Detroit Lions 2024 training camp preview: Breaking down the overhauled CB room

We’re a week away from the Detroit Lions beginning training camp practices and our preview series continues to roll on. In this next installment, we take a deeper look at the Lions’ cornerback room, discuss how it was overhauled in the offseason, and how their success is critical to a successful 2024.

Previous training camp previews:

• QB: Who will win the backup job?
• RB: Sione Vaki transforms the RB room
• WR: 3 big questions
• TE: Who will win the TE3 job?
• OL: Sorting through depth roles
• IDL: Depth roles up for grabs
• EDGE: Who is ready to step up opposite Aidan Hutchinson?
• LB: Is Jack Campbell ready to take over at MIKE?

Setting the table

In 2021, the Lions had a lot of young cornerbacks on the roster, but with minimal veterans, the group lacked leadership and struggled across the board. In 2022, the Lions added veteran Mike Hughes but largely ran with the same group they had the previous season, and the results were equally poor.

In 2023, the Lions began to turn over their room, moving on from their three starters: Jeff Okudah, Amani Oruwariye, and Hughes. To fill the void, the Lions added Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley—who was injured and replaced by Jerry Jacobs, then Khalil Dorsey, then Kindle Vildor—and defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was beaten out for the nickel spot by rookie Brian Branch.

Outside of Branch’s solid play in the slot, the Lions outside corners once again struggled, setting up another overhaul in 2024. This offseason, the Lions once again replaced their outside starting corners, releasing Sutton after a domestic battery by strangulation arrest and allowing Jacobs to depart after his contract expired. Reserves Will Harris (Saints) and Chase Lucas (49ers) also moved to new teams.

In 2024, the Lions aggressively upgraded their talent on the outside, adding both veterans and using high draft picks as replacements. In free agency, the Lions traded for veteran Carlton Davis and then signed veteran Amik Robertson. In the NFL Draft. The Lions used their first and second-round picks on cornerbacks, trading up and grabbing Terrion Arnold with pick No. 24, then snagging Ennis Rakestraw with pick No. 61 overall. The Lions also added undrafted rookie Morice Norris, who is reportedly getting snaps all over the secondary. In addition to the new players, the Lions also returned Branch and Steven Gilmore, while also re-signing Moseley, Vildor, and Dorsey.

Roster construction

In 2021 and 2022, the Lions rostered seven cornerbacks, but in 2023, the Lions went with just six corners—replacing two because of injury—and rolling with defensive backs (Branch and Gardner-Johnson) in their nickel roles.

In 2024, the Lions appear to be expanding their secondary roles and plan on using both safeties and corners in the slot. With this crossover usage, along with the new special teams rules—which we discussed further in the running backs and linebacker articles—the Lions could easily go back to keeping seven or or more corners on the roster in 2024.

The battleground

At this time, the Lions have nine cornerbacks on the roster—10 if you include Branch, but because he will be expanding his range to safety, he will receive more attention in our upcoming safeties article. Of the nine, five are new to the Lions this offseason, setting up a lot of questions to be answered in training camp.

Which corners are in the mix to start on the outside?

The Lions haven’t made their intentions clear, but based on talent, upside, and what they showed during OTA/minicamp, there are likely four serious contenders to start on the outside.

“They’ve got to win a spot,” general manager Brad Holmes said of the cornerbacks room, “Because Carlton Davis III has been a proven starter. A healthy Emmanuel Moseley is a proven starter. Amik Robertson is a proven—like these are good players that have been proven starters that’ve made plays [...] It’s a good feeling to be in a spot where we feel good about the depth we have, we feel good about the future we have, but man, those guys have got to compete and win spots.”

To acquire Davis, the Lions traded a third-round pick and absorbed over $14 million in salary cap space, by far the biggest investment amongst the veteran additions. But with that investment comes high expectations, as by most accounts, Davis is not only expected to start but be capable of holding down the CB1 role—a role he welcomes:

“You about to get a lockdown corner,” Davis said in his free agency press conference. “You about to have one side just, like, unavailable. That’s what I do. I’m here to take the No. 1 receiver on these teams. I’m here to deny the ball, I’m here to take the ball away.”

In spring camp, things played out as expected, with Davis working with the starters whenever he was on the field. Opposite him, the Lions worked in different players, but when healthy, the corner most commonly with the starters was Terrion Arnold. Like Davis, Arnold is brimming with confidence and believes he can be the Lions’ top option on the outside.

