Indianapolis — Among the positions the Detroit Lions struggled to find steady production last season, nickel back flew a bit under the radar.
The Lions started the year with veteran and former first-round pick Mike Hughes in the role, but he struggled and was part of the team’s post-bye week lineup shuffle, moving to the outside, where he admittedly played much better. The Lions also briefly tried last year’s starter, second-year man AJ Parker, but quickly abandoned that idea after a couple of weeks.
Ultimately, the Lions settled on the secondary’s Swiss army knife Will Harris, who didn’t light the world on fire, but at least got things calmed down during the stretch.
Looking ahead, the hole in the lineup lingers. Hughes and Harris are both scheduled to be free agents, and Parker remains a question mark, as does last year’s seventh-round pick Chase Lucas, who saw fewer than 10 defensive snaps as a rookie. And while it’s possible Harris is re-signed with the nickel role in mind, or the Lions want to give Lucas a longer look, it’s also clear there’s an opportunity to stabilize the increasingly important spot in the pass-happy NFL by committing offseason resources to a solution.
Answering a question about the evolution of the league, particularly with players coming out of college with increasing amounts of experience playing multiple positions, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn confessed an affinity for safeties who can handle nickel responsibilities.
“I like a safety that has an opportunity to play nickel, because those guys are bigger-body guys, but now those guys are able to cover, because this is a space game,” Glenn said. “So, if you can get a bigger-body guy to play nickel and (be) a run fit, man, you really got something now.”
In some ways, that describes Harris, who entered the league as a safety before moving to corner. But, it also describes some of the prospects who are entering the league, including one of the top defensive backs in this class, Texas A&M’s Antonio Johnson.
At 6-foot-2, 198 pounds, Johnson doesn’t look much different than a slimmed-down, modern linebacker prospect. And he plays like one too, equally likely to run through ball carriers than be content to wrap them up. But, even though he’s listed as a safety, the truth is Johnson defended the slot for the Aggies more than any other role in that defense, logging nearly 900 nickel snaps the past two seasons.
“My team needed me in a nickel spot,” Johnson said. “So, having a big nickel close to the line of scrimmage, who can also help in the pass game is another big body close to the line of scrimmage to help in the run front. But, also you have a good defensive player outside to help with pass game as well. It’s an honor and a blessing to put myself in a position like that.”
And the results were also there with 71 tackles and allowing just 140 yards in coverage, despite being targeted 29 times by opposing quarterbacks.
“Johnson has a strong passion for sticking his nose into whatever is going on near the line of scrimmage,” Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote in a scouting report. “He’s constantly flowing downhill to meet the play as close to the line of scrimmage as possible. …he’s capable of staying with pass-catching tight ends or a receiver with average speed. Johnson is positioned to become a good starter whose best ball will be played near the line of scrimmage.”
Johnson, who ran a respectable 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the combine, is projected as a late first-round pick. If interested, the Lions could consider him with the No. 18 pick in the first round. It’s probably a stretch to think he’ll still be on the board when the team is due back on the clock with the No. 49 choice in the second round.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers