The Lions Traded Up for a Receiver Nobody Saw Coming
The Detroit Lions surprised everyone when they traded up from 181 to 168, giving away one of their sixth-round picks to grab Kentucky wide receiver Kendrick Law. A position that nobody really expected they would take.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking. Another small receiver? Really?
What We’re Getting With Law
This might be the Lions’ new Kalif Raymond. Or maybe their future Kalif Raymond, assuming Greg Dortch doesn’t stick around.
You see it in the film. At Kentucky, he showed his 4.45 speed on a lot of the same plays you’re used to seeing from Raymond all these years. A lot of screen plays and gadget-type stuff.
He brings plenty to the table in terms of special teams. He had 537 gunner snaps in college. He had 174 kick return stats. His return ability really showed in 2023 when he was with Alabama, where he had 405 return yards. The Lions don’t necessarily have a guy at that spot right now.
The Concerning Parts
Like Jameson Williams in his early years in Detroit, he had trouble tracking the ball in the air. That might be okay since the Lions probably aren’t going to be throwing deep shots his way too often.
While he has the kick return experience, he has basically no punt return experience. That is precisely the spot the Lions really have nobody after losing Raymond. So if he does some punt returns, it’ll be the first time he’s done it.
That’s not exactly comforting for a team that needs reliable hands back there.
What the Scouts Say
Law was a one-year starter at Kentucky, lining up primarily in the slot (77.3 percent of his snaps in 2025). After serving primarily as a gadget guy at Alabama, Law saw his target share and usage expand with the Wildcats in 2025, although he was still predominantly an underneath receiver with a 3.4-yard average depth of target.
According to Dane Brugler from The Beast, “Law is unimpressive on paper because of his college usage and underwhelming production. But the tape and testing have NFL evaluators believing there is more to his game. He is lightning quick in short areas and can destroy the balance of open-field defenders with speed to stretch.”
The scouting report notes he’s dynamic on slants and stick-and-nods, although his routes show more freelancing than nuance and he’s unproven as a downfield target.
So we traded up for a gadget player who can’t run routes and has never returned punts professionally. Is this vintage Lions draft strategy or are we actually onto something here? Drop your take below.
