Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

Lions’ cornerback moves further cloud Jeff Okudah’s long-term Detroit future

By Colton Pouncy
3h ago

The last time we saw cornerback Jeff Okudah, one of the most polarizing players on this Detroit Lions roster, he ended what once looked like a promising season rather unceremoniously.

In a Week 16 loss to the Panthers, Okudah found himself on the bench before the game was over. The following week against the Bears, he was limited to a season-low 17 defensive snaps. That coincided with Okudah seeing more special teams snaps in one game (three) than he’d played all season long (two). As the Lions recorded a statement win over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers — one that helped set the tone for how the team is approaching the 2023 season — Okudah wasn’t part of the group that got it done, out with an elbow injury to the end the year.


And now, yet again, the Lions enter a brand-new season with more questions than answers about Okudah, with a key deadline looming: general manager Brad Holmes must decide by May 1 whether to execute Okudah’s fifth-year option, which would cost the team just north of $11.5 million.

“There is always going to be peaks and valleys when you play that position,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, a former NFL cornerback himself, said of Okudah in February. “You try to stay at the top as much as you can. But it’s hard. It’s hard.”

Life in the league has been just that for Okudah. Drafted in 2020 at No. 3 by the Bob Quinn-Matt Patricia regime, viewed as one of the safer prospects to come out that year, Okudah has yet to live up to that status. Some of it has been out of his control. His rookie year and the offseason leading up to it were impacted by COVID-19. Injuries limited him to nine games that season. The head coach and GM who brought him to Detroit were fired after Week 12. Perhaps a fresh start with Dan Campbell and Glenn would have helped him get back on track in Year 2, if not for a torn Achilles in Week 1 that cost him real and meaningful development time.



It’s easy to label these setbacks as excuses. However, they’re simply part of a story that’s reading a bit slower than most hoped. But these Lions, as currently constructed, don’t have time to wait. Their offseason moves proved that.

The first splash was signing Cam Sutton, a versatile cornerback known for his high football IQ. Detroit identified him early in free agency, and the staff — notably Glenn — was familiar with his game and what he could bring to this secondary. Spending his first six seasons in Pittsburgh, the Steelers used Sutton at safety, nickel and as an outside corner — where he projects in this Lions defense. When ready, Sutton could be joined by former college teammate Emmanuel Moseley in the starting lineup. Moseley is recovering from a torn ACL, which is how the Lions were able to sign him for just $6 million. Holmes said it best at last week’s owners’ meetings: “If Moseley didn’t get hurt last year, I don’t even know if we would’ve been able to really even be in the range to even acquire him. That’s how hot (of a) start he was off to.”




And then there’s C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the player who often comes to mind when trying to pinpoint the type of defensive back Glenn covets. He’s confident, bold, instinctive and, most importantly, able to back it all up on the field. Gardner-Johnson is expected to lock down the starting nickel position in Glenn’s defense. If you’re keeping track at home: The Lions signed three corners to compete for three starting positions in this secondary.



continued..

[whatever_gong82]

“It adds depth and it adds competition,” Campbell said when asked what these moves do for Okudah and the team. “That’s what it does. That’s what we desperately need. I see those guys coming in and competing, (Okudah) and Jerry (Jacobs). That’s the other thing. Just because you acquired these guys, that doesn’t mean it’s a lock that they start. Probably a pretty good chance, that’s why you acquired them. But gosh, the best guy is going to play and they all know that. All you do is you raise your level of competition. You raise the floor and that’s a good thing for everybody.”



“I hate just saying he’s a young player, but he is a young player,” Glenn said of Okudah. “And he still has a ways to go. He came in and he got hurt his first year. Obviously, he got hurt his second year. And he had a chance to really play this year. He understands there’s always going to be competition. And we’re always going to create that competition, regardless of who we have. But, yes, he has to improve, I will say that. Along with everybody else on our defense. And he knows that, and he did improve.”



The Lions gave Okudah every opportunity to win a starting job in training camp last season, and he did. For much of the season, he was Detroit’s most reliable corner. There were bright spots along the way. The Week 3 meeting against the Vikings comes to mind, when he was part of a secondary that limited Justin Jefferson to just 14 yards on three receptions. He didn’t do it alone, but he held his own as the Lions trusted him to shadow one of the game’s best receivers. The Cowboys game in Week 7 was perhaps his best performance of the year, playing closer to the box, sniffing out plays in the backfield and reacting instinctively, which led to a career-high 15 tackles and a PFF grade of 86.1.


