The Detroit Lions elected not to make the bold move everyone was hoping for at cornerback, and instead watched as Joey Porter Jr. was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a draft pick haul.
While the decision likely left plenty of Lions fans frustrated, the team does have options to fill in at various positions. Detroit has already seen the duo of Chuck Clark and Christian Izien step up at safety to fill a major void, and at cornerback, they could see a similar result play out.
In Week 3, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. stepped up strong against Garrett Wilson. He looked like a cornerback capable of playing a much bigger role considering how solid he played in limited duty against good competition. The performance at least temporarily allows folks to dream about him finally living up to his second-round potential.
This was a positive start for Rakestraw, but it's also important for fans to remember that he is essentially a rookie after hardly seeing the field early in his career. There's going to be a steep learning curve at cornerback, and Rakestraw will have to prove he can stay healthy as well after an injury-riddled last two years.
It's highly unlikely that Rakestraw will be able to look like a clone of Porter right off the bat, so the temptation for some to think this is an even swap must be thrown out the window. The Lions must hope they can get consistent play from Rakestraw first, and let him develop. Perhaps in time with more experience he can grow into a top level contributor at cornerback.
Despite the fact that the Lions didn't trade for Porter, they need to maintain an open mind about other cornerbacks they can add heading toward the trade deadline. More help will be a must at the position even as Rakestraw continues to emerge in the meantime, and insulating him with other quality players will no doubt help aid his development.
Rakestraw smartly understands that he must keep building with Lions
Even though the performance was a major step forward, Rakestraw does have a lot more to prove. He hasn't seen the field consistently in essentially two years, meaning there are likely to be rougher days on the horizon, and plenty of more ups and downs to come.
That reality doesn't dampen what Rakestraw was able to do in his first game, and a big reason he believes he was able to succeed was the belief of his teammates and coaches, who have continually supported him.
"It was fun. Like I said, the main thing for me was the confidence that everybody had in me, the defense, the coaches, and especially my position crew. They were saying 'You can get it done. Show them who you are.' And I think I did pretty good for a couple plays."
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In spite of that, Rakestraw seems to know that he has more to do and more to learn. He liked his first impact game in the pros, but he isn't resting on his laurels or assuming he has made it simply because he has some fantastic snaps under his belt.
"(I'm) confident. I've just got to keep building, keep stacking (games), get better in practice and go out there and do it again."
For now, that's all anyone should expect from Rakestraw. He isn't a savior or a miracle worker, and applying undo pressure will only hurt his chances of developing into something. At this point, everyone must take a deep breath and watch what happens without applying high expectations.
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