Lions coach Dan Campbell’s press conference Monday, following the Detroit Lions’ win over the Arizona Cardinals, made one thing abundantly clear heading into the bye week. Detroit is willing to replace just about anybody right now. At least, that’s how it feels.

Campbell kept coming back to players who are hurting the Lions in critical moments and how the team needs to adjust around them.

“Who are our best players in critical moments, and who are the players that are killing us in critical moments, and how do we adjust off that a little bit? How do we protect ourselves in some areas?” Campbell said.

He went even further later in the presser:

“Okay, we need to use this guy a little bit more. This is somebody we can really count on. And hey, this guy is really good until you get in critical moments. And then we get in critical moments and this guy’s killing us. Well, we need to keep him out of critical moments.”

Campbell also wants answers on the scheme side:

“I need to know schematically what we can improve on. What are some things that defenses or offenses are catching up to us on, or feel like they’ve got a tendency on us that we need to adjust?”

After that presser, plenty of Lions fans asked me who Campbell is talking about. So I went back to our M.O.O.N. Grades. If you’re not familiar, we’ve been doing them for the last three games. M.O.O.N. stands for Measure of On-Field Net Impact, and the goal was simple. Find out who is racking up negative points based on impact.

Here are the guys I think Campbell has in mind, along with who could replace them.

Chuck Clark

Start with Lions safety Chuck Clark. You could really see it against the Cardinals, where he posted a 14.5 M.O.O.N. Grade out of 50. That’s rough. Clark allowed five receptions, an explosive play, and two missed tackles, and missed tackles have been an issue for him all year.

I don’t think Clark is a bad player. I saw one comment on X saying he should be cut, and I don’t agree with that. Oddly enough, he’s the highest-graded player in Detroit’s secondary according to Pro Football Focus. You’re just not feeling that impact on the field.

He’s also one of the older safeties in one of the oldest secondaries in the league. Clark was a starter for a long time in Baltimore and started games for the Steelers, but a rotational role fits him better now.

We all know the answer here. Brian Branch, assuming he’s back against Green Bay like the Lions hope, is going to replace him.

Christian Izien

Christian Izien is next. He has allowed 12 receptions on 12 targets for 90 yards and a touchdown. That’s a catch every single time teams throw his way. Still, it’s only 7.5 yards per reception, and he’s missed three tackles. That’s why I’d call him a potential matchup liability rather than a disaster.

I’d move Izien to the nickel, where he works better, and put Keith Abney at safety. Abney played so well there against the Cardinals, and Campbell has already said it’s worth continuing to grow with him at that spot.

Branch and Abney as your starting safeties against Green Bay. That’s what I would do.

Roger McCreary

Cornerback Roger McCreary is a tougher one. Arizona attacked him 16 times, and he allowed eight receptions. That’s more than you’d like, but I thought he handled it well. You can understand why the Cardinals kept going his way.

Overall, McCreary has been targeted 32 times and allowed 20 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns. That works out to 14.1 yards per reception. He’s also missed four tackles, and his 17.4% missed tackle rate is the worst on Detroit’s defense.

The Lions clearly see something in him, and he might be better in the slot. As an outside starter, though, teams know he’s the weak point.

The easy replacement is Ennis Rakestraw, but Rakestraw has been up and down too. He was good against the Jets, not so much against Carolina, and fine against Arizona.

Let’s be honest about what Lions fans want. The bye week is the time to trade for a starting cornerback, and that guy should replace McCreary. Zyon McCollum, Kristian Fulton, and Riq Woolen are a few of the names we’ve discussed. If a trade doesn’t happen, McCreary and Rakestraw should split reps.

Rock Ya-Sin

Then there’s Rock Ya-Sin. His 42.4 PFF grade and 40.8 coverage grade tell the story. Ya-Sin has allowed 13 receptions on 20 targets for 114 yards and a touchdown, a 65% completion rate, with four penalties on top of that.

He looked so good in 2025, so it’s wild that he hasn’t been that guy in 2026.

He’s injured right now, but the Lions never put him on IR. That at least leaves open the possibility that he could be back against Green Bay.

In a perfect world, the trade target replaces McCreary and Rakestraw takes over Ya-Sin’s backup outside role.

Derrick Barnes

Linebacker Derrick Barnes is my wild card. He’s been impressive with a 74.6 coverage grade, but his 45.5 run defense grade shows he’s getting caught in run situations.

I wouldn’t replace him. Instead, I’d put Barnes in better spots and get Malcolm Rodriguez more involved against the run. Rodriguez has an 83.3 run defense grade.

This feels more like a usage adjustment than a benching.

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