At the same time, though, it’s tough to say he’s arrived. Not when you compare him to some of the corners drafted in the top 10 in the two years after him, like Jaycee Horn, Pat Surtain II and Sauce Gardner. Those are three of the best corners in the game — two of whom earned first-team All-Pro honors. Okudah, meanwhile, ended his 2022 season on the bench. And his path back to playing time won’t be as simple.


If Gardner-Johnson mans the nickel position, that could rule out a move inside for Okudah. Sutton should start on the outside and Moseley, whom the Lions hope will be ready to go by training camp, could also start. If he needs more time, perhaps Okudah could be the biggest beneficiary and cement his place as a starter. But then there’s Jacobs, who was recovering from a torn ACL during training camp last season. Jacobs was playing like Detroit’s CB1 when the year concluded. Oh, by the way, Detroit could still draft a cornerback later this month to add to a suddenly deep room and build for the future.


All of this to say, the Lions have options. Far more than this time a year ago. And as Holmes and company weigh Okudah’s fifth-year option, it’s worth wondering if the 2023 season will be Okudah’s last in Honolulu Blue.



“The unique thing about him is that he’s still growing. And he’s still learning as a player,” Holmes said last week. “Even all the years that he’s been in the league already, it’s still been very minimal playing time. Last year, he was basically a rookie in terms of playing time. So, he’s still got a lot of ability. But when the official decision is made on the fifth-year option, I’ll make sure you guys are the first to know.”


That’s the tough part with Okudah. There’s a productive player in there somewhere if it all comes together over the course of a season. The Lions just haven’t seen enough of him. Rather than waiting for the light to come on, they’ve positioned themselves for more productivity at the cornerback position — with or without Okudah.



Colton Pouncy is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Lions. He previously covered Michigan State football and basketball for the company, and covered sports for The Tennessean in Nashville prior to joining The Athletic. Follow Colton on Twitter @colton_pouncy

[ghandi]

I'd be surprised if the team gives Okudah the 5th year.....Its alot of money for what his skill level has been.....I think he can be a CB in the league, he's just not a CB1.

[Whitley]

I'd be surprised if the team gives Okudah the 5th year.....Its alot of money for what his skill level has been.....I think he can be a CB in the league, he's just not a CB1.

I think a short term extension (say 2 years?) might be in both sides interest but I think it gets done over the season though.

[Mainevent]

If they don’t pick up Okudah’s option and he’s playing well, he more likely will want to test the FA market. Especially if they’ve drafted a CB high go with Sutton.

[whatever_gong82]

Will Anderson, top defensive player in NFL draft, makes top-30 visit to Detroit Lions


Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press


If the Detroit Lions want to draft Will Anderson Jr., they likely will have to trade up to get him. But that is not stopping the team from taking a look at the player considered the best edge rusher in this year’s NFL draft.

The Lions hosted Anderson on a pre-draft visit, KPRC-TV in Houston reported.

Anderson is projected to be the first non-quarterback drafted, potentially as high as No. 2 overall to the Houston Texans. He also visited the Texans, and is considered a possibility for the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3, Indianapolis Colts at No. 4 and Seattle Seahawks at No. 5.




A favorite of scouts for his talent, production, effort and leadership skills, Anderson had 10 sacks at Alabama last season after recording 17.5 sacks in 2021.

He finished his three-year career with 34.5 sacks, 204 tackles and was a two-time consensus All-American.




“No matter what type of defense I get in I'm going to adapt to it and I'm going to be able to embrace the change,” Anderson said at the NFL combine last month. "Embrace the challenges there and learn lessons that go within, and that's what I'm really excited about. Whatever defense I get in, learning how to operate throughout it and having fun doing it."

The Lions took defensive end Aidan Hutchinson with the No. 2 pick of last year’s draft, added defensive lineman Josh Paschal in the second round and landed another edge rusher, linebacker James Houston, in the sixth round last season.


Hutchinson finished runner-up for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and he (9.5 sacks), Houston (eight), Paschal (two) and Malcolm Rodriguez (one) set an NFL rookie record with 20.5 sacks.



Still, the Lions would be hard-pressed to pass on a talent like Anderson in this year’s draft, and might even consider trading up for the edge rusher.

He’s considered a much cleaner prospect than disruptive Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who also is a candidate to be the first non-quarterback selected, and is much more polished than Texas Tech pass rusher Tyree Wilson, the draft’s No. 2 edge presence.



The Lions are scheduled to host Carter on pre-draft visit this month.




Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

[jaadam4]

I think a short term extension (say 2 years?) might be in both sides interest but I think it gets done over the season though.

