National Football League

Sammy Watkins: Lions 'kinda serious' about trading up for him

Published May. 6, 2014 5:24 p.m. ET

foxsports

Could weeks of rumors possibly come true for the Detroit Lions and their Sammy Watkins-obsessed fans?

Watkins, the standout receiver from Clemson, apparently thinks so.

He told Mike Garafolo, the NFL insider for FOX Sports 1, that the Lions' interest in trading up from their current No. 10 pick overall to get Watkins is "kinda serious."

"Spoke to Sammy Watkins for a @FOXSports1 sitdown a little while ago. Thinks Lions interest is legit. 'It's kinda serious.'" Garafolo tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

Spoke to Sammy Watkins for an @FOXSports1 sitdown a little while ago. Thinks Lions interest is legit. "It's kinda serious."
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) May 6, 2014

How high would the Lions have to move up to have a chance to take Watkins (No. 4 overall? No. 2?), and what would the cost be?

It would likely mean giving up some valuable draft picks, possibly in both this draft and the future, but Watkins would give the Lions' offense another major weapon to go with Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate and Reggie Bush.

The first round of the NFL Draft takes place Thursday night. Any deal probably wouldn't be officially announced until the team that the Lions make the deal with is on the clock.

If nothing else, these kind of hot rumors only generate more interest in the draft, which is just fine with the NFL.