Rookie cornerback Keith Abney II was probably one of the neophytes thrown deepest into the fire by the Detroit Lions.
With an open nickelback role on the Lions' defense, Abney fits like a glove with the teams' roster, almost guaranteeing him a spot by cutdown day on Sunday. Obviously, he has to actually play well at the position, and he clearly is - he earned a start in preseason in Week 2 at the slot, but he struggled in that contest with a costly penalty and some chunky plays given up.
Still, he has a week left to really solidify himself as the Lions' best option there, and according to a few reports on his work from practice on Tuesday following that preseason stinker, he's doing just that. He was in coverage against a great workmate, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and recorded two stops against him.
“It teaches me how to compete, for real, just knowing that, 'OK, I do belong here'…Going against one of the best receivers in the game…I’m always asking him those questions about like, 'What can I do here? What did you see here?'
Abney working hard to secure starting nickelback job for Lions
The rookie came into training camp with a ton of (deserved) hype, especially since Detroit had landed him a lot further in the draft than anticipated. The former Arizona State cornerback had a career-year in his last season with the Sun Devils, and despite his size, he's seen as a tough-nosed tackler who can make noise against the run and slot receivers.
Going up against the best slot receiver in camp can't hurt to sharpen his skills, which explains why his stops looked all the more impressive during their first practice following his down game.
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His stiffest competition is coming from Roger McCreary and potentially Ennis Rakestraw Jr., with Christian Izien reportedly out for a bit of time with an injury. McCreary has been steadily rising at camp, as well, with the veteran recently telling reporters that he simply had to get used to the physicality and toughness of Detroit's practices.
The Lions signed CB Roger McCreary this offseason. He admitted he had to adjust to Detroit’s practices.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) August 26, 2026
“They practice hard, this is one of the toughest practices, I’m not gonna lie,” he said.
McCreary said Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard gives “tough love.” pic.twitter.com/MPWmlyDZYx
However, Abney seems to be the favorite as of now with him earning reps against St. Brown in camp. That's on par with being as cool of a story as seeing the rise of rookie defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard, with both looking like locks to make the final roster.
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