The Detroit Lions have certainly remade their cornerback room, one of their biggest weaknesses from last season.
In 2023, their pass defense and 28 touchdown passes surrendered were both ranked 27th in the league.
But after trading for cornerback Carlton Davis III from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and signing corner Amik Robertson from the Las Vegas Raiders, they drafted who many felt were the top two cornerbacks available in Terrion Arnold out of Alabama and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. from Missouri.
The Lions moved up from the 29th spot in the first round to No. 24 in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys and took Arnold. Detroit then selected Rakestraw Jr. late in the second round with the 61st pick.
During a recent episode of “The Mina Kimes Show,” she said those two selections were among her favorite picks of the draft, which was held in downtown Detroit, a short distance from the Lions’ home of Ford Field.
On today's pod, @FieldYates and I singled out a few draft picks we loved….
I chose Terrion Arnold.
He chose Ennis Rakestraw.
Needless to say, we're both excited about the Lions' picks and how they fit their defense.
🎧: https://t.co/25po4Tj9rF
📺: https://t.co/GFo3im8jfP pic.twitter.com/lyKRylrC9r— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) May 2, 2024
The acquisitions of Davis III and Robertson in addition to two rookies and potential starters who can both cover one-on-one and tackle will allow defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to run more man coverage schemes, something he could not do with the cornerback personnel last season.
Despite the abysmal cornerback play, the Lions were 12-5 to grab their first division title in 30 years, won two playoff games and reached the NFC Championship Game.