3 Reasons Lions' Secondary Could Be Elite in 2020
In the early part of the 2019 season, Detroit's secondary played well, and garnered some positive attention.
As the season progressed, however, the level of play in the secondary was unable to be sustained.
Many will blame the struggles on a defensive line that was unable to consistently pressure the quarterback.
No cornerback can cover a wide receiver for a significant period of time while a quarterback is allowed to survey the field comfortably.
As the Lions look toward free agency and the draft -- along with the possibility of players already on the roster developing -- there is a strong likelihood the team's secondary can be elite in 2020.
Here are three reasons why fans can be hopeful about the Lions' secondary:
Safety Tracy Walker
Lions safety Tracy Walker is very likely to become a leader of the secondary, as the 2020 season approaches.
In 2019, Walker was one of the most productive players in the secondary, and settled in well when he was thrust into the starting role in place of the traded Quandre Diggs.
On film, Walker was one of the team's lone defensive bright spots after dealing Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks in a midseason trade.
He finished with 100 tackles on the season, and has demonstrated that he's willing to put in the time to get better.
Pairing Jeffrey Okudah with Darius Slay
Imagine if Detroit and veteran cornerback Darius Slay come to terms on a new contract.
Come April, Detroit could then upgrade the secondary by selecting Okudah with its first-round pick.
Okudah and Slay would immediately form a tandem that would be able to mitigate Detroit's defensive struggles from a year ago.
By having two shutdown cornerbacks, Detroit's defensive line could then be less fearful of breakdowns in the secondary -- thus, resulting in more opportunities to blitz the quarterback.
Veteran Justin Coleman could also then return to his regular slot-corner position, where he had success in the early portion of the '19 season.
Cornerback Amani Oruwariye
According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com:
"Oruwariye has terrific length (6-2, 205). He became the first Lions rookie since 2010 to total two interceptions in their debut season. Oruwariye had a strong debut Week 11 in Dallas, and played well the following week in Washington, too. In seven games, he allowed 212 receiving yards in his coverage (30.3 average per game) with three touchdowns."
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