In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions made a surprising move of doubling down on the cornerback position. With their first and second round picks in that draft, they selected cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw.
Throughout last season, we saw plenty of Terrion Arnold. In a rookie season that saw him get tested early and often to start his career, he really started to put it all together towards the end of the year. This leaves plenty of hope for what Arnold can be in year two of his career and beyond.
As for the Lions’ second-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft, Ennis Rakestraw, there’s a lot left unanswered. For starters, Rakestraw only played 46 defensive snaps in 2024 with 6 games played. Additionally, he played on 95 special teams snaps. In total, he was able to record 6 total tackles in his rookie season.
Suffering a hamstring injury is the root cause of why there was so much limitation for the cornerback from Missouri. Injuries have been something that Rakestraw has battled for much of his football career. In 2021, he suffered a torn ACL, and in 2023, he missed time due to a groin injury. The question now becomes, can he finally stay healthy?
The hope is that he stays healthy enough so he can contribute on a more consistent basis. Whether he plays on the outside or in the slot, that’s yet to be seen. However, there has been a lot of praise from Lions head coach Dan Campbell on Rakestraw.
When talking about spring practices with the media, Campbell said, “Ennis would be another guy that stood out, by the way.” Following up on that, Campbell added, “He’s going to have a chance to compete. We’d like to keep him outside right now and just let him go. He had a good spring. There again, we’re in pajamas, but he’s going to get a chance to compete and see how much he’s grown and what kind of production he can have for us.”
When looking at the Lions depth chart at cornerback, it’s the deepest it’s been in years. Led by Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed on the perimeter, we’ll certainly see Amik Robertson covering the slot. Adding depth will be a combination of Khalil Dorsey, Rock-Ya Sin and/or Avonte Maddox. But stuck in the middle of all of that will be Ennis Rakestraw.
According to Dan Campbell, it sounds like Rakestraw will get more of a chance on the perimeter rather than in the slot. Which should be just fine, considering what some of the current veterans on the roster provide. Now the hope is that he can stay healthy and continue to develop. If he does, that’s a beautiful problem to have for the Lions. They’ll have some tough decisions to make but if their second-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft is able to start putting it all together, it’ll make those tough decisions a little bit easier.