Despite splurging on their secondary in free agency, the Lions might be eyeing a cornerback high in the draft. As high as No. 6 overall, where they've been linked to both Christian Gonzalez from Oregon and Devon Witherspoon from Illinois.
Longtime draft analyst Greg Cosell of NFL Films says Gonzalez would be a natural fit in Aaron Glenn's defense, which played the second-highest rate of man coverage in the league last season, according to NFL.com. (The Lions also allowed the most yards per completion and the second most yards per pass.)
"Assuming that Aaron Glenn is going to play a good amount of man to man, which they did a lot of last year, there are two guys in this class that I love as man-to-man corners: Christian Gonzalez and Deonte Banks," Cosell told the Stoney & Jansen Show. "They both have excellent length. Gonzalez makes it look easy. He is smooth as silk. You watch him play and it looks like you’re in seven-on-seven drills. This guy is a long, fluid outside corner. His transition and his change of direction is really, really good."
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein compares the 6'1 Gonzalez to former Pro Bowl corner and first-round pick Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, calling him an "explosive outside cornerback with a rare blend of physical and athletic traits," including "blazing top-end speed." Zierlein says "the ingredients are already present (for Gonzalez) to become a feared CB1 if he plays to his gifts."
Cosell adds that Gonzalez, who tallied four picks and 11 passes defended last season, can play both types of press-man coverage with equal polish:
"Mirror-match press man, where you do not put your hands on the receiver and simply wait for him to release and get right in his hip pocket, and then physical press man, where you use strong, physical hands to disrupt routes off the line of scrimmage. He can do both really well."
"Deonte Banks can do the same," Cosell said of the corner from Maryland. "And the great thing about Banks is you got to see him against Ohio State and he had some really good reps against Marvin Harrison Jr., he more than held his own."
While not an immediate need for the Lions after they signed Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, cornerback is clearly a need looking ahead. Sutton is the only slated starter signed beyond 2023 and the Lions just traded Jeff Okudah.
Banks is a more realistic pick for Detroit at No. 18. But if Gonzalez is on the board at No. 6 and defensive linemen like Will Anderson and Tyree Wilson are gone, Brad Holmes might add yet another talented piece to the Lions' new-look secondary.
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