The Lions had one of the worst secondaries in the NFL last season, allowing the sixth-most passing yards per game (247.4) in the league.
Detroit made it a focus to revamp the unit this offseason, trading for CB Carlton Davis III, signing cornerbacks Amik Robertson and Emmanuel Moseley in free agency and selecting cornerbacks Terrion Arnold (first-round pick) and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (second-round pick) in the 2024 NFL Draft.
However, the numerous additions have left the team with the difficult decision of choosing who will start in the coming months. Head coach Dan Campbell still has no idea who that will be.
“The talent level, the competitiveness, the versatility, honestly, we have no idea who our starting lineup is gonna be right now, and it’s exciting,” Campbell said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “There’s no telling who’s gonna be our outside corners, who’s gonna be our nickel, who’s gonna be our safeties. This thing is wide open across the board.”
Davis is the likely early favorite to be one of the Lions’ starting outside corners. The 27-year-old has 324 tackles, three forced fumbles, nine interceptions and 73 passes defensed since entering the NFL as a second-round pick in 2018.
Arnold seems to be the next best option to play across Davis after registering 108 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, six interceptions and 20 passes defensed the past two years at Alabama.
Still, Campbell is not making any decisions right now and is excited to let his new-look secondary battle it out this summer.
“It’s a great place to be in. We have so many options right now, so much competitiveness,” Campbell added. “It’s gonna be great to let these guys compete and go after it and see who goes, who’s gonna be the most reliable guys for us, who’s gonna be the most dependable. It’s exciting.”
Detroit surprised a lot of teams last season, making it to the NFC Championship Game where it fell just three points short against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Lions should be able to pick up right where they left off with an improved secondary, but this year, they won’t be catching anybody off guard.