One of the best things working in favor of the Detroit Lions is their youth. As one of the youngest teams in the NFL, a late-season push for the playoffs and some quality showings against great teams bode very well for this team and its future.

The Lions have proven that they can keep up with almost any team despite their lack of experience, and the hope is that this will build over the coming years to make a complete roster that can dominate the NFC.

However, the Lions must address their defense before they can start considering taking over the conference.

Detroit's defense was one of the worst in the NFL in most metrics in 2022, and a big reason why was the level of play from members of the secondary. Youth and injuries were working against this unit from the start of the season, and no player shows this better than Jeff Okudah.

Okudah was brought to Detroit by way of the third-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and was meant to be one of the culture changers for a losing franchise. That player has not shown up yet.

Rookie seasons can be challenging for corners (if you aren't Sauce Gardner), and a major injury in year two is worth noting, but the Lions still need to see a return on their investment by year three in such an expensive player.

Teams draft players with their third picks to become cornerstone players for their franchises. Guys that play pivotal positions like corner, edge, tackle, quarterback, and wide receiver have even greater expectations attached.

The Lions can't wait forever for Jeff Okudah to take the next steps.

Okudah's 2022 season was slightly better than his rookie season in 2020, but the margins are thin. The third-year corner was able to bring his allowed completion% down from 77.4 in 2020 to 59.7 in 2022 while also bringing his pass rating allowed down from 118.0 to 87.6, but overall success has still not reached acceptable levels for a full-time starter on a playoff team.

These are steps in the right direction in key areas, but Okudah still needs to improve dearly in ball production through the sample size of his career. If Okudah was taking half of the field away, it would track that he doesn't see targets to create passes defended and interceptions, but quarterbacks are still targeting his side of the field plenty to create chances for the defense.

There is still upside in Okudah's game based on traits and what we saw in his college tape, but the Lions are playoff contenders now. Waiting for Okudah to take even more steps just to become a middle-tier corner becomes difficult with success attainable in the short term for the team.

Detroit needs consistency in the secondary. If Jeff Okudah can't prove that he can bring that consistency and high-level play soon, the Lions may not have much choice in moving forward with someone else.

Featured image via Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK