As I start to look at this secondary I feel like the Lions are taking a flood the zone approach. I feel like they are doing this at LBer too. We may not have proven options but there are options!
It is time to look closer at CB. Likely to make this club:
Amani Oruwariye (as our #1), Okudah, Mike Hughes (our likely starting nickle guy), Will Harris (it is hard to type that!), Jerry Jacobs (going to be a while before he plays) and then a combo of young guys like AJ Parker/Bobby Price/Chase Lucas and others. After the top 4 (I assume Will Harris is the #4 CB)…Jacobs will not play early meaning there is room for 1 or 2 guys and I am okay with that. Chase Lucas has a real shot to make this club at this point with his experience. We likely keep 5 CBs and then also keep Jacobs on IR.
At safety we have:
Tracy Walker, DeShon Elliott (I think he is the starting SS), rookie Kerby Joseph, converted CB Ifeatu Melifonwu (likely as a SS) AND THEN ?
Seems like we have two viable FSs (Walker and Joseph) and SSs (Elliott and Ifeatu). There might be room for one more but that person is going to have to be a special team BEAST to make the club.
No proven great options. Walker might be solid but most of us want to see more from him. Past that we have interesting but unproven options.
I don’t love where we are in the secondary but I also admit this is a VERY interesting group. Will Harris has looked better as a CB than Safety. No doubt and if Will is the #4 CB I am okay with that. We have two likely veteran safety starters in Walker and Elliott) and that is interesting to me.
Overall I like this group more than the LBer group. Seems that somehow this group has LESS question marks than LBer overall but that bar is low! There are young guys with upside and if a guy makes a mistake we have guys who can take their place if necessary.
I like Iffy and Will switching spots. Iffy is going to make this club while I am not sure about Will Harris.
I really like Elliot’s game. He will really help our run defense as a box safety. The issue is his injury history. I hope his body can make it through the season. He’s starting no doubt if healthy.
The Ravens also used him as a blitzer. Elliot had more QB hits in 6 games last year than both Levi and Brockers combined all season, how sad is that.
I really think DeShon Elliott and Mike Hughes will end up being very important signings in 2022. These guys have real NFL game. If Elliott stays healthy he may be the biggest upgrade to the roster.
Mike Hughes is an underrated CB. Pro Bowl guy? No, but solid and a huge upgrade to the secondary too.
Everything I’ve read says Elliot is elite of you keep him in the box. That’s where his physical game excels. I really hope he stays health and becomes our next glover Quinn. Doesn’t Glenn want to use a lot of 3 safety sets? Did I read that somewhere? Or is my brain making shit up again?
yes to all of this. Loved the well thought out breakdown. The talent is solid, but not amazing. I think there are a TON of players that will play above their talent level. Another thing I like about this is that there is very little dropofff, when the backup comes in. When one of them has to sit out, we have VERY good depth. We’ll get a DT that will dramatically change things, next offseason. The DL will determine the success of the defensive backfield. I think we’re all set back there, especially if Okudah can be a solid-to-good player.