“I’m a shut-down corner,” Arnold said after being drafted. “So, I’m coming in to guard receiver ones off the rip. I feel like I was already coming in with a chip on my shoulder just based on the Draft, and how everything was going. On top of that, Brad (Holmes)—he traded up to get me. And that means a lot to me, so I’m going to go out there and I’m going to show why he did it.”

Arnold was considered the top cornerback option on many draft analysts boards—including the Lions—because of his intelligence, work ethic, and upside. It’s often challenging for rookies to break into the starting lineup in their first year, but Arnold could very well be the expectation because of his traits, maturity, and mindset.

“If my mom was out here right now and lined up across from me as a receiver, I would jam her into the dirt,” Arnold said of his mentality for the position. “That’s just my mindset. And my mom knows that. Football-wise, that’s just the way that I think, and the way that I was brought up.”

While Davis and Arnold are expected to open camp in starting roles, the Lions won’t shy away from letting others challenge them for their jobs. The top challengers most likely to push for starter snaps are—as Holmes mentioned earlier—Amik Robertson and Emmanuel Moseley.

Robertson is a feisty player who has a nose for the football and a desire to compete. He is undersized (5-foot-8 ¹⁄₂, 187) but has a tremendous amount of translatable skills that teams desire. If he doesn’t win a starting role on the outside, expect him to be one of the top candidates to get nickel snaps when the Lions move Branch to safety—more on that in a second.

Moseley was considered an ascending starter in 2022 but back-to-back ACL surgeries zapped his 2023 season and kept him out of spring camp. When healthy, Moseley has starter-level talent but he needs to show coaches that he has strength in both his knees and can return to form.

Which corners are in the mix for slot snaps?

While Branch will expand his roles to include snaps at safety, he is still likely going to see time at nickel. But in those circumstances where the Lions move Branch to safety, or the secondary is in a DIME subpackage (six or more defensive backs), there are a few corners who will challenge for snaps in the slot.

While having coverage skills is a requirement of any slot defender, the Lions also lean on their slot defensive back to provide run support. In the spring, with Branch recovering from offseason cleanup surgery, Robertson saw the majority of the Lions nickel snaps because his skills translate in both areas. While being undersized can be a disadvantage on the outside, Robertson’s quickness and physicality are assets in the slot. When training camp opens, if Branch is still rehabbing or taking reps at safety, Robertson is expected to be the Lions’ first option for slat snaps.

Also in the mix for cornerback slot reps is rookie Ennis Rakestraw, who is equally as physical and has experience playing in the slot from his early years in college. Technically, with a solid camp, Rakestraw could also find himself in the mix for reps on the outside, but his path to the field will likely come much quicker on the inside.

UDFA Morice Norris will likely also be worked into the competition, as his skill set also translates inside. While his size (5-foot-10, 181 pounds) and experience point to him being nickel depth, in the spring, Norris was used on the outside and told the Free Press that coaches are preparing to give him looks at safety as well. If you’re looking for a sleeper in the secondary, keep an eye on No. 39 at training camp.

Returning corners and special teams roles

Depth is paramount in the secondary and the Lions will need depth players capable of playing meaningful snaps. Players like Kindle Vildor, Khalil Dorsey, and Steven Gilmore all have at least a year’s worth of experience in the Lions scheme and could play meaningful roles in 2024.

Vildor and Dorsey both played starter snaps in 2023, but are likely considered depth options entering camp. Despite a potentially reduced role, there is value in having experienced corners in depth roles—something this coaching staff learned in 2021.

There is also a special teams component in play here, as the Lions will be looking for specific types of players—most notably secondary players—in order to adapt to the new kickoff rules that are being implemented this season:

“It’s become more of a short area play,” Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp explained. “You got a guy lined up 5 yards across from you—you might settle a little bit and make it 7—but you’re trying to beat a guy in a 7-yard space. And so, I think it is a little bit more quickness-oriented, both in the coverage game and the return game. I think guys’ abilities to flip their hips—kind of similar to the secondary-type guys—flip their hips, match guys in the return game is going to be important.”

This is an area where Dorsey shines. Dorsey essentially made the roster last season due to his special teams contributions and the new rule change plays right into his skill set. Not only will Dorsey enter camp expecting to retain his gunner role in punting situations, but he’ll likely have a key role on kickoffs as well.

Vildor and Gilmore are less experienced on special teams, but they also likely benefit from the change. Vildor’s experience on defense will surely help his case to make the 53-man roster, as will Gilmore’s upside, but their chances of making the roster will surely come down to how they perform on special teams. The path to special teams snaps won’t be easy though, as Robertson, Rakestraw, and Norris all equally have translatable skills, as do several safeties.