lions tried to move up even earlier in a deal with the Giants -- and that Giants GM Joe Schoen did the Lions a favor by turning them down.

In a behind-the-scenes draft video released by the Giants, Schoen says they were looking to acquire more draft capital heading into Day 2 and that "we had a few options to move back into the second round and acquire some more picks" if their top target, Tennessee CB Colton Hood, wasn't on the board at No. 37.

At one point, the video shows Schoen deliberating with Giants head coach John Harbaugh and saying, "Two 4ths and a 5th? That’s pretty good. But you’re going back further." Later, he turns around to others in the Giants' war room and says, "118, 128, 157?"

Those, of course, were the Lions' next three picks after their second-rounder at No. 50. Assuming No. 50 was part of the package they were offering the Giants to move up to No. 37, it actually wouldn't have been all that lopsided of a swap.

By the traditional Jimmy Johnson trade chart, the Lions would have been giving up 531 points of value and acquiring 530. By the more modern Rich Hill trade chart, they would have been giving up 170 points of value and acquiring 162.

But if Moore was indeed the Lions' target at No. 37, it was for the best that the Giants said no. The Lions got him all the same at No. 44 in a deal with the Jets, and only had to include No. 128 to move up from No. 50.

In that deal, the Lions both gave up and acquired 135 points of value by the Jimmy Johnson chart, and gave up 444 points and acquired 460 by the Rich Hill chart.

There's a chance that the Lions were eyeing someone other than Moore at No. 37. While Holmes said Moore was their top-target at edge rusher entering Day 2, he didn't say that Moore was outright their highest-graded player left.

The non edge-rushers who went between Nos. 37 and 44 were defensive back Treydan Stukes from Arizona, Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston, Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Both Stukes and Rodriguez might have made sense for the Lions at positions of need.

It worked out for the Lions in the end: they filled a long-term need with a player they love in Moore, and added linebacker Jimmy Rolder (No. 118) and defensive back Keith Abney II (No. 157) with the picks they would have sent to the Giants, the latter of whom could be one of the steals of the draft.