Lions Need More 'Discipline' from Cornerback Jeff Okudah

For the Detroit Lions' defense to have any chance of success, second-year cornerback Jeff Okudah must improve upon his abysmal rookie campaign.

Against the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday, things got off to a rocky start, as he succumbed again to the deep ball.

Okudah was out of position on a 43-yard reception by wideout Diontae Johnson in the first quarter.

"Got a little greedy with his eyes. Was a condensed split. He kind of wanted to jump one route, but didn’t play what he saw," Lions defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant told reporters on Monday. "I like it, because he was thinking. But, I don’t like it, because I need discipline.”

After the big play, Okudah rebounded nicely, as he had a pass breakup in the end zone in coverage against Steelers star wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Pleasant added, "The hardest thing in my mind for a rookie and now second-year player is learning what to do and how to do it at the same time. And, it’s up to me, as a coach, to slow it down for the learner."

At the NFL level, Okudah has been asked to do much more than he was asked to do in college -- a point that Pleasant emphasized after practice.

"If you look at what he was asked to do at Ohio State, it was look at this guy, eliminate this guy only. Don’t look anywhere else, don’t worry about any checks, don’t worry about any balances, don’t worry about anything," he said. "And now, in the NFL, it’s a different game. So, sometimes, you’ve got to communicate, sometimes, you’ve got to get off, sometimes, people put you in splits, where you can’t always press and you’ve got to make sure you’re sharpening your tools in your toolshed so when you do, you’re able to use those."