A top cornerback prospect in this year’s draft has drawn an NFL comp Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has intimate knowledge of.
The Detroit Lions moved quickly to fix their deficiency at cornerback this offseason, acquiring Carlton Davis from the Buccaneers and signing Amik Robertson (previously with the Raiders). Then the unexpected departure of Cameron Sutton, after an arrest warrant was issued on him and he was released, created a void again.
There are some interesting options out there to sign or trade for, but the Lions may now be focused on the draft later this month to bring in another notable cornerback. Luckily for them, it’s a very deep draft class at the position that offers good options from Day 1 right through to Day 3.
Eric Galko of CBS Sports has offered up player comparisons for the top-20 non-quarterback prospects in the 2024 draft. The comp for one of the top cornerback prospects may get the Lions’ attention, or more specifically the attention of defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
Player comp for top CB prospect may get Aaron Glenn’s attention
Quinyon Mitchell may be the first cornerback off the board in this year’s draft, and he’s a virtual lock to be a top 10-15 pick. The comp Galko had for him is a player who’s very familiar to Glenn.
Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo: Marshon Lattimore
“The near-consensus top cornerback in the 2024 NFL Draft, Quinyon Mitchell has dominated the draft process and has elite man-coverage ability and the size and athleticism to be an impact cornerback. Like Marshon Lattimore, Quinyon Mitchell can anchor a defense as a cornerback in the NFL, and shouldn’t last much further beyond the top-10 picks of the draft.”
As the Lions headed into the offseason with a major need at cornerback, Lattimore easily surfaced as someone they could trade for. Glenn and Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell were on the New Orleans Saints’ coaching staff for Lattimore’s first four seasons, during which time he won Defensive Rookie of the Year (2017) and earned three Pro Bowl selections (2017, 2019 and 2020).
More directly, Glenn was the Saints’ defensive backs coach during that run to start Lattimore’s career.
Mitchell (6-foot,195 pounds) and Lattimore (6-foot, 192 pounds) are basically exact comps physically, with similar skill sets. They even ran similar 40-yard dash times at their respective NFL Combines (4.33 for Mitchell, 4.36 for Lattimore).
The Lions are surely doing thorough work on all the top cornerback prospects in this year’s draft. Mitchell will be long gone by No. 29 overall, but a trade up for him shouldn’t be out of the question. If Glenn offers a specific endorsement behind the scenes, maybe even with a comparison to Lattimore, that would naturally reinforce the idea of Mitchell as a trade up target.
