3 Detroit Lions players who could be nice surprises in 2024

2. CB Emmanuel Moseley

Moseley was part of the revamp of the Lions' secondary last offseason, albeit as a bit of flier coming off a torn ACL with the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. He had some setbacks in his recovery, with a subsequent "clean up" procedure and an additional hamstring injury, before finally making his Lions' debut in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers.

Moseley lasted two snaps in that game, before tearing his other (right) ACL. The Lions gave him a mulligan this offseason, re-signing him before free agency started. He is in line to compete with new addition Amik Robertson for the starting outside corner spot opposite Carlton Davis. But with the release of Cameron Sutton, pending the possible addition of another veteran or an early draft pick, Moseley may still be relied on heavily if he is healthy.

In 2022 with the 49ers, before his first ACL injury of course (five games), Moseley posted a top-30 Pro Football Focus coverage grade (73.5) with five pass breakups and a 66.9 passer rating allowed. The previous season, over 11 games, he posted another solid coverage grade (69.7, the same as Davis that year, for what it's worth) with 11 pass breakups, a 65.6 passer rating allowed and a 56.4 percent completion rate allowed.

Of course health is the biggest question with Moseley, coming off a torn ACL in eack knee in back-to-back seasons. That automatically keeps realistic expectations low, or practically non-existent, but if he can stay on the field Moseley can be very helpful in turning the Lions' pass defense into a strength