3 Detroit Lions who could easily lose snaps to a rookie this year

2. CB Amik Robertson

In every sense, Robertson feels like a great fit for the Lions after being signed as a free agent in March. His playing style and mentality defies a lack of size (5-foot-8, 183 pounds), and he can play inside or in the slot. Last season with the Raiders, he actually played mostly on the outside (506 snaps, compared to 100 snaps in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus).

But unless Brian Branch moves off the slot corner role he was so good in last season to safety full-time this year, which actually may happen given all the additions made at cornerback, there's only so many snaps to go around for essentially three cornerback spots.

Fellow new acquisition Carlton Davis is locked into a starting job at one of the outside corner spots. Rookie Terrion Arnold is strongly penciled in opposite Davis, and it feels like he'll have to be injured or unexpectedly awful for that to change.

That's where we get to the other rookie cornerback the Lions drafted. Ennis Rakestraw got some run in the slot during rookie minicamp and OTAs. It's not a totally foreign role to him, since he did it some at Missouri, and if nothing else it's a way for him to get on the field a lot right away.

Competition in practice is good for all involved ("iron sharpens iron"), and the Lions' new cornerbacks all seem to befit the qualities they want at the position. Rakestraw won't be content to just fall in behind Robertson in a versatile inside-outside role, and if not right away the balance of playing time