On his first snap in Monday night's scrimmage, Ennis Rakestraw crashed toward the line and laid the boom on running back Jacob Saylors. On his second snap, he blitzed off the corner and dropped Saylors for a tackle for loss. Saylors has had a great camp for the Lions, but Rakestraw was the star of a scrimmage in which Detroit's defense didn't allow a first down until the sixth drive.
"That’s just going back to college, playing the boundary," Rakestraw said of his run defense. "Gotta put it on tape so they can believe it."
Rakestraw is trying to climb back up the depth chart after being dropped to the second-team defense, a gut check for the former second-round pick. He's had an inconsistent camp. Monday was his best showing yet.
On the first snap of the second drive for the 2's, Rakestraw blitzed off the other corner, leapt into the air and tipped a pass by Luke Altmyer that fell harmlessly to the grass. On third down two plays later, Ahmed Hassanein created pressure, Christian Izien broke up a pass over the middle that popped into the air, and Rakestraw was the man on the spot to come down with it.
He spiked the ball in celebration in what looked like a cathartic moment for the third-year cornerback.
"I needed it," Rakestraw said with a smile. "I needed a pick this camp. I saw Izzy got a little bobble, so I’m like, hey man, I finna grab this, and then we started bobbling it on the ground and I kept concentration on it and I caught it."
Eventually, Rakestraw earned some reps with 1's. He got beat for a touchdown from six yards out on a slant from Jared Goff to Tom Kennedy, but only after Amon-Ra St. Brown took Rakestraw out of the play with a well-timed rub route. Rakestraw really didn't have a chance.
Back with the 2's a couple drives later, Rakestraw broke up a short pass intended for Malik Cunningham as they both went to the ground. Rookie defensive lineman Eric O'Neill delivered a pick six on the next play when he sniffed out a wide receiver screen and snatched Altmyer's pass out of the air.
Rakestraw bulked up above the waist this offseason to endure the blows that come with playing corner in a physical defense. He laid another shoulder into tight end Tyler Conklin, while giving up about four inches and 50 pounds to the nine-year vet, on a swing pass that went for a minimal gain.
There's still an opportunity in front of Rakestraw, especially with Nick Whiteside sidelined by a minor hamstring injury. Whiteside has passed Rakestraw on the depth chart in camp, getting most of the reps with the first team defense when either D.J. Reed or Rock Ya-Sin isn't on the field.
Rookie Keith Abney also saw some first-team snaps at nickel Monday night. But the Lions view Rakestraw as an outside corner, the same way he views himself. Asked where he's most comfortable, he didn't flinch: "Definitely on the outside."
"You’re by yourself, you gotta step up to the challenge. That’s what you want. That’s who get paid the most anyway," Rakestraw said with a smile.
After missing most of his first two seasons with injuries, Rakestraw has taken a grounded approach to year three. His daily goals are to stay healthy and make incremental strides. He was trending down after a decent start to camp, then got knocked out of the preseason opener early when he took a knee to the shoulder/back making a tackle on a running back.
But that was still a step forward for Rakestraw, whose last live action (aside from the Hall of Fame Game last summer) was in November of 2024. He said taking the field last Thursday in Cincinnati felt like playing in his first SEC game at Missouri, against Alabama his freshman year.
"I was like, 'Oh, shoot, I’m back.' That’s all I could think of. I was like, man, I sat out for so long. I gotta get up and hit somebody so I can get the jitters out," Rakestraw said.
With that game in the rearview, Rakestraw can feel himself trending back up: "Especially right now, now that I finally played in a little preseason game. I ain’t played in about two years, so it’s just putting me back in my football element. That’s why in the scrimmage I had to pick it up a little more."
And pick it up he did.
"Day by day," said Rakestraw. "Ups and downs. Now I just gotta keep showing. It is what it is. Nobody's gonna feel sorry for me. So just take it on the back, watch it, thick skin, get better. That’s all you can do."
The pick, though, had to feel good.
"Man, it’s just one step," he said. "And now that I got my hand on the ball, more will come."
