Ennis Rakestraw didn’t see the field much as a Detroit Lions rookie cornerback in 2024. A combination of injuries and the lack of a defined role in the Detroit defense kept the second-rounder in learning mode more than playing mode in his first season.
In Year 2, Rakestraw has a chance to earn more reps and get them in a more specifically defined role. Rakestraw, now wearing No. 9, is strictly an outside cornerback in 2025 after boucning between the slot and outside as a rookie.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged that Rakestraw will be outside-only in his second season ahead of the team’s final OTA session.
“Look, we tinkered with some nickel last year and it was probably a little too much, too fast for him,” Campbell said of Rakestraw. “We felt like once we did some things with him outside – practice, things of that nature – man, he really began to grow. And I think right now that’s where he really belongs. That’s where he can really take off.”
With starter Terrion Arnold not an active participant in OTAs and Amik Robertson entrenched in the slot, Rakestraw earned first-team reps throughout the spring sessions. While his performance in the sessions open to the media was a mixed bag, Rakestraw earned Campbell’s praise as one of the spring standouts.
“Ennis would be another guy that stood out, by the way,” Campbell said, while also noting TE Sam LaPorta. “He’s going to have a chance to compete. We’d like to keep him outside right now and just let him go. He had a good spring. There again, we’re in pajamas, but he’s going to get a chance to compete and see how much he’s grown and what kind of production he can have for us.”
DBs coach Deshea Townsend and LB Jack Campbell had mentioned Rakestraw’s development in earlier media sessions, reinforcing that the second-rounder from Missouri is poised for a more impressive second season.
Rakestraw is healthy and hoping to stay that way as he competes with Rock Ya-Sin, Stantley Thomas-Oliver and Khalil Dorsey for the top reserve outside CB role behind Arnold and free agent signee D.J. Reed.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Ennis Rakestraw earns praise, will remain at outside CB in 2025 after an impressive spring
Reporting by Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
