NFL draft CB preview: Detroit Lions still have upgrades to make in defensive backfield
Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2023 NFL draft. This is the fifth in an eight-part series.
The Detroit Lions spent most of their resources in free agency upgrading a defensive backfield that underwhelmed last season. They signed two new starting cornerbacks in Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley, swooped in to land top safety/slot corner C.J. Gardner-Johnson when he did not get the money he was looking for on a long-term deal, and traded Jeff Okudah to the Atlanta Falcons for a fifth-round pick.
But they might not be done shopping for their secondary. They are in prime position to land the best cornerback in the draft with the No. 6 pick in the first round, or could add a prospect from the second tier of corners at No. 18. Sutton and Chase Lucas are the only corners signed beyond 2023, so the Lions have a long-term need at the position. Plus, they just released safety and special teams standout C.J. Moore amid fallout from the NFL’s gambling probe.
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Sutton, for now, projects as the Lions’ No. 1 cornerback, and Moseley’s pending return from a torn ACL probably relegates Jerry Jacobs, a 17-game starter the past two seasons, to a backup role. That’s a solid trio, and Will Harris has played his best football as a slot corner in sub packages, but the Lions still lack blue-chip talent at the cornerback position.
At safety, Gardner-Johnson’s presence gives the Lions options. He primarily played out of the slot under Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn when he was the defensive backs coach with the New Orleans Saints. Last year, he tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions in 12 games as a free safety with the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles last season. Ideally, the Lions will play Gardner-Johnson, Tracy Walker and Kerby Joseph together in their secondary this fall. Walker is on track for a summer return from a torn Achilles, and Joseph showed promising ball skills with four interceptions in an inconsistent rookie year.
There is room for the Lions to add one or two defensive backs in the draft, and they may be looking for a slot defender after hosting Alabama’s Brian Branch and Illinois’ Quan Martin on top-30 visits.
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CBs on the roster: Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley, Jerry Jacobs, Will Harris, Chase Lucas, Mac McCain, Saivion Smith, Khalil Dorsey, Jarren Williams. FS/SS on the roster: Tracy Walker, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Kerby Joseph, Brady Breeze, Ifeatu Melifonwu.
Top 3 CB prospects: 1. Devon Witherspoon, Illinois; 2. Christian Gonzalez, Oregon; 3. Joey Porter Jr., Penn State. Top 3 S prospects: 1. Brian Branch, Alabama; 2. Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M; 3. Sydney Brown, Illinois.
Other players with Michigan ties: CB: DJ Turner, Michigan; Gemon Green, Michigan; Nic Jones, Ball State (Southfield HS); Nick Whiteside, Saginaw Valley State; Richard Bowens, Saginaw Valley State. S: Kaevon Merriweather, Iowa (Belleville HS); Kendell Brooks, Michigan State.
Day 3 sleepers who could interest the Lions: CB: Kei’Trel Clark, Louisville. S: Jason Taylor II, Oklahoma State.
Recent Lions draft picks at CB: 2022-Chase Lucas (7th round). 2021-Ifeatu Melifonwu (3rd round). 2020-Jeff Okudah (1st round). 2019-Amani Oruwariye (5th round). 2018-None.. Recent Lions draft picks at S: 2022-Kerby Joseph (3rd round). 2021-None. 2020-None. 2019-Will Harris (3rd round). 2018-Tracy Walker (3rd round).
Draft dish
Two cornerbacks have gone in the top 10 of each of the past three NFL drafts, and this could mark Year 4 of that trend. Witherspoon and Gonzalez are two of the consensus best defensive players, considered a tick below last year’s Nos. 3 and 4 overall picks, Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner, as corner prospects.
Witherspoon is a physical outside corner who fits the mold of a Dan Campbell player. He ran faster than expected at his pro day in his return from a hamstring injury, and had more passes defensed (17) than receptions allowed (16) last season. Gonzalez, the younger brother of Olympic hurdler Melissa Gonzalez (wife of ex-Lions QB David Blough), is dripping with tools at 6 feet 1 and 197 pounds. He has length and speed, and silenced questions about his ball skills with four interceptions last season.
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There is no consensus on the No. 3 cornerback in the draft, and several others have a chance to go in Round 1. Porter is the son of ex-NFL star Joey Porter, Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes returned six interceptions for touchdowns in his three seasons, and he and Maryland’s Deonte Banks ran 4.35-second 40s at the NFL combine. Turner, the fastest cornerback at the combine (4.26 seconds), should come off the board early on Day 2, Kansas State’s Julius Brents has incredible length for the position, Miami’s Tyrique Stevenson is a physical press-man corner while Utah’s Clark Phillips III projects as a slot defender.
Branch is the only safety with first-round potential. He excelled in the slot at Alabama and could have a Gardner-Johnson type role in the NFL. Antonio Johnson is a bigger, rangier safety who has slot abilities, and the Illinois tandem of Martin and Brown should join Witherspoon as top-three-round picks. Among the other local prospects, Ball State’s Jones is a combine invite who should hear his name called on Day 3.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NFL draft CB preview: Detroit Lions have more upgrades to make
