The Lions were on the phone with a final offer to trade up when the Falcons were on the clock with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
In video from inside their draft room that the Falcons posted today, Atlanta General Manager Terry Fontenot takes a call from the Lions while the Falcons are on the clock. Fontenot and the caller (presumably Lions General Manager Brad Holmes) have a short conversation in which Fontenot says that unless he’s calling with a much better deal than he had offered in their previous discussions, the Falcons are going to stay put and take Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.
“Yeah, we’re gonna pick. It’s the same as what we talked about? OK, yeah, we’re picking,” Fontenot said on the call.
The Lions’ target in the trade up isn’t clear, but it may have been Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell, whom the Lions were able to select at No. 7 anyway. So the Lions got lucky that the Falcons said no.