Is Nickell Robey-Coleman an Upgrade Over Justin Coleman?

The Lions have signed free-agent cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman to a one-year deal, in an attempt to upgrade their roster after losing free-agent corner Justin Coleman.

Is Robey-Coleman really an upgrade, or is it a move of familiarity?

Coleman spent the 2019-20 seasons in Detroit, playing with the last regime. And, during his time with the Lions, he was a solid football player.

At about the strike of midnight, when the league’s free-agency period began, Miami inked him to a one-year deal.

Enter Robey-Coleman, who signed with Buffalo as an undrafted free agent, out of USC, back in 2013 and spent the last three seasons playing for the Eagles and Rams (played with the Eagles from 2017-19 and with the Rams in 2020).

Ironically, new Lions general manager Brad Holmes was with the Rams prior to joining Detroit, as is the case with new Lions defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant.

While with the Rams, Pleasant coached the defensive backs, including Robey-Coleman.

Once again, "who the Lions are familiar with" takes the cake.

Coleman, who was part of former Detroit GM Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia's regime, walks in free agency, and Robey-Coleman is signed in his place.

Outside of that dynamic, both of these corners have recorded a 4.53 40-yard dash time.

So, how do Robey-Coleman and Coleman stack up on film?

When the free-agent signing period began, I looked extensively at Robey-Coleman, and assigned a grade of a "C+" to him.

Meanwhile, when I last looked at Coleman, over the course of eight games in 2019, I assigned him a "B" grade.

While Robey-Coleman is more physical and competitive, Coleman is slightly more flexible in his hips.

This is also clearly illustrated by the fact that Coleman signed with Miami right when free agency started on March 17, while Robey-Coleman hung around until August 9.

According to a source, "Robey-Coleman is a one-year patchwork player. He is not a long-term guy. One year means come in here and show us what you can do. And, if you prove something to us, we can talk about an extension during the season. But, if not, we both go our own ways. If a team is convinced about a guy, they go with a multi-year deal. If they don’t, both sides generally go one year and see what happens. The team is banking he will not do it, and the player is banking that he will do it. And generally, the team is right, and the player won’t do it. Generally, he is just a patchwork guy and not a guy you are going to depend on for the future.”

Robey-Coleman grew on me the more I watched him, while Coleman struck me as a well-rounded cover corner.

Coleman demonstrated better hip fluidity and a greater ability to "flip his hips" than Robey-Coleman, and for the position of CB, that makes a big difference.

Good receivers in the National Football League often have two things going for them as they battle corners.

1.) The receiver knows the play, and the corner does not.

2.) A good number of receivers can turn direction quickly and in a crisp manner.

While a lot of corners can turn and run - - and have enough speed to carry deep, vertical straight-line routes -- the better ones have enough hip flexibility to match or stay close enough when a receiver quickly changes direction and attempts to catch the football.

The more a receiver can create separation at the break points of routes, the higher the likelihood that corners with hip rigidity will struggle.

Last season, Robey-Coleman allowed 46 receptions on 56 targets.

Interestingly enough, Coleman allowed 38 receptions on 45 targets.

Both are pretty evenly statistically matched from that standpoint. Bottom line, they both allowed a lot of catches (way too many catches, if you ask me).

So, in the end, is Robey-Coleman an upgrade?

In terms of cover ability, no. But, for the Lions, yes.

Robey-Coleman is an upgrade, because the Lions are more familiar with him, and he, therefore, fits what they are trying to do better.

Robey-Coleman is also far more durable, missing only two games since 2013. Meanwhile, Coleman has missed 17 games since 2015.

However, the thing that really separates the two is that Robey-Coleman is more physical in support, and he is more of a sure tackler. And, that absolutely makes him a better fit for head coach Dan Campbell and what these new-look Lions are all about.

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