It was an up-and-down rookie season for Detroit's Ennis Rakestraw Jr. last year as injury limited him to only eight games and 46 total snaps on defense.
A second-round pick out of Missouri, the Lions liked Rakestraw's versatility and saw the potential for him to play both inside and outside in Detroit.
He was set to play a role on Detroit's defense in the nickel cornerback spot Week 2 vs. Tampa Bay but suffered a hamstring injury in warmups. He missed a couple weeks with the injury, and the time away allowed veteran Amik Robertson to establish himself in that role. The hamstring injury nagged Rakestraw all season and eventually landed him on injured reserve.
Robertson is returning this season and the team also signed veteran Avonte Maddox in free agency. Maddox9 offers experience for a backup nickel and No. 3 safety role. That has the Lions directing Rakestraw's efforts this spring more at outside cornerback.
"Right now, we're going to let him focus outside," Lions passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend said recently of Rakestraw. "Let him go compete out there."
Terrion Arnold returns as a starter on the outside after a solid rookie season. Veteran D.J. Reed signed a three-year, $48 million free agent contract this offseason to man the other outside spot.
But if any team understands the value of having depth and options at as many positions as possible, it's the Lions. Nearly two dozen players landed on injured reserve last season with most of those being on the defensive side of the football.
Detroit likes where Rakestraw is at in his development this spring as most of the veterans are back at the Meijer Performance Center for the offseason training program. They still view him as a versatile weapon at cornerback but are narrowing his focus on the outside for now as he tries to prove he can be a reliable and available player for them in the cornerback room.
"The thing I do like about how he came back was just his mindset," Townsend said. "You can tell that he understood what went wrong last year, and some things that you can't control are injuries.
"He understands that in our room it's all about competition anyway. We don't care who gets a rep. A rep don't care who gets it this time of year. But when you get it, you better make sure you're doing the right things. That's our room. You're going to have to prove it. You better come in here ready to compete and I think we have a lot of good guys in there."
The Lions expect Rakestraw to take a step forward in Year 2. If he does, this coaching staff has proven since Dan Campbell arrived in 2021 they'll find packages and roles for players who show they can help the team win.
"I would anticipate this guy takes another step up, man," Campbell said of Rakestraw this offseason. "We're not down on him. We're not disappointed. We expect him to go in there and compete, man. There is nothing set in stone. You draft guys where you do and you sign guys according to what you think they're going to be for you, but the best man is going to play. So, he's very much in that mix."
