They say that you can’t have it all in life, and apparently, the Detroit Lions missed out on their first choice in the recent NFL Draft.

As it turns out, it was a big shocker that they didn’t get the pick, too. With the Lions having a No. 6 pick, this player didn’t seem like someone any of the teams ahead of the Detroit Lions were going to take. But, they did.

The Lions missing out on their first pick might help make sense of the surprising of the Lions selecting Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick. This was something that surprised most general Lions fans and even some analysists.

Read on for the drama and how this happened. Also, listen to the NFL Special of “The Squad with Anne Erickson” podcast here. I would love to hear YOUR take! Hit me up on Facebook here and Instagram here and let me know!

• A bit defensive

  For their first pick, at No. 12, the Detroit Lions went with Jahmyr Gibbs. This move has drawn some criticism, but general manager Brad Holmes isn’t stepping down.

  “They do bring value, but that doesn’t really move me,” Holmes said regarding mock drafts. “I didn’t really look at, ‘Man, Jahmyr Gibbs, he’s been mocking in the 50s.’ Now that one I did laugh at because if you look at the talent of the player then you look at the totality of the draft, I didn’t think that was remotely close.”

• Who did the Lions really want?

  Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated has shed some light on the whole matter.

  As he says, it all began with Devon Witherspoon going to the Seattle Seahawks with the fifth overall pick, which was a surprise. Breer says the Lions really wanted Witherspoon, but when this surprising move happened, they had to act fast. Even though Witherspoon being taken by Seattle was a shock, the Lions were ready.

• Going with Jahmyr Gibbs

  Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated adds that, “We didn’t think we’d do this at six, Holmes said to Campbell, but who cares? He’s our favorite guy left.” Breer added that then, the Arizona Cardinals “threw them a life raft.” The way that “raft” came together is another interesting story…

• Why and how did the Lions trade down six spots?

  The Lions traded down six spots to the 12th overall pick. Apparently, former Detroit Lions director of college scouting Dave Sears was helpful in that move. He was recently hired by the Cardinals to be their new assistant general manager. Sears’ relationship with Holmes helped make this trade happen.

  “The Cardinals leaned on another relationship, between Lions GM Brad Holmes and their own assistant GM Dave Sears, who (Cardinals GM Monti) Ossenfort hired away from Detroit in February,” Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated says.

  So, if you’re wondering how it came to be that Jahmyr Gibbs is, surprisingly, now a Lion, there you go.

• NFL Special of "The Squad with Anne Erickson"

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