As the defensive rosters for the 2022 Senior Bowl continue to come out, the defensive backs the Detroit Lions coaching staff will have in Mobile are now known.
Two weeks from now, the 2022 Senior Bowl practice week will be going on. The Detroit Lions coaching staff will be heading down to Mobile, Alabama, leading the American team roster. The position groups for each team are being released daily lately, shifting to the defensive side of the ball this week.
On Thursday morning, the defensive backs for each roster were unveiled. Here’s who the Lions coaching staff, and more precisely defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant, will be working closely with.
Tycen Anderson, S, Toledo
Yusuf Corker, S, Kentucky
Akayleb Evans, CB, Missouri
Mario Goodrich, CB, Clemson
Derion Kendrick, CB, Georgia
Zyon McCollum, CB, Sam Houston State
Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
Leon O’Neal, S, Texas A&M
Alontae Taylor, CB, Tennessee
Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Nebraska
Josh Thompson, CB, Texas
Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA
Lions will get a valuable look at some secondary help at the Senior Bowl
Aside from cornerback Amani Oruwariye and safety Tracy Walker, who is a free agent, the Lions have plenty of question marks in their secondary. Will Harris found a stride playing cornerback later in this past season, so he’ll be around in some role. But cornerbacks Jeff Okudah (torn Achilles-Week 1) and Jerry Jacobs (torn ACL-Week 14) are health question marks going into next season, with Jacobs sure to be out several weeks into the season. Big picture-wise, depth is a concern.
The Lions ideally will come out of April’s draft with a cornerback and a safety. McCreary landed in Detroit with the No. 34 pick in the most recent mock from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. Chris Burke of The Athletic shared his piece with Brugler pointing to Taylor-Britt and Woolen as fits for what Glenn covets in cornerbacks (size) as Day 2/Day 3 picks.
In one of our mocks here at SideLion Report back in December, we had Goodrich going to the Lions in the fifth round, which may be a massive underestimation of where he’ll ultimately go in April as he gets more noticed during the pre-draft process.
The Lions will surely need a talent infusion in the secondary via the draft. As with other positions, the Senior Bowl will be a valuable evaluation time.