Keith Abney II has been one of the most hyped Detroit Lions picks in quite some time, and that's saying a lot considering he was a 5th round pick for them. The cornerback was valued as more of a 3rd round defender, so it was seen as a steal that Detroit managed to land him on Day 3 of the draft.
Abney comes into the fold for the Lions to compete not just for their nickelback role, but now, for their role at CB2 that could be open due to the arrest of Terrion Arnold. While Abney is versatile and could play either position, it would be fun to see him compete for that position next to D.J. Reed while up against Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Khalil Dorsey, and Rock Ya-Sin.
With a lot of love for Ya-Sin coming out from minicamp, though, it feels more likely that he'll be sliding into that position barring a major shakeup ahead of training camp. Still, there's a consistent role for Abney on this roster, and that's at gunner.
Abney could find consistent role with Lions with special teams unit
With Grant Stuard leaving the Lions in free agency, they need to locate a new gunner to insert on their special teams unit. Abney, according to LionsOnSI's Christian Booher, has looked good when put into that position throughout OTAs.
"The rookie has also looked good in his reps at gunner during special teams drills. Abney has the athleticism to be a real factor in this phase of the game, which is something the Lions have placed a premium on throughout Campbell's tenure."
Of course, Abney's fit was seen as more of a backup cornerback while he, ideally, learned from the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart headed into this season. But, with the Arnold news, it feels possible that he could beat out Rakestraw, Dorsey, and Nick Whiteside, at minimum, to earn the CB2 role.
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At just 5-9, Abney is a smaller corner, which doesn't help Detroit out much on paper with Reed being the same height. But, both are physical, lock-down defenders who could still provide some meaningful starting snaps in man coverage. That's the Lions' bread and butter scheme with their secondary, so Abney fits well in that role.
As for their nickel battle if Abney is sliding over to CB2, they still have Roger McCreary, Rakestraw, and UDFA Aamaris Brown competing at that spot. McCreary feels like the obvious winner in that room, with Rakestraw likely set to need a huge minicamp performance to leap over the veteran in that room.
The door is open for Abney. What he does with that opening is up to him, but with all the hype around the cornerback, it feels possible that we'll be seeing a rookie suit up for the Lions in Week 1 at outside corner.
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