The Lions haven’t found a long-term answer at corner, but I’m not convinced development is the real problem
Detroit has struggled to find lasting answers at cornerback, but injuries, circumstance and off-field issues have played a much larger role than a simple failure to develop talent.
It’s one of those problems that I don’t know how to simply say I don’t believe the Detroit Lions have, without catching the ire of some Lions fans who would prefer to look into the nuance of everything. But it’s one of those problems that all Lions fans believe.
It’s a fair question for sure. The Lions have had a lot of trouble finding their staples at cornerback, but I’m not sure it’s because they have a problem developing them. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got here.
A deeper look at the cornerbacks the Lions have drafted
Chase Lucas
This is a simple one. Lucas was a seventh-round draft pick, and I think he hit his ceiling with the Lions. That ceiling is that of a player who can be a good special teams hand. I think Lucas fits the mold that Roller is talking about here. In his final season at Arizona State, he had a 75.6 run defense grade, a 74.2 tackle grade, and a 58.2 coverage grade. In this case, the Lions valued him more as a tackler.
Terrion Arnold
This is where I think the argument falls apart a bit. In Arnold’s final year at Alabama, he had a 90.6 run defense grade, a 74.3 tackle grade, and an 84.9 coverage grade. He was arguably the best cornerback in college football and was thought of by many as the best cornerback in the 2024 NFL Draft.
On the development side, he had a rough start with penalty problems, and sure, there were some rookie bumps in the road, but I’d point out that he was asked to play more man coverage than any cornerback in the league as a rookie, taking what he did at Alabama to an entirely different level in Detroit. He started putting things together after the bye that year. In year two, it was somewhat similar. A rough Week 1, but then he started to come on and got hurt, and it just killed his development. He didn’t get a year three in Detroit after the Lions released him following his arrest on eight felony charges. Arnold has denied the allegations. That situation had nothing to do with Detroit’s ability to develop him.
Ennis Rakestraw
In Rakestraw’s final year at Missouri, he had an 89 run defense grade, a 79.7 tackle grade, and a 78.7 coverage grade. Rakestraw was expected to be a first-round pick and simply fell to the Lions. With him, the play was never in question. When Rakestraw is on the field, he generally plays well. We saw that against the Jets on Sunday.
The Lions were seeing that in his rookie year. He was supposed to start at slot corner early in the season and suffered an injury right before the game. That set things back for him. When he came back later in the season, he got hurt again. Then he got hurt in training camp ahead of the 2025 season and missed the whole season. That killed his development.
At this point, it’s like 2026 is his rookie year in a way. He had played 46 total snaps in the league before Sunday. Injuries suck, but I don’t think they’re a reason to point to a lack of development. He’s in a good spot right now and is about to get more opportunities.
Keith Abney
We don’t even know what Abney is in the league yet, but we do know that when he’s gotten reps on defense, he’s shown some things. The Lions still don’t want to rush it with him, though, and that’s just what they do.
Coming out of Arizona State, Abney had a 77.9 run defense grade, an 87.6 tackle grade, and an 85.3 coverage grade. So he was definitely sticky in coverage in college.
Some final thoughts
At the end of the day, the Lions had a plan for their cornerbacks, and at the time, it seemed like a very good one. But it was hit with a barrage of circumstances that hampered development. They’re going to have to figure out their next move there, and maybe that might require skipping the development stage and going right for an already developed guy at the trade deadline or in free agency in March.
But at the end of the day, I do think the Lions value run defense and tackling, and they should, but I don’t think they sacrificed coverage ability in their quest to find the right players. It just didn’t work out.
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