The Detroit Lions Are Turning Defense Into a Full-Blown Survival Battle: Compete or Get Replaced
The Detroit Lions’ defensive makeover under Dan Campbell and Kelvin Sheppard comes down to one simple rule: compete or get replaced, and OTAs are already shaping into one of the most intense roster battles in the NFL.
We’ve got to hear from Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell and their defensive coordinator, Kelvin Sheppard, during OTAs, and the one word that has stuck out more than any other is “competition.”
I think it’s easy to see that word and think that it’s something that you’re going to see every year. Of course, guys are competing. The more you look at this roster on defense, though, the more it starts to look like a Mortal Kombat situation where the winner carries on, and the loser gets frozen, his body shatters with a kick, and he gets cut.
To talk about what I mean, let’s take a look at some of these spots.
Secondary
The Lions’ secondary is full of guys who can start
- CB Terrion Arnold: First-round pick
- CB D.J. Reed: Expected locked-in starter
- CB: Roger McCreary: Expected to be the starting slot corner
- CB Keith Abney: Rookie who can compete for that starting slot corner job and maybe win it
- CB Rock Ya-Sin: Veteran who can push for a starting job
- CB Ennis Rakestraw: The only real question here
- CB: Nick Whiteside: Showed last year that he could be a dark horse
- CB Khalil Dorsey: Special teams ace
- S Kerby Joseph: All-Pro, but there are questions about his injury
- S Brian Branch: Don’t look now, but he might be back earlier than we thought
- S Chuck Clark: Longtime starting safety in Baltimore
- S Avonte Maddox: Started on a Super Bowl-winning team
- S Thomas Harper: Could very well be in line for a major breakout season
- S Christian Izien: Can play anywhere on the field
Is anyone on this list 100% guaranteed to be certified safe? Man, this is a lot of competition here, and it’s not at all a bunch of scrubs fighting to see who the least scrubbiest is. It’s a bunch of starters fighting to see who the starters are.
Terrion Arnold isn’t safe with Ya-Sin, McCreary, and Abney all capable of playing his spot. We think McCreary is good to go at slot corner, but we know that Abney could come in and steal that job.
At safety, if Branch and Joseph are healthy, it’s their jobs to lose. If not, Harper, Izien, Clark, and Maddox are about as safe a fallback as you could possibly ask for. Any one of those guys can start Week 1, and it’s going to be a fun battle to see which one of them would if Joseph and Branch can’t.
Defensive line
The Lions’ defensive line is full of guys who have something to prove and need to do it
- Edge Payton Turner: Former first-round pick looking for retribution
- Edge D.J. Wonnum: Longtime starter now looking to fight with a rookie for a starting job
- Edge Ahmed Hassanein: Young edge looking to show that he should not be forgotten after missing his whole rookie season
- Edge Anthony Lucas: An undrafted rookie looking to show teams they shouldn’t have passed on him in the draft
- DT Myles Adams: The coaches keep bringing him up here and there; it’s time to show why
- DT Mekhi Wingo: It’s time to prove you really were a steal in the draft
- DT Levi Onwuzurike: Looking to prove that, despite the injuries, he is not a bust
- DT Skyler Gill-Howard: Looking for a breakout rookie season nobody saw coming
We didn’t list any of the starters here because those spots are figured out, but there are rotational spots that still need to be sorted out, and this is where these guys have a chance to make their mark. You want a job? Go out there and take it, or look for a job on a new team. There is so much opportunity to be had here, and all it takes is for some guys to break out to get it.
Linebacker
This spot is pretty well figured out. Jack Campbell is locked into his spot, and Derrick Barnes is too. The only real question is who is going to replace Alex Anzalone? Is it Malcolm Rodriguez? Is it the rookie Jimmy Rolder? Or is it Damone Clark coming out of nowhere to steal it? Or do the Lions look to add someone here still? We’re going to find out soon.
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