Jeff Okudah Is Losing Early Battles in Training Camp
Playing defensive back in the NFL is a whole different challenge than playing the position at the collegiate level.
Rookie Jeff Okudah is learning the hard way of the challenges of transitioning to the next level.
In the first two days of practice, Okudah has slipped on multiple occasions while trying to cover fellow rookie Quintez Cephus and Kenny Golladay.
Okudah has called Cephus the toughest player he had to cover during his time in the Big Ten.
On Tuesday, the promising defensive back lost both of his one-on-one battles against Cephus, even slipping just like he did Monday while attempting to cover Detroit's best wide receiver in Golladay.
"There’s definitely just a lot coming at those guys from different directions. Jeff is working really hard, and he’s trying to do everything that we want him to," Lions head man Matt Patricia said Monday after Detroit's first padded practice.
"He’s learning our system and competing. We’ve done some red-area stuff previously, and we’ll get the third down here towards the end of the week. So, we’ll see how those packages shake out," he added.
In the NFL, no other defense plays more in man coverage than Detroit.
Patricia & Co. went out, and drafted what the organization felt was the best cornerback in this year's draft class -- a corner that also happens to excel in man coverage.
Despite the early struggles, the expectations remain lofty for Detroit's 2020 first-round selection.
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