Head coach Dan Campbell is pleased with Detroit’s cornerback room, which now includes veterans Carlton Davis III and Amik Robertson, as well as Brian Branch, Emmanuel Moseley, and others.
However, Campbell stated last week at the Annual League Meetings that he would still want to see more improvements to that chamber to encourage more competition.
“Certainly, there are still some guys we are looking at in free agency that can bring in some competition,” he went on to say. “That may or may not be done before the draft.”
Campbell also stated that the release of Cam Sutton “increases the need for another player who can compete.”
Xavien Howard, J.C. Jackson, Stephon Gilmore, Steven Nelson, Adoree’ Jackson, and Ahkello Witherspoon are some of the veteran cornerbacks still available in free agency.
The Lions could potentially look at the draft. Brad Holmes, Detroit’s general manager, has selected a cornerback in each of his three drafts.
Campbell loves the current cornerback lineup after acquiring Davis and Robertson, despite the possibility of future acquisitions.
“We got to play him twice and I was in that division as well before that. Just myself alone, I had a good feel of Carlton,” Campbell said of the trade for Davis that sent a third-round pick in 2024 to Tampa Bay with the Lions receiving sixth-round picks in 2024 and 2025 in return.
“We didn’t want to really throw at him. We know he’s a good cover guy and he’ll tackle on the perimeter. There are things that he can do where he can take a little bit of his side away at times. Just to have some of that goes a long way for the rest of the defense and what AG is going to be able to call. That’s really something we feel like we haven’t had here since we’ve been here.”
The Lions were in conversations with Robertson’s representatives when the legal tampering window opened. When the Davis trade happened, Campbell thought they might have lost the chance to sign him, but that didn’t end up being the case.
“One of the things I loved is we were going back and forth with Amik and then we made the Carton trade,” stated Campbell. “We said, ‘We’re going to lose Amik. I mean, we just traded for a corner. And he said, ‘Are we going to get this done or not?’ He wants to come because he believes he is coming in to compete from the start. He wants to come in and earn his rights. I adore that about this youngster. He fits us perfectly.”
Campbell believes Davis, Robertson, Branch, and Moseley (when he recovers from a ruptured ACL sustained last season) will allow defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to vary up coverages and provide him with more options than in prior seasons.
