This is the seventh in an eight-part series that shows the Detroit Lions’ positional needs moving toward agency. The trading window officially opens on Monday, and trades can be closed from Wednesday. Today: defensive back. Previously: Wide receivers | Running backs | Quarterbacks | Tight tips | Offensive line | Defensive line
Under contract: CB Jeff Okudah, CB Amani Oruwariye, CB Mike Ford, S Tracy Walker, S Will Harris, S CJ Moore, S Bobby Price, S Godwin Igwebuike (futures), S Jalen Elliott (futures)
Expired contracts: CB Darryl Roberts, CB Tony McRae, S Duron Harmon, S Miles Killebrew
Best available: CB Patrick Peterson (Cardinals), CB Shaquill Griffen (Seahawks), CB Richard Sherman (Cardinals), CB Chidobe Awuzie (Cowboys), CB Desmond King (Titans), S Anthony Harris (Vikings), S John Johnson III (Rams)
Other names to note: CB Michael Davis (Chargers), CB Lamarcus Joyner (Raiders), CB Mackensie Alexander (Bengals), CB Quinton Dunbar (Seahawks), CB PJ Williams (Saints), CB Troy Hill (Rams), S Rayshawn Jenkins (Rams), S DJ Swearinger (Santos), S Karl Joseph (Browns), S Malik Hooker (Colts)
Discrimination: Lions have made considerable investments in cornerback in the past four years, including choosing the first, second and fifth shift for the position. They also spent a lot with guys like Darius Slay, Desmond Trufant and Justin Coleman. There are four choices in the draft (one of the top five) and three major contracts in just four years, a considerable investment that somehow produced one of the worst passing defenses in the entire league last season. They allowed for the most yards per pass and the third most yards per game, while eliminating the second fewest passes in their path to become one of the worst defenses in NFL history.
The poor management of the Quinntricia secondary was impressive and is already being dismantled. Slay, gone. Trufant, gone. Coleman, he’s gone. Teez Tabor, a runoff choice, disappeared. Jamal Agnew, a fifth round pick, switched positions and is now a free agent. The only corners under contract are Jeff Okudah, one of the top five who was one of the worst cornerbacks in the NFL last year; Amani Oruwariye, a solid choice at the end of the round that continues to improve; and Mike Ford, a staple of special teams who just refueled. That’s it. And with $ 12.1 million in dead money invested in Coleman and Trufant this season, it’s not like they can do much at the free agency either.
The Lions free agency plan is starting to emerge after the first hires of guys like receiver Tyrell Jackson and tight end Josh Hill. They want reasonably priced free agents who have previous connections with this team and can help to root the new culture – all without making a long-term financial commitment. This is where this team is in the early days of a total rebuild, and they will not be competitive for top tier corners like Patrick Peterson, Shaquill Griffen and Richard Sherman.
But Detroit still needs at least one more corner it can trust, at a price it can afford. Think of a guy like Troy Hill, who started all 16 games of the regular season last year, defended 10 passes, intercepted three more and returned two of them for touchdowns. And he did it all while playing for Rams, where Lions general manager Brad Holmes worked as the college’s scouting director.
If Lions open up spending, maybe someone like Michael Davis will interest them. Davis is big (1.80 m), knows how to run and is still only 26 years old. He has also broken 23 passes in the past two seasons and intercepted five passes. And he did it all while playing for the Chargers under the command of the current Lions offensive coordinator, Anthony Lynn. Davis checks all boxes except the price range, which can reach $ 9 million annually.
One more corner to watch: PJ Williams, a sixth-year player who has spent his entire career under Aaron Glenn, the former coach of the Saints defenders who has just been hired as Detroit’s defensive coordinator. Williams is the type of versatile player that teams love on the bench. “PJ, the definitive Swiss army knife for us,” said Glenn once. “He’s a guy that I think is sometimes taken for granted, but I’m happy to have him back.”
Lions also have some work to do in security. Duron Harmon arrived in a switch last year and led the team in cracking position, but was not very effective in the final stretch. Your contract is now about to expire. Jayron Kearse is also out, while Will Harris remains under contract, but has never done anything to show why he was worth picking in the third round in 2019. These are three of the four safeties that played the most pops for Detroit last season, all with serious question marks or already out.
Tracy Walker, the other security guard in this mix, is coming out of the worst season of her career. But he has been open about the challenges he faced in the past year, from the death of his cousin to the birth of his first child, and then Lions downgraded him to Will Harris on the training ground. Walker has promised that he will return a better player in 2021 and certainly has the size and speed to do so. He was also a good player in 2019, and a return to that form would be very useful for Lions.
But there is still a lot of work to be done as Lions figure out how to replace all those sockets. The name that came up most in the free agency is John Johnson III, which was written by Holmes four years ago and has become one of the best security guards in the league. He had 105 Rams tackles last season, defended eight passes and kept the defenders with a passer rating of 71.9. That’s really good. In fact, he was the third best security player in the entire league, according to the PFF. But the Rams are in a difficult financial situation and Johnson must test the market. It will cost a lot of money to hook it up, though, and Detroit may not have that kind of cheddar.
A cheaper alternative could be Rayshawn Jenkins, who has lost just one game in the past two seasons to Chargers, where he played for Anthony Lynn. He played in the strong and free security positions, as well as in the slot. “Putting him in free safety, he made it difficult for us to choose the second round to enter the football field,” said Anthony Lynn. “Rayshawn is getting better and better. I mean, it ended up as one of the top five free security devices in the game last year, in my opinion. And he’s just going to take that to another level. “