Lions film study: Ennis Rakestraw earned more playing time Sunday, and the tape shows exactly why
Rakestraw allowed just one catch on four targets in his 2026 debut, and a closer look at the tape shows why Dan Campbell says the former second-round pick has earned more opportunities outside. Campbell said Monday that Rakestraw “earned the right” to get more work at outside corner after showing up against New York.
The Detroit Lions gave former second-round pick Ennis Rakestraw a shot to play on Sunday against the New York Jets, and he showed up enough for Dan Campbell to proclaim on Monday that he was going to get more opportunity.
In this week’s Lions Film Study, we’re going to take a look at how Rakestraw did and how impressive he was.
Clip 1: Taking Wilson off the board
This play happens quickly, but you can see Rakestraw at the bottom of the screen taking Geno Smith’s first read away. He gets in a good enough position to force Smith into the checkdown. Ultimately, the Jets still make something out of this, but it wasn’t because of Rakestraw.
Clip 2: Taking Wilson off the board again
Again, Wilson is the first read here at the top of your screen, and you can see it in Smith’s head. But Rakestraw bumps him off his route, and that was all it took for Smith to look to the middle of the field, see nothing, and then hit Isaiah Williams on the sideline. Again, the Jets found a way to make a play, but it wasn’t on Rakestraw.
Clip 3: Not sure what more he could have done
Ok, Rakestraw is super sticky here and even jams Wilson at the line, but Wilson still makes the catch under duress. The good news is that Rakestraw already has him wrapped up before he hits the ground. This was the only catch Rakestraw allowed on Sunday and it was for six yards.
Clip 4: Sticky
Yes, that is Now That We Found Love by Heavy D in the background. I forgot to take the sound off this one. But I kind of just want to keep it there. Anyways, at the bottom of your screen, you can see Rakestraw being super sticky on this 4th-and-6. Smith was not going in his direction. Ultimately, he went towards Reed, and Reed allowed the touchdown and threw in a DPI for good measure.
Clip 5: The PBU
I know this happened before all the other clips, but I wanted to save the best for last. Man, he put some serious elbow grease on that swat, didn’t he? Just a really strong play from Rakestraw that thwarts one of the better receivers in the league from making a play.
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