The Detroit Lions continued to pad the gap between their NFC North counterparts, as they improved to 6-2 on the season after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 on Monday night. Even with the lead in the division, the Lions had the opportunity to further improve their chances of making it to the Super Bowl. That's because the trade deadline was set for Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 4:00 p.m. ET.
With under an hour left to go until the deadline, the Lions decided to address their offense, specifically to give quarterback Jared Goff more pass-catchers to target downfield.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes announced during a press conference that they have acquired Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick.
Now, let's grade the trade.
NFL Trade Grades: Lions improve WR depth with trade for Donovan Peoples-Jones
The Lions wide receiver corps took a hit just before the trade deadline after veteran Marvin Jones was released by the team as he stepped away for family reasons. Detroit has a star in Amon-Ra St. Brown to lead the way, a potential star in Jameson Williams, and quality options in Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond. Now, the team brings in Peoples-Jones to give the passing attack, Goff, and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to utilize.
Peoples-Jones was Cleveland's No. 3 wide receiver behind Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore with 218 receiving snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Despite that, Peoples-Jones wasn't heavily targeted this season, getting just 17 targets through seven games, catching eight for just 97 yards. That is a far cry from what he did in 2022.
Last season, Peoples-Jones had 573 snaps while running a receiving route (most on the team), hauled in 61 receptions (second-most), 839 yards (second-most), and three touchdowns (second-most) on 95 targets (second-most), all per Pro Football Focus.
The Lions will look to get the most out of Peoples-Jones, who grew up in Detroit and played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, in hopes he can be a reliable option for Goff behind St. Brown.
This trade by the Browns was a bit puzzling, considering the aforementioned production Peoples-Jones had the year prior compared to now. But with the team trading for Elijah Moore from the New York Jets this offseason and drafting Cedric Tillman. Sure, it doesn't help that the team has been without quarterback Deshaun Watson due to a shoulder issue, but Peoples-Jones has largely been ignored.
Yes, he has the third-most snaps while running routes, but he's gotten little-to-no targets downfield, with most going to Cooper (240) and Moore (240).
Peoples-Jones is set to become a free agent after this season, so the Browns decided the best course of action was to get something in return, as they seemingly had no plans on keeping him beyond this season.
A 2025 sixth-round pick is better than nothing, we guess. They just better hope Peoples-Jones doesn't blossom into a legitimate WR2 in Detroit.
