Amani Oruwariye Makes Case to Be Starter over Jeff Okudah

Read more on the emergence of second-year cornerback Amani Oruwariye

With Detroit Lions training camp underway, the depth chart of the team has finally begun to take shape. 

One position battle that many are paying close attention to is the second outside cornerback position. 

Free-agent acquisition Desmond Trufant is the assumed No. 1 cover man for the time being. Who ends up across from him is still an unknown.

At this point, it’s been second-year defensive back Amani Oruwariye who has been seeing reps with the starters. 

That leaves this year’s No. 3 overall selection, Jeff Okudah, playing with the second unit. 

It’s very common for rookies to have to "earn" the job before being handed the starting position.

However, according to multiple reports, Okudah has understandably had his fair share of growing pains.

That’s not to say Okudah looks out of place, as he is learning his way around the position at the NFL level early on in training camp practices.

So, should Oruwariye start over Okudah to start the season?

First off, it’s very early into padded practices. 

Whoever is playing better should be given the starting nod -- regardless of draft status. 

That much is obvious, but Detroit general manager Bob Quinn selected Okudah envisioning the talented cornerback as an immediate contributor. 

Anytime a player is selected top three in the draft, many expect that player to almost start regardless of the circumstances.

Even if Okudah isn’t technically a starter, there is still plenty of opportunity for playing time with today’s high-powered aerial attacks.

A team can never have enough good cover cornerbacks. 

Oruwariye has quite a bit of size, athleticism and skill as well. 

For whatever reason, most draftniks -- myself included -- were collectively much higher on the Penn State product than NFL general managers were as a whole during last year’s draft. 

Often labeled as a likely second-day draft pick, Oruwariye slipped all the way to the fifth round before landing with the Lions.

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In limited playing time a season ago, Oruwariye showed some real flashes. 

Per Pro Football Focus, Oruwariye’s coverage grade was third-best of the 17 rookies that played at least 100 coverage snaps. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were also plenty of plays where he almost looked lost and out of position. 

Consistency is the name of the game in the NFL, and Lions head coach Matt Patricia preferred veteran corner Rashaan Melvin over the developing rookie last season.

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Heading into his sophomore campaign, Patricia seems to like where Oruwariye is at in terms of growth.

“Amani’s done a great job of coming in and just picking up where I think he left off,” Patricia said on Monday during a Zoom video conference. “Physically, he’s got some amazing tools. He’s quick. He’s long. He can play physical. Certainly, I think he was trying to learn. It was a little bit of a different coverage scheme, I would say, from what he had in college to what we were trying to do and (to) get out and be a little bit more aggressive at the line of scrimmage. So, as he progressed through that last year, I think at the end of the year when he had those opportunities, he made some really good plays.”

Patricia also explained how playing cornerback requires paying more attention to the rest of the field, instead of narrowly focusing on assignments. 

“I think when you come in as a corner, as a young corner, it’s very narrow. You’re very concerned with your alignment, your matchup, your guy, your player, your coverage," he said. "The more comfortable they get, they actually start to look at the rest of the field. It’s just a whole different position. It’s how you see the field. You see it outside in. Most of the players on the field see it inside out. And I think he’s starting to be able to do that a little bit more and have a little bit more of awareness of what’s around him, which hopefully will make him play faster and put him in a position to make more plays.”

It's only a matter of time before Okudah will be starting. It's just how long before that actually happens.

Overall, would it be disappointing if Okudah isn’t the starter in Week 1 against the Bears? No doubt. 

But, if it is because Oruwariye has proved worthy of earning the starting nod, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. 

Long term, it would be a good sign that Oruwariye and Okudah can become a dynamic duo that the Lions have not had in some time patrolling the secondary.