The way Okudah trained to get back on the field last year was highly impressive. I do an extension for him. I think it would be a great move

[Futureshock]

Film breakdown: What the all-22 says about new Lions CB Emmanuel Moseley

By Morgan Cannon

[ghandi]

Moseley is an interesting one...Not sure when they expect him to play....Ive read everything from starting first game to he will be out the first 4 weeks or so.....I dont know if the Lions will PUP him or not.

[CGVT]

The way Okudah trained to get back on the field last year was highly impressive. I do an extension for him. I think it would be a great move

I think Okudah is still going to be a very good player. This year will be a bounce back year for him

[Futureshock]

I think Okudah is still going to be a very good player. This year will be a bounce back year for him

Athletically he has everything we need. I think he is too ramped up. Bites too hard on fakes. Maybe Yoga could help.

[jaadam4]

I think Okudah is still going to be a very good player. This year will be a bounce back year for him

I agree. I think the kid has it. I hope he kills it this year.

[CGVT]

Athletically he has everything we need. I think he is too ramped up. Bites too hard on fakes. Maybe Yoga could help.

Martial arts

[Mainevent]

Judo!

[whatever_gong82]

From yesterday's Freep. I was asleep when it posted and found out just now.


Marvin Jones and the Detroit Lions are reunited and it feels so good: 'I belong here'

Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press


Marvin Jones had a sense early in free agency that a reunion could be in the works, and the more he thought about playing for the Detroit Lions again, the more he liked the idea.

Jones spent five of his best seasons in Detroit. His children called the area home from 2016-20. And when he returned to Ford Field for the first time last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he left feeling nostalgic.



"Just the love that everybody had, seeing familiar faces and giving everybody daps and hugs and stuff like that," Jones said. "It was like, 'Dang, it was my home for five years.' I talked to my family and I was like, 'OK, if I’m not going to play on the West Coast, the only team that I would go play for that’s not the West Coast is Detroit.' After that, it really sunk in and I was like, 'Man, this could be a thing.'"

Jones and the Lions officially became a thing again Wednesday when Jones signed a one-year deal worth up to $5 million to add another veteran presence to the Lions' receiving corps.


Jones, 33, caught 289 passes for 4,296 yards in his first stint with the Lions. He left as a free agent in 2020 and spent the past two seasons with the Jaguars.


Jones, who lives in San Diego, said he considered playing for several teams on the West Coast before deciding to return to the Lions while on a family vacation in Belize last week.

"From the start it was evident that they wanted me here, but it took me to try to see, try to see what I was going to do, stay on the West Coast or whatever," Jones said. "That’s how free agency is, but I don’t know. I think when somebody wants you here, you automatically have that feeling, that sense of, 'Oh, maybe I belong here, I’ve always belonged here,' or whatever."


Jones caught 119 passes in his two seasons in Jacksonville, led the Jaguars in receiving in 2021 and helped the team make a surprise playoff run this winter.

He said he's the same downfield threat he was in his first go-round with the Lions — "I’m going to still move like I always do," he said. "Y’all will see." — but that the organization has changed dramatically in his two years away.


Signed to be the Lions' No. 1 receiver after the abrupt retirement of Calvin Johnson, Jones was part of the last Lions team to make the playoffs in 2016. The team went 23-40-1 over the next four years and fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn during Jones' last season in Detroit.


"It’s a new feel for sure," Jones said. "And I think when I came here, the first thing everybody said is, ‘Hey, Marv, it’s different, you’re going to love it.’ The culture’s different, the coaches, everything. It’s not the same. So I think that was definitely one of the reasons why it was definitely appealing for me to come back here and, why not?"

Jones should play a supporting role this fall in a passing game that features Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Josh Reynolds, three receivers added during his hiatus in Jacksonville, and quarterback Jared Goff, who Jones just missed playing with at Cal.


Jones said he joked years ago, after seeing Goff practice at Cal, that, "Man, I wish you were my quarterback." Now, the two are teammates, and Jones will wear a new number — newly OK'd No. 0, after sporting No. 11 the past seven seasons — when catching passes from his fellow Golden Bear this fall.



Jones will become just the second Lion ever to wear the No. 0, joining fullback John Olszewski, who wore the number in 1961. Author George Plimpton also wore the No. 0 in the 1963 preseason while researching his book, "Paper Lion."

The NFL approved No. 0 for use by non-linemen last week after taking the number out of circulation in 1973.

"It was a family decision," Jones said. "They voted and I was just like, 'Let’s do it.' Be the first one to rock the 0 in Detroit, so why not?"


Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.