The Detroit Lions had been huge followers of Devon Witherspoon in final yr's draft and sure would have taken the now-Seattle Seahawks cornerback had he fallen to the sixth choose in the primary spherical, however Lions coach Dan Campbell stated Saturday the crew has no regrets about the way in which the draft labored out.
“I would take Branch, LaPorta and Gibbs for that,” Campbell stated. “So, no matter that mixture was, had it been him you’re shedding out on a kind of gamers. You don’t get the mix of three. But he’s a heck of a participant. We appreciated him loads.”
The Lions had been focusing on Witherspoon with the No. 6 choose in the 2023 draft, however pivoted after the Seahawks took the Illinois product at No. 5.
They traded down from No. 6 to No. 12, the place they took Jahmyr Gibbs and picked up an early second-round choose in the deal. At No. 18 — the place they initially hoped to land Gibbs — the Lions took linebacker Jack Campbell, then they grabbed tight finish Sam LaPorta (with the choose they acquired in the commerce) and defensive again Brian Branch with their two second-round decisions.
Gibbs, Campbell, LaPorta and Branch are all key starters for the Lions this season, with Gibbs and LaPorta playing featured roles on offense, Campbell manning the middle linebacker position and Branch playing safety after spending most of last season at slot cornerback.
Witherspoon finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting last season and is the leader of a Seattle secondary that ranks first in the NFL against the pass through three games.
“We actually appreciated him loads,” Campbell said. “And I might say what you see on tape is strictly what we thought he can be. He is a aggressive, feisty, powerful, football-playing dude. Plays the nook, performs the nickel, lively participant. Ball man.”
Can't call 'em all
Terrion Arnold has been flagged a team-high five times through three games, with four penalties for pass interference. But Lions secondary coach Deshea Townsend said he's not worried about the rookie cornerback's penalty-prone ways.
“That’s the factor of the league,” Townsend said. “If you’re a DB and should you’ve performed, you’ve had a minimum of one PI known as on you. So that’s simply the character of the enterprise and he simply has to maintain enjoying and that’s the one factor that we now have to proceed to do is not fear in regards to the penalties and simply go play.
“I always kind of joke around and tell them, ‘They can’t call 60 PIs, so keep being close.' And that’s what we want. He’s been close in a lot of coverages and that’s the main thing.”
Arnold has allowed 13 completions and one landing on 21 targets to date this season, according to Pro Football Reference, whereas drawing a slew of powerful assignments on receivers resembling Mike Evans, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Puka Nacua.
This week, he'll face one other good receiving corps led by D.Okay. Metcalf.
“That’s why he’s here,” Townsend stated. “You saw that ability and that’s why we went and got him. He’s going to be a really good player in this league for a long time.”
Dave Birkett is the creator of the brand new guide, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Preorder it now from Reedy Press.
Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
