The Detroit Lions new secondary will face a gauntlet of quality passers early.
The Detroit Lions revamped several portions of their roster this offseason. Most notably along their offensive line and in their secondary.
Gone are veterans like left tackle Rick Wagner, right guard Graham Glasgow, cornerback Darius Slay, and safety Tavon Wilson. In their place, the Lions have added a slew of new faces.
Some of those names include offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai, rookie guard Jonah Jackson, first-round pick cornerback Jeff Okudah, and safety Duron Harmon.
Each of these new faces figure to play pivotal roles for the Lions starting Week One. And if so, they will be tested early. Especially the Lions’ revamped secondary, as Mike O’Hara of DetroitLions.com recently pointed out.
Detroit is set to face a solid group of quarterbacks in their first eight games of 2020. Those passers include Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, Phillip Rivers of the Indianapolis Colts, Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, and Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Detroit Lions needed to shake things up in their secondary
Last season, the Lions fielded the worst passing defense in the entire NFL. Detroit allowed an average of 284.4 passing yards to opposing offenses in 2019.
The Lions have switched out Slay and Rashaan Melvin at corner from last season with Okudah and free agent addition, Desmond Trufant. They’ll join Justin Coleman to give the Motor City a talented starting trio at the position. And don’t forget about 2019 fifth-rounder Amani Oruwariye, who showed flashes of potential in his first season in Motown.
At safety, the Detroit Lions traded for Harmon, a former New England Patriot who is well-versed in head coach Matt Patricia’s defensive scheme. The veteran figures to fill the role vacated by Tavon Wilson, and should help to mentor recent third rounders in Tracy Walker and Will Harris on playing the safety position in Patricia’s multiple system.