One of the most improved units for the Detroit Lions this off-season has been in their secondary. Much of that is for their success in signing three defensive backs in free agency while drafting another in the 2023 NFL Draft.
When you look at their first big signing in free agency for Detroit, it was a three-year contract that landed them cornerback Cameron Sutton. During his first six seasons in the NFL, Sutton played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He found plenty of success and is coming off the best year of his career in 2022 with 43 tackles, 15 pass deflections and three interceptions. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ended up as the team’s top cornerback for the next few seasons.
While looking into upgrading the secondary, the Lions made a surprising move by trading away former first-round pick, Jeff Okudah. While it was somewhat of a head scratching move at the time, it makes sense with Okudah feeling like damaged goods from being picked by a previous regime and injuries.
So the alternative move for the Lions was to get some additional draft capital and look back into free agency after adding Sutton. This additional move was by signing veteran cornerback Emmanuel Moseley. Last season, Moseley played in five games and had five pass breakups and an interception. He had torn his ACL and was expected to have a limited market in free agency.
That could be why Moseley signed a one-year contract with Detroit. He’ll need to prove that he’s healthy and hasn’t lost a step. The hope for the Lions is that Moseley returns to form from a few seasons ago. Prior to last year, he played in 39 games with 28 starts. This led to 3 interceptions and 28 pass deflections.
It would make sense if fans are eager to pencil Moseley into the starting cornerback role opposite of Sutton. He’s the obvious choice but the key will be if he’s healthy or not. If he’s not, the Lions could very well turn to a familiar face in Jerry Jacobs.
For Jacobs, he missed the beginning of last season from a torn ACL in 2021. However, once he got activated, he found success on the field and made some key pass breakups in the second half of the season. Jacobs finished 2022 with an interception and 8 pass deflections while playing in 12 games.
It’s worth noting that Jacobs will be a restricted free agent (RFA) this off-season. Him being on the field often and having success should be a driving force for him to earn an extension in Detroit.
Lastly, the Lions will have plenty of options and versatility at the nickle corner spot of their defense. The surprise move this off-season was by signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a one-year deal. Nobody saw that move coming but it’s a move that could really get the Lions secondary to the next level.
Over his four year career with the Saints and Eagles, Gardner-Johnson has 11 interceptions and 36 pass deflections while tallying 228 total tackles. Last season for the Eagles, he had a career year with 6 interceptions and 8 pass deflections and 67 tackles. With Gardner-Johnson, he’s versatile enough to play down in the box, cover the slot or even be a single high safety if the Lions run a Cover 1 defense.
If Gardner-Johnson isn’t covering the slot, I’d expect the Lions to turn to Brian Branch or Will Harris. As we know, Harris has spent his entire career in Detroit and in fact, played a career-high of 68% of snaps in the slot last season (per PFF). He had 10 starts and recorded his first career interception.
I’d expect Harris to see somewhat of a dip in production and with his snap count this upcoming season. Much of that could be due to the Lions selecting Alabama defensive back Brian Branch in the 2nd Round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
With Branch, he’s dynamite in a small package. He won’t drop any jaws with his straight line speed (4.58 time in the 40-yard dash) but he’s physical, versatile and his been praised for his football IQ. I’d expect for Branch to shadow Gardner-Johnson during training camp but most importantly, I’d keep tabs on how many times he’s aligned in the slot and taking snaps as the nickle corner of the Lions defense.
Ultimately, this Lions secondary has gotten tremendously better. It’s probably the group I’m most anxious to see during training camp and the preseason. If all goes right, here’s how I predict the Lions secondary for the 2023 season:
- CB1: Cameron Sutton
- CB2: Jerry Jacobs until Emmanuel Moseley is healthy
- Nickle: Brian Branch with a rotation of C.J. Gardner Johnson and Will Harris
- FS: Kerby Joseph
- SS: C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Tracy Walker
I’d expect the Lions to have multiple packages for their secondary with a combination of players at a variety of spots. I’d be somewhat surprised if Kerby Joseph wasn’t the team’s starting free safety with how well he played as a rookie and just due to his ball skills.
As I put in the diagram above, I’d expect times that we see more of a DIME defense from the Lions. It would present the Lions the option to have Joseph, Walker, Gardner-Johnson and Branch on the field at the same time. Much of that will depend on the success that we see from Sutton, Moseley and Jacobs on the perimeter of the defense.
