Detroit Lions: Grades by Position Group
By Alex Reno
Aug 22, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA;Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay (23) is announced before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Cornerback
Starters: Darius Slay, Rashean Mathis, Bill Bentley (nickel)
Reserves: Cassius Vaughn, Nevin Lawson
Practice Squad: Mohammed Seisay
Grade: C-
The Detroit Lions opted to keep just five cornerbacks as they finalized their 53-man roster just a few days ago.
Darius Slay will be thrown into a dumpster fire of a secondary taking over the #1 corner duties since the departure of Chris Houston. Rashean Mathis was easily the most consistent corner for the Lions last year, and may be the only bright spot for them at CB.
Bill Bentley remains the starting nickelback. If Nevin Lawson wasn’t struggling learning the position in Austin’s defensive scheme, I don’t think Bentley would have a starting job here. He hasn’t done a whole lot throughout training camp, but unfortunately Nevin Lawson hasn’t looked any better.
The Lions are going to need to generate a whole lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks if they want to have any luck on defense, because the secondary just doesn’t look any better on paper right now than it did last year.