The Lions went into the draft wanting to take a running back high. That much has been obvious since the event took place. But it turns out that Kerryon Johnson was not their top target.

Detroit wanted then-San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny with its second-round pick, so much so that it called up the Seahawks and offered to trade for him after they drafted him at No. 27 overall, FOX's Jay Glazer reported on the Thursday Night Football pregame show.

Seattle apparently rebuked the offer, so Detroit wound up trading up to take Johnson with the 11th pick in the second round.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider said after the draft that a team did try to trade for Penny after they made the pick. He didn't specify who that team was at the time, but Glazer reported that it was Detroit.

The report makes sense on a number of levels. The Lions admitted they had a target running back in the second round, and they sold Johnson as such, which is what teams do with the picks they actually wind up making. They moved up to get him after the run on running backs started with Penny and continued with Sony Michel (31), Nick Chubb (35) and Ronald Jones (38).

Detroit later drafted Penny's lead blocker, fullback Nick Bawden, in the seventh round. Behind Bawden, Penny led all of college football last season with 2,248 rushing yards.

Penny was a strong fit in a deeper backfield, particularly alongside Theo Riddick, who would take the third-down role. Penny is a gifted runner but has had to wait his turn to get on the field in Seattle due to how raw he is as a pass protector. He came into Thursday night's game with 254 yards on 4.7 yards per carry and then ripped off a 30-yard run against the Packers.

The Lions might have made out better anyway by landing Johnson several picks later. He has two 100-yard games in his first nine with the team and ranks second in the league among high-volume running backs with 5.4 yards per carry. He has 554 yards and two touchdowns so far this season, and he's further along than Penny as a receiver as well.

It's incredibly early in both of their careers, though, and they were favorites of the Lions to become the running back they took after first-round guard Frank Ragnow.