They traded for one cornerback, drafted another and signed a third who can play in the slot. And then they drafted a fourth, who almost feels forgotten in the Lions' refurnished secondary.
"I’ve been fine this whole time," Ennis Rakestraw said Tuesday after watching a good portion of spring practices from the sidelines. "They were just doing that because of what happened during my season, they didn't want to rush nothin'. So I just stayed with the plan, stayed getting stronger, getting healthy. When it’s time to show everybody, it’s time to show everybody."
On most teams, a corner drafted in the second round would garner significant attention. But the Lions have eased Rakestraw into action after he underwent core muscle surgery last December to address injuries that plagued him during his senior season at Missouri.
And there isn't a clamor for the 22-year-old, not yet, in a secondary where trade acquisition Carlton Davis III and first-round pick Terrion Arnold are poised to play on the outside and free agent signing Amik Robertson looks like a natural fit in the slot.
"He hasn’t done much but walk-throughs. That’s the thing of not having him out here," defensive backs coach DeShea Townsend said Tuesday. "But he’ll do whatever is asked, he plays outside, inside. But for him, it’s just good to get meaningful reps."
Make no mistake: Rakestraw intends to make an impact as a rookie. And the Lions will push him to do so. When he has been on the field this spring, he's lined up mostly at nickel, which he acknowledged has been "the biggest challenge for me" so far.
"Nickel in college when I got in was strictly pass downs, third and long. Now we got a base defense here, so you gotta learn some of the gap schemes and some of the places you may fit (in the run game)," Rakestraw said.
As he figures out where he fits in the defense at large, Rakestraw has kept his nose in the playbook. For one, "you never know when your number’s called," he said. Moreover, "versatile is what you want to be." While Rakestraw thinks of himself as an outside corner, he knows that his path to the field this year might wind through the slot.
Rakestraw and Arnold may one day play across from each other in Detroit. They lived across from each other in the hotel where the Lions' rookies stayed this spring and quickly became tight. Arnold is the louder of the two, Rakestraw the quietly confident type. They're both from the SEC, and "I feel like the SEC is the best and the closest thing to here," said Rakestraw.
Do they feel like rookies on a team with so many proven players? In some ways yes, Rakestraw said: Davis III and Robertson are "treating us like little brothers and teaching us the steps of the way. In other ways no: "At the end of the day, if you feel like a rookie and you let the moment get too big for you, then what are you?"
"So you gotta put yourself on the same pedestal as them," Rakestraw said. "Those guys get paid and we get paid, too, so competition is what we like to do."
Though he's played sparingly so far, Rakestraw is all business heading into the Lions' summer break. He said his plan from now until training camp is to stay in the playbook and keep his weight. And enjoy as much family time as he can because when the Lions reconvene, said Rakestraw, "we’re trying to win a Super Bowl."