What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?
The Detroit Lions are trying to find that out in training camp by throwing Ennis Rakestraw Jr. into direct competition with Jameson Williams. While we've yet to see whether Rakestraw is capable of being a consistent starter for the Lions in their secondary, so far, reports on him out of camp seem to indicate that he's on that track.
Much of that is due to the fact that the team has him matching up with Williams on a lot of reps, and Williams is taking a balanced approach with Rakestraw in their battles: still try to beat out the Year 3 corner, but then, explain to him how he's beating him out.
"It helps me a lot. In a game, you aren't going to win every repetition, and you aren't going to lose every repetition. It's about competing for the football. He won one, and then I got a punch-out. We both keep getting better. He'll improve on protecting against the punch-out, and I'll improve on defending the fade. You just keep getting better. That's all I can do."
Rakestraw and Williams are helping each other improve in training camp
It's going to be huge for Rakestraw if he can be a starter for this Lions defense. They have other options in Rock Ya-Sin and Nick Whiteside, of course, but being able to have a homegrown talent step up in such a big way for a depleted secondary would mean a ton for the team and the fanbase.
It's been quite a while since Lions fans were able to even root for a homegrown cornerback talent, with the last player being Darius Slay, it feels like. Since him, they've had a really nasty streak of picks and acquired talent that just haven't lived up to his hype - players like Jeff Okudah, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Chase Lucas, and most notably, Terrion Arnold, to name a few.
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Raketraw, and newly drafted cornerback Keith Abney II, have a ton of pressure on them to succeed almost right away this year with so many question marks over the Lions secondary.
With Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph's availability up in the air, they need as much help as they can get with both generating turnovers and putting the pressure on the run game - decent cornerback play from Rakestraw, Abney, Whiteside, Ya-Sin, and D.J. Reed could immediately fill that gap.
Rakestraw, with added weight and strength this offseason, is hoping to be healthy enough to be the defender that Detroit believes he can be. And, they have to hope that he can continue to be just as speedy as Williams as the receiver needs a solid challenge throughout camp to really sharpen himself as a stronger, more resilient downfield target.
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