5 Detroit Lions who must play well in Week 3 against the Vikings

2. CB Jeff Okudah

Okudah has delivered over the first two games this season, shutting down Eagles’ wide receiver DeVonta Smith (literally zero catches against him) in Week 1 and doing a very nice job on Commanders’ No. 1 receiver Terry McLaurin last week with Amani Oruwariye (back) out.

Oruwariye may be back against the Vikings on Sunday, but it will be an entirely different challenge for the Lions secondary. Justin Jefferson is the Vikings’ No. 1 target, and they line him up all over the field. So Okudah will have his share of matchups against one of the league’s best wide receivers, even possibly one-one-one at times without help if Aaron Glenn dials up pressure on Kirk Cousins.

It won’t be about the Lions shutting out Jefferson as much as limiting what he does on his catches, and making sure there is no leavng him unaccounted for or in clear mismatches. Okudah will be a core piece of that, and don’t dismiss his impact stepping up to set the edge against Dalvin Cook and the Vikings’ ground game.