Will the Detroit Lions get Greedy as they overhaul their secondary?

Now Matt Patricia’s defense is based on versatility and matchups. This is why versatility was so important to Patricia and discussed at length throughout last offseason. The more players can do, the more they can contribute on the field.

With that in mind and understanding that the Patriots defense is the blueprint Patricia is working from as he molds the Lions into what he wants, it is imperative that the cornerbacks are aggressive and physical contributing to the run defense.

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Just pull out the film of any game the Patriots played this year and especially in the playoffs and Super Bowl and it becomes very evident how important the cornerbacks are in this scheme helping the defense stymie opponents on the ground.

This is where the big decision has to be made by general manager Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia. Do they believe Greedy Williams can or will become a willing contributor against the run?

Now if we look at our NFL history, the comparison we can make here is to none other than Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders.

Deion was a shutdown cover man who is considered one of the best to ever play the position. Yet coming out of Florida State teams had the same question; would he become a willing run-stopper?

Deion played on several teams in many different defensive systems and proved to be adequate. He was never a strength against the run, but he also wasn’t a huge liability either.

Clearly, it would appear that Williams will be a strength in coverage, even though he needs to improve upon his zone coverage, but he’s smart and has good instincts so it would seem that he should definitely be an asset to any coverage unit.

But the emphasis Patricia puts on his cornerbacks stuffing the run is something Deion never had. Because of his gifts in coverage, defensive coordinators were able to live with the trade-off. Yet judging from Patricia’s first year as the Lions top dog on the sidelines, it doesn’t seem like a compromise he’s willing to make.

Let’s be honest, unless Williams is able to convince Patricia during the pre-draft interviews that he will be a willing tackler, it seems unlikely that Patricia will be inclined to want to use his top pick in the draft on Williams.

We can definitely expect the Lions to address their need at cornerback at some point during the offseason, but whether it’s right or wrong, it may make more sense to Patricia to not get Greedy in the draft.