5 Detroit Lions who need to be great in 2020

2. CB Jeff Okudah

The trade of Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles left the Lions with a dire need at cornerback, and they made the expected move to draft Okudah third overall in the draft. Veteran Desmond Trufant was also brought in via free agency, but hopes are far higher for Okudah right out of the gate.

As Pro Football Focus laid out in their analysis of scheme fit for the top cornerbacks drafted this year, the Lions played a league-high 347 snaps of man coverage last year. They also finished last in the league against the pass (284.4 yards allowed per game), and were toward the bottom in a lot of other deeper pass coverage metrics as they corralled a tied for league-low seven interceptions.

PFF had this note about Okudah during his time at Ohio State.

"In man coverage alone, Okudah allowed just 25 receptions from 62 total targets over the last three seasons, giving up just 325 yards and only two touchdowns while coming away with one interception and 13 total forced incompletions. His 61.6 passer rating allowed in man coverage since 2017 ranks 20th among the 131 cornerbacks who saw at least 30 targets in man coverage over that period."

Opposing quarterbacks will surely test Okudah early and often as a rookie. The Lions’ pass defense can only really get better this year, but he’ll have to be up to the task as the new No. 1 corner for there to be notable improvement.