Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions defensive coaches provided some very important news about the depth chart in the secondary.
The Detroit Lions' secondary made some significant strides last year, but they are entering 2025 with a couple of significant questions. For one, Detroit doesn’t have clear, defined depth behind their two All-Pro-caliber safety. Additionally, the role of second-year cornerback Ennis Rakestraw—who missed most of his rookie season with injury—was only up for speculation.
During Thursday’s slew of press conferences with Lions defensive coaches, we got significant clarity on both issues.
Starting with Rakestraw, defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend made it crystal clear that they are focusing the 2024 second-round pick on playing on the outside.
“Right now, we’re going to let him focus on outside, let him go compete out there,” Townsend said. “Amik (Robertson) has done a really good job (at nickel). We have Avonte (Maddox), who is another positional flex type of person. I think that will help him, as well.”
This comes as a mild surprise. At one point last season, Rakestraw was actually in line to start a game at nickel before he suffered an injury at pre-game warmups. That said, Rakestraw saw plenty of time on the outside during training camp, as well, and was viewed as a moveable chess piece.
He’ll likely continue to carry that versatility, but Detroit clearly has more immediate faith in Amik Robertson, who played the nickel for the majority of the season—until injuries forced him to move to the outside.
That means, in all likelihood, Rakestraw will enter the season in a reserve role behind free agent signing D.J. Reed and last year’s first-round pick Terrion Arnold. Still, Townsend is excited about Rakestraw’s potential in Year 2.
“The thing I do like about how he came back is just his mindset,” Townsend said. “You can tell he understood what went wrong last year. And there are some things you can’t control, like injuries. For him, it’s now just how can I be stronger? What did I do last year, like being a rookie training for the combine and doing all that? Now, I get to really focus on myself and my craft a little bit more, not having to worry about those things. He understands.”
As for the safety position, it appears veteran free agent signing Maddox will serve a role much like Brian Branch did—mixing time between the slot and safety. When defensive backs coach Jim O’Neil was asked about the lack of depth at safety after losing Ifeatu Melifonwu in free agency, Maddox was the first person he mentioned.
“We obviously lost Iffy, and we gained Avonte Maddox,” O’Neil said. “Avonte will be an inside player, similar to what he’s done his whole career, as far as a nickel/safety body. That’s what he’s done at Philly for the years (he was there).”
Maddox did indeed serve multiple roles for the Eagles last year. After getting bumped out of the starting nickel position by rookie Cooper DeJean, Maddox played situationally...
