Lions' 2023 Roster Bubble: Cornerbacks
Undoubtedly, the Detroit Lions had a major need at cornerback headed into the offseason. It contributed to the team allowing the third-most passing yards in the league (4,179) a season ago.
Subsequently, Detroit general manager Brad Holmes made it a top priority of his to upgrade the organization’s cornerbacks room over the offseason.
Most notably, he added three defensive backs, via free agency, that all can play cornerback – Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Gardner-Johnson also has experience playing safety.
Sutton, Moseley and Gardner-Johnson each picked off at least one pass during the 2022 campaign. Additionally, Sutton and Gardner-Johnson each recorded career-best years.
Sutton, who spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, produced a career-high three interceptions and 15 passes defensed. Meanwhile, Gardner-Johnson, most recently a member of the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, amassed a career-best six interceptions.
In an effort to improve the team’s secondary, Holmes also drafted Alabama product Brian Branch. Branch, a versatile defensive back with the ability to line up at both corner and safety, thrived at nickel corner during his time with the Crimson Tide. In fact, in 2022, he earned an impressive 89.5 pass-coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, while allowing just 36 receptions on 416 coverage snaps.
At this present juncture, Sutton and Moseley are expected to receive the “lion’s share” – no pun intended – of reps at cornerback. Meanwhile, Gardner-Johnson and Branch will likely log snaps at both corner and safety.
The additions of Sutton, Moseley, Gardner-Johnson and the rookie Branch put several other Lions cornerbacks on the bubble headed into the start of training camp in July. Let’s take a look now at the members of the organization who will be fighting for the remaining roster spots at cornerback.
Roster bubble
After Sutton, Moseley and Gardner-Johnson, returning Lions Will Harris and Jerry Jacobs stand the best chance of making the team’s 53-man active roster at corner.
Of Harris and Jacobs, Harris – who entered the professional ranks as a safety – put together the more productive 2022 season.
Per PFF, last season, Harris played the majority of his snaps at cornerback – 68 percent of his defensive snaps at nickel corner – for the first time in his career, and recorded the highest PFF grade of any Lions corner. He finished with a mark of 63.7, ranking No. 66 out of 235 qualified corners).
Jacobs is the best of the rest of the Lions’ cornerbacks. The 25-year-old suited up for 12 games a season ago, and posted one pick and sack each, to go along with a career-best eight passes defensed.
Chase Lucas, Starling Thomas V, Khalil Dorsey and Jarren Williams round out Detroit’s group of cornerbacks.
Lucas, the Lions’ seventh-round pick last year, ended up being the least impactful player from the team's 2022 rookie class. The Arizona State product played in just six games, and almost exclusively played on special teams (75 snaps). In stark contrast, he logged a mere six defensive snaps.
As for Dorsey and Williams, they each finished the '22 campaign on Detroit's practice squad.
Meanwhile, Thomas, an undrafted free agent out of UAB, was impressive during rookie minicamp a month ago, notably standing out on special teams drills. If he keeps that up during training camp, it should bode well for the rookie corner’s chances of being on the season-opening roster.
Currently, I’m projecting that Harris and Jacobs – basically two shoe-ins to make the team– and Thomas will make the franchise's 53-man roster out of camp. And, they will join Sutton, Moseley and Gardner-Johnson, to comprise the Lions’ Week 1 depth chart at cornerback.
It leaves Lucas, Dorsey and Williams relegated to practice-squad duty to open up the 2023 season, while Branch, in my estimation, will be listed as a safety.
