We still don’t definitely know what training camp will look like due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Detroit Lions are expected to arrive in Allen Park next week and MLive is kicking off their annual advance of the camp. Today: secondary. Previously: Runners The | Wide receivers The | Offensive line The | Tight ends The | Quarterbacks The | Defensive line
List locks: CB Jeff Okudah, CB Desmond Trufant, CB Justin Coleman, CB Amani Oruwariye, S Tracy Walker, S Duron Harmon, S Will Harris
To compete: CB Dee Virgin, CB Mike Ford, CB Mike Jackson, CB Tony McRae, CB Darryl Roberts, S Jeremiah Dinson, S Jalen Elliott, S Jayron Kearse, S Miles Killebrew, S CJ Moore, S Bobby Price
Notable outputs: Darius Slay, Tavon Wilson
Decomposition: The Detroit Lions only allowed the most yards in the league. They also picked up the fewest passes. And while there are many reasons for that, including playing behind one of the least effective passes in the league, it can present a solid case for Detroit having the worst pass coverage in professional football last year.
Now they’ve traded their best coverage man Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles just after a season when they traded their best safety Quandre Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks. The situation at the back of the Detroit defense has deteriorated rapidly. And now? Now they are pinning their hopes on a rookie.
Listen, maybe Jeff Okudah is the real deal. Good luck finding an analyst anywhere in the United States who doesn’t think Jeff Okudah can measure up to the third general election. Unanimity of opinion is not often found with cornerback prospects, but this guy was just as good at Ohio State. Okudah allowed five catches for just 47 yards against Trevor Lawrence in his last college game, which is quite excellent, and that could have been his worst game of the year. He never allowed more than 50 yards in one game. While playing in the press man, Detroit’s preferred coverage scheme, he never allowed more than 12 yards in a single catch. That is pure domination.
But the fact is, the cornerback is one of the most difficult positions in the game for a first-year player. All receivers are bigger, faster, and stronger. Quarterbacks are operating on a different planet. The game is completely different on the perimeter at this level, and it takes time for the young cornerbacks to adjust, even the really good ones. Slay is a perfect example of that. He was trash as a rookie and only marginally better in Year 2. Now he’s coming off his third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance.
The good news is that cornerbacks good enough to go in the top five are disproportionately more likely to be really good. Denzel Ward, Jalen Ramsey and Patrick Peterson are the only other cornerbacks who have been so highly selected since 2003, and each turned out well. They were all very good as rookies, too. Ward and Peterson made it to the Pro Bowl, while Ramsey was named to the rookie team and has not missed a Pro Bowl since. That’s a good sign of what kind of player Jeff Okudah is dealing with.
But the bad news is that the challenge that awaits Okudah is even more rigid. The coronavirus pandemic has eliminated all phases of the low season program up to this point. In a normal year, Okudah would already have had a rookie minicamp, organized team activities, and a mandatory minicamp to accommodate what it’s like to defend Matthew Stafford instead of any poor soul who’s playing quarterback for Rutgers these days. or whatever. Okudah also reportedly reported to the rest of the rookies for the start of training camp last week. Instead, he still has to touch a practice field at Allen Park. It could be until mid-August until he enters a real NFL practice, and even later, a practice with pads. Nor will they have joint practices, or any preseason game.
In other words: The Lions have just dealt their two best players in the league’s worst pass defense, and are now trusting a rookie who will have the shortest training camp in league history to be ready to go. to one of the most difficult positions games. Everyone seems to think that Okudah is going to be a very good player in Detroit, there is no real dispute about that, but how fast he does it remains a lot to be seen.
Of course, Okudah is not alone in the back either; in fact, it has pretty good help in the form of Desmond Trufant. Detroit lured the former Falcons Pro Bowler north with a two-year contract worth $ 21 million. He hasn’t been in Pro Bowl form in a long time, but last year he had four passes, the most in his career, and ranked as the 32nd best cornerback in the league according to ProFootballFocus. No Lions player finished in the top 70. So while Detroit might be a challenge to replace Darius Slay with a single player, both Okudah and Trufant should be better than Rashaan Melvin, last year’s No. 2 spot.
While the change is underway at both outside corner spots, Justin Coleman returns in the slot. What that exactly means remains to be seen. Expectations were high after Coleman signed a four-year, $ 36 million contract to leave Seattle for Detroit last year. That’s more money than any other slot machine corner in the game. The season started well as well, but he suffered a mid-season swoon that really damaged Detroit’s ability to defend the pass. He finished 71st among all cornerbacks in the league according to PFF.
But then again, it wasn’t all his fault. You have to put pressure on the quarterback to defend the pass well, and Detroit didn’t do that. That’s not to apologize to Coleman, it has to be better, too, but that is to say Coleman is unlikely to be much better this year if the Lions can’t find a way to get a finger on the quarterback every now and then. .
In security, things look a little better. Tracy Walker is coming off a promising sophomore season, and some think she could be on the brink of a watershed year. It’s also hard to argue with that logic, especially if the passing race improves in front of her. Walker is a perfect scheme for this defense, athletic as hell, and he knows that a big payday might await him next offseason if he hangs a great 2020 on opposing quarterbacks. My money is in Walker becoming one of Detroit’s best defenders this season.
Will Harris is back with him, though it’s hard to tell what Detroit has there. The Lions believed he was good enough to replace Quandre Diggs without a problem last season, but that was obviously not the case. Diggs continued to play very well in Seattle, while Harris struggled to make a play of any kind in Detroit. He never chose a pass, and he never made any impact plays of any kind until recording a sack in the final.
The good news is that Detroit also traded for Duron Harmon, New England’s quality assurance, which solidifies depth at the post and offers some insurance in the event Harris doesn’t find his way.
List projection: CB Jeff Okudah, CB Desmond Trufant, CB Justin Coleman, CB Amani Oruwariye, CB Dee Virgin, CB Tony McRae, S Tracy Walker, S Duron Harmon, S Will Harris, S CJ Moore, S Miles Killebrew
