The Detroit Lions upgraded their secondary in a big way over the course of the 2024 offseason.
Through a trade, free agency and the NFL Draft, Lions’ general manager Brad Holmes has taken what was a clear weakness for the Lions in 2023 and turned it into a strength. Entering the upcoming season, Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn will have several new players at their disposal.
As a result, the upcoming three days of mandatory minicamp will be full of competition amidst the defensive backfield. With Carlton Davis, Amik Robertson, Ennis Rakestraw and Terrion Arnold all amongst the battle for spots, it sets the stage for a competitive offseason.
Campbell said as much Tuesday, explaining that he and Glenn will revel in the opportunity to evaluate the new talent that the team has to offer.
“Yes, yes. It’s a great place to be in. We have so many options right now,” Campbell explained. “So much competitiveness. A.G. and I were talking about it the other day, Brad and I are talking about it every evening. I mean, the talent level, the competitiveness, the versatility. Honestly, we have no idea who our starting lineup’s gonna be right now and it’s exciting. It’s so good, like there’s no telling who’s gonna be our outside corners, who’s gonna be our nickel, who’s gonna be our safeties. This thing is wide open across the board and it’s gonna be great to let these guys compete and just go after it and see who’s gonna be the most reliable guys for us, most dependable. So it’s exciting.”
The spring workouts have also provided the Lions a first look at defensive end Mathieu Betts. Last year’s CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Betts is looking to crack an NFL roster and provide a complement for Aidan Hutchinson.
While Betts was primarily viewed as a rush-first player, his early impression to the Lions is that he is capable of much more within Glenn’s scheme.
“I would tell you there’s, there again we’re in pajamas, but there’s more versatility than I think even I realized,” Campbell said. “There’s a couple things we’re doing in coverage with him that, that wasn’t his deal. He just got after the quarterback, period. We’re asking him to do some things at the SAM linebacker position in base where, yeah he’s a rush but he’s also dropping in coverage. I tell you what, he’s got some pretty good hips for a big man and he can run, he can run, and he’s smart. So there’s some versatility there.”
Safety wild card
With Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph both sidelined while recovering from injuries, the Lions have turned to second-year safety Brandon Joseph to bank reps with the first-team defense at points.
The injuries to two of Detroit’s top options in the secondary has given the Notre Dame product an opportunity to display his growth from last season. He spent the entirety of the 2023 season on Detroit’s practice squad.
Campbell noted that there has been plenty of improvement to Joseph’s game over the last calendar year, when he joined the Lions as an undrafted free agent. He explained that the team had confidence in Joseph to be able to hold his own on defense if he was needed at the end of last year.
Now, he could be a dark horse competitor to earn a roster spot and contribute for the Lions in 2024. Campbell explained that Joseph is demonstrating desired characteristics for his position, as he appears to understand his freedom within the defense and be in the correct positions to make plays.
“(Joseph) was one of those guys who noticeably improved last year,” Campbell said. “He didn’t get a chance to play in the season, necessarily, we had him up. But to play defensive reps, he’s kind of one of those, ‘Boy, you wish you could’ve gotten him up.’ There was a comfort level by the end of the year, like, this guy could probably go in there and hold his own a little bit. So that’s a good sign. There has been noticeable growth from him last year, and even in the spring he’s improved. So he’s a young guy that we like a lot. He puts the work in, he’s smart, he’s crafty.”
This article was produced by the staff at Sports Illustrated/All Lions. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions
