Detroit Lions Stock Report: Week 1

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Stock Down:  Rashean Mathis and James Ihedigbo

It’s an old cliche in the NFL.  “Father Time is undefeated”.  Coming into the season as the oldest cornerback by a margin, Rashean Mathis was one of the Detroit Lions best players last season.  He comes out of week one a very dangerous weak spot.  Playing in off coverage most of the game, Mathis gave up a majority of the catches and yardage to the Chargers lead receiver, Keenan Allen.  Unable to keep up in man coverage with a guy like Allen, who is hardly known for his speed, is a very serious concern.

Joining him in poor play is James Ihedigbo.  Holding out for a better contract would have been disastrous if the Lions had bitten, as Ihedigbo looks like he’s regressed even further from his poor ending to 2014 that saw him benched twice.  Missed assignments, bad angles, and even slipping and falling more than once; it couldn’t have went much worse for Ihedigbo.

Would it surprise me to see Isa Abdul Quddus start at strong safety opposite Glover Quin?  Not at all.  Ihedigbo is a class act and if he did lose his job to IAQ, he’d slide into his old ST role from Baltimore without a second thought.  I’m sure he’d hate it, but it might be better for the team.  Mathis is a little trickier.  The Detroit Lions are deep at corner, but everyone after Slay and Mathis are inside guys.  Do you really want to see Nevin Lawson, a healthy scratch this week, getting reps outside?  What about Josh Wilson, who was a train wreck when asked to play outside last season?  6th round rookie Quandre Diggs?  It’s a bad sign for these two veterans to be playing poorly, but a worse sign for the Detroit Lions.

Next: Remember that Bust