Maybe the Lions see something in the secondary that the rest of us are missing. Maybe this whole thing with Tracy Walker is just a ruse. Maybe Detroit will begin the season Sunday and its best safety will be on the field for every defensive snap, like he often was last year.
After all, the Lions did list Walker as a starter on their first depth chart of the season.
But they deployed him like a No. 2 for a good part of training camp, behind the starting tandem of Duron Harmon and Will Harris. And it looks like that's how they'll roll on Sunday. It's hard to make sense of, considering how well Walker played last year and how badly the Lions want for playmakers on defense.
Asked Friday if he considers himself a starter, Walker wasn't really sure what to say.
"I’m gonna be honest with you, that’s not for me to sit here and basically justify and give you answers for. I don’t know," he said. "That’s not a question for me, that’s a question that should be upstairs right now."
He's right. And when that question is taken to Matt Patricia, the head coach advises against reading into the alignments you see at practice. But the Lions have practiced like this for a reason. And with so much ground to cover in camp in so little time, it's not like they were testing formations they don't plan to use.
Are the Lions really about to do this? Are Patricia and new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin, a former defensive backs coach, about to have their best player in the secondary come off the bench?
"I was just told to go out there and compete, and I’m gonna go out there and do my job. I don’t look at it as me being a (No.) 2 or not a starter or whatever the case may be," Walker said. "I'm just in practice and participating in whatever I’m asked to do. Like I said, I don’t know how to answer that question because that’s above my paygrade."
Walker was Detroit's second best defensive player last season, per Pro Football Focus. And you don’t need the metrics to tell you that. The man was everywhere on the field, smothering tight ends, breaking up deep balls, generally doing everything the Lions asked. He was one of the lone bright spots in a secondary that surrendered the most passing yards in the league.
And he looked poised for a leap into stardom in year three. Maybe he still is. But the Lions aren’t doing Walker – or themselves – any favors by potentially scaling back his role.
“I feel like my role right now is to be the best team player I can possibly be and just being a leader,” Walker said. “I feel like I’m great at wherever I’m put at to make plays. That’s the main thing with me, just put me in position to make plays and I’m gonna do my job.
“I’m not too much worried about what I’m going to be doing or what my job is going into the season. I’m just going out there right now to be the best teammate, that’s the bottom line. The rest will take care of itself.”
Again, Walker’s right. When it all shakes out, he’ll probably be on the field as much as any other safety for Detroit. Patricia likes to rotate players at that position in his ‘multiple’ defense. That Walker didn’t practice a whole lot with the starters in camp doesn’t mean he won’t be used like one this season.
But that rotation feels like part of the problem. Walker shouldn’t be a rotating player. He shouldn’t be on the field as much as any other safety for Detroit. With respect to Harmon and Harris, he should be on the field more. Remember when we wondered why the hell the Lions drafted Walker in the third round two years ago?
It’s like they proved themselves right, and now they’re trying to prove themselves wrong.
The Lions like Harris, a third-round pick in 2019. There’s no harm in working him into the defense. And they traded for Harmon for a reason. His familiarity with Patricia’s scheme immediately makes him an asset. It’s certainly not a bad thing that the secondary will look different in 2020. But a makeover shouldn’t come at the expense of the best player left.
The Lions found a gem in Walker that most of didn’t see. Let’s hope we see plenty of him on Sunday.