Lions cornerback Carlton Davis: “He’s a perfect fit for our current scheme of things.”
The Detroit Lions restocked their depth chart at cornerback this offseason, starting with the addition of Carlton Davis in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March.
“Listen, I been knowing about this player since he came out of Auburn,” Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said during the Lions’ offseason program, “and he’s been a player that wants to get in somebody’s face and challenge. Nothing’s changed about that. He did it when he was in Tampa. I know he expects to do the same things here, so he fits, like, perfect with what we’re trying to do.”
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Detroit did not re-sign its top two corners from last season – Cameron Sutton and Jerry Jacobs – after the Lions yielded 4,205 passing yards, the sixth-most in the NFL in 2024.
Detroit traded a third-round draft choice to the Buccaneers for Davis and two sixth-round picks.
After obtaining the six-year veteran, the Lions signed Amik Robertson as a free agent after he started 12 games for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, then used its first two draft picks on cornerbacks, taking Alabama’s Terrion Arnold at No. 24 and Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at No. 61 in April.
They joined holdovers Kindle Vildor and Khalil Dorsey, who started two games apiece last season, and former Alabama standout Brian Branch, back for a second season after working as the slot corner in 2023.
“It’s no surprise that the new guys that we got, they excel in playing man coverage,” Glenn said, “something that we want to do here on defense, something that we’ve always wanted to do and something we’ll continue to look at. Obviously, we’ll have our zone defense that we’ll be able to play, but we’re going to try to do everything that we can to put these guys in a position at what they do well. So Terrion, Rakestraw, C.D., Mik, all those guys — and even the guys that we’ve had here –they’ve done a hell of a job this offseason working on that man coverage.”
Glenn said he preferred man-to-man coverage because it’s “just more aggressive, and it’s a challenging mentality. And in this league, you just don’t want to sit back and allow the quarterback to just dink and dunk. There are times when you can do that. But there are other times, you’ve got to get up there and cause havoc and be able to put pressure on the offense.”
The revamp in the Lions’ secondary has installed Davis as Detroit’s senior quarterback.
“He’s a quiet leader,” Lions defensive-backs coach Deshea Townsend said during Detroit’s offseason program. “They watch how he works. They watch how he comes in every day and prepares. But he does a good job with them. He’s not going to be one that’s going to be just out here ‘Rah, rah.’ But in the room, you see him talking to the young guys, and that’s what it takes.”
Glenn said the rookie cornerbacks are learning they won’t have an NCAA FBS opponent on their schedule in the NFL.
“You’re playing a quality, NFL receiver every week,” Glenn said, “and (Arnold’s) going to get his lumps. Just like Rakestraw, they’re going to get their lumps. But I do know this: The mentality of those guys, they are fighters. And that’s one of the reasons why we got them, and they’ll be ready to play each week.”
Currently on their summer break, the Lions will gather for training camp next month, with the rookies reporting on July 20 and the veterans coming in on July 23.
Detroit begins its three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 8 against the New York Giants and kicks off the regular season on Sept. 8 against the Los Angeles Rams.
