The Lions have been hurting for a No. 1 corner since the departure of Darius Slay. Could they find the next version of Slay in this year's draft?
Brad Holmes holds the 29th overall pick and will likely take a long hard look at Missouri's Ennis Rakestraw Jr. NFL Network draft expert Daniel Jeremiah has him No 3. among cornerbacks in a deep crop of players at that position.
"Has some Slay to him," Jeremiah said Thursday. "Built similarly to Slay, really, really tough, feisty, can press you, plays with a ton of energy, which I love ... Just a passionate, energetic dude. But real fluid, real fast, real tough."
The Lions could fill their need for a No. 1 corner in free agency. Cam Sutton, who they signed to a three-year, $33 million deal last offseason, is better suited as a No. 2. But they're just as likely to attack that weakness in the draft in an offseason in which Holmes said he doesn't expect to make "as many high-price external adds." Will Rakestraw be on the board at No. 29?
"I think he’s in that range," said Jeremiah. "I have him a little bit higher than that. But I know in talking to teams, I’m a little bit higher on him than some other teams are."
Rakestraw, who drew offers from Alabama, Georgia and Texas in high school, is coming off two standout seasons at Missouri. He didn't rack up huge stats, in part because opposing teams rarely threw at him. He saw just 28 targets in coverage this season, per Pro Football Focus, and only one when Missouri faced LSU quarterback and likely first-round pick Jayden Daniels and his cast of talented receivers. LSU won the game by avoiding Rakestraw at all costs.
"He has really, really good eyes," said Jeremiah. "He can play the ball."
Think the Lions could use him? While their defense made big strides this season against the run, they still allowed the most air yards and the second most yards per pass in the NFL. They were torched by No. 1 receivers down the stretch and into the playoffs when Sutton was often left on an island. It would be a lot to ask a rookie corner to step in and tackle top assignments from the jump, but Rakestraw feels fit for Detroit.
And tackle he does: Rakestraw was one of PFF's highest-graded corners in defending the run this season. He's not afraid to get physical, which is valued in Aaron Glenn's defense and in the attitude Dan Campbell has instilled in the Lions. On top of 16 passes defended the last two seasons, Rakestraw had three forced fumbles and 5.5 tackles for loss.
"In terms of the feistiness and toughness and aggressiveness that he plays with, the energy and passion that he plays with, yeah, he fits 100 percent with Detroit," said Jeremiah.
He added that he has mocked West Virginia center Zach Frazier to the Lions "for almost the exact same reason ... because the guy’s a four-time state champ wrestler, he’s super physical, he finishes guys, he plays that nasty style."
"And that’s the great thing they've done in Detroit. All the talent that they’ve brought in there, I think the biggest thing they’ve done is, they’ve got a true identity of who they are and what they’re about. They set that vision from the beginning and they went out and found guys that fit," he said.
Jeremiah said that in his days as a scout for the Ravens, "we would put red stars on players that we felt were our type of guys," prospects who fit the organization's motto of "Play like a Raven." As for Rakestraw and Frazier, "I think both those guys are Detroit Lions type players," he said.
The comparison to Slay is not taken lightly here. Slay is a six-time Pro Bowler who remains among the game's top cornerbacks at the age of 32. He leads the NFL in passes defended over the last 10 seasons, and by a wide margin.
A second-round pick of the Lions in 2013, Slay measured 6'0 and 192 pounds at his combine. Rakestraw is listed at 6'0, 188 pounds, with similar length. His 40-yard dash at the combine could go a long way toward determining his draft position. Slay clocked a 4.36 in 2013, first among corners and fifth overall. The lack of ball production for Rakestraw is a concern, but he did play through a core muscle injury for most of this season that required surgery in December.
Whether or not Rakestraw is even available to the Lions at No. 29 remains to be seen. His stock is more likely to rise than drop ahead of the draft. Jeremiah had him going No. 22 to the Eagles in his most recent mock, with the Lions taking Frazier as a plug-and-play starter at guard and eventual replacement for center Frank Ragnow.
Jeremiah also had five corners off the board in the first 25 picks: Alabama's Terrion Arnold (13th to Vegas), Clemson's Nate Wiggins (15th to Indianapolis), Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell (17th to Jacksonville), Rakestraw to Philadelphia and Iowa's Cooper DeJean (25th to Green Bay).
He said he has 14 to 15 corners "with that top-three-round grade," so it might behoove Holmes and the Lions to wait on one if their guy isn't there at No. 29. Or they could make a move to go get him, be it Rakestraw or someone else. Jeremiah said that any one of Arnold, Mitchell or Rakestraw could entice the Lions to trade up.
"But once you get through that top group, a good number of those guys are going to be nickels," he said.
The Lions want and need a traditional outside corner. They could swing on a short-term vet in free agency, where the top options will likely outstretch their budget. Or they could turn to the draft for a long-term solution, and a long-overdue replacement for Big Play Slay.