In the past four years or so, Detroit Lions cornerbacks have been getting a ton of heat. It always seems that people are either projecting the Lions to pick either an offensive tackle or a cornerback whenever the offseason rolls around. This year has been no different. People everywhere are predicting the Lions to either take Akeem Ayers, Brandon Harris and even Prince Amukamara in some cases. Personally, I don’t really think the Lions cornerbacks are all that bad. Both Chris Houston (if he is resigned) and Alphonso Smith are good fits for this defense, had decent seasons and both of them are young and have plenty of time to grow.
The way I see it: rookie cor
ners rarely come into the NFL and immediately become impact players. It usually takes them a season or two to develop anyways, which means Chris Houston and Alphonso Smith would most likely start anyways even if the Lions were to draft a corner. The better route to upgrade the cornerback position would be through Free Agency (if there is one), especially since there are a few blue chip cornerbacks out there. Below is a list of corners who I think the Lions should go after:
Nnamdi Asomugha (UFA): It goes without saying that Nnamdi Asomugha would be a great addition to the Detroit Lions. There are some that feel Asomugha’s skills have somewhat diminished in the last two years or so, but I really see no evidence to that. He was somewhat beat up last season, but 2009 season is the perfect indication of how great Nnamdi Asomugha really is. In the entire 2009 season, he was only targeted 28 times. Now, for those of you that don’t know much about how often corners get targeted, here is a little comparison. In the same year, Darrelle Revis was targeted 111 times. Nnamdi Asomugha is clearly an elite corner, daresay the best in the NFL. I would bet my money that he can be better than Revis if he were ever to play for a defense that gets as much pressure as the Jets defense does. For me, the question isn’t how good Asomugha is, but rather how much he will cost. If he asks for anything less than 18 million a season, the Lions would be foolish to turn him down.
Champ Bailey (UFA): He is 32, but is still Champ Bailey. He is no longer a shutdown corner that he once was, but he is still one of the best corners in the NFL. There are lots of questions to answer about Bailey, and I think age is the least of them. First of all, would he come to Detroit? Champ is nearing the end of his career and I would think that he wants to make a run at the Super Bowl. The Lions clearly aren’t the team for that. In addition, how much has his skills diminished? He was still a Pro Bowler this year, but he made the team as an alternate. Overall, I think that Champ Bailey is still a top ten cornerback in the NFL and still capable with hanging with the best of ‘em. He just won’t shutdown opposing receivers like he used to. If the price is right, I would not mind seeing a veteran like Bailey in the Honolulu blue.
Carlos Rogers (UFA): Carlos Rogers has his flaws. He can get beat deep by faster receivers, but he is very good at matching up with bigger targets and jams and redirects receivers really well at the line. The way I see it: the Lions already have two small guys very good at hanging with faster receivers in Chris Houston and Alphonso Smith. The thing that both of them struggle with is matching up with bigger, more physical wideouts. Carlos Rogers would be perfect in that sense for the Lions. Next season, the Lions are slotted to face receivers like Michael Crabtree, Dwyane Bowe, Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston, and Dez Bryant, who all take great advantage of their size. A guy like Carlos Rogers would be the perfect the perfect man to cover receivers like that.
Others to consider: Antonio Cromartie (RFA), Brent Grimes (RFA), Richard Marshall, Jonathan Joseph (RFA).
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