If not for sports hernia that shortened his final college season at Missouri, and a groin injury that limited his participation at the NFL Combine, Ennis Rakestraw might have been a first-round pick in the 2024 draft. Instead he fell to the second round (pick No. 61), and became the second phase of the Detroit Lions’ early double-dip at cornerback.
Injuries were unfortunately the overriding storyline during Rakestraw’s rookie season. First, he dealt with an ankle injury during training camp. Then he was a late scratch due to a hamstring injury during pregame warmups before Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That injury lingered, limiting his playing time and he was eventually put on IR in November. His 21-day activation window was opened up on Jan. 9, but he wasn’t ready to go for the Lions’ Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders.
When the Lions were cleaning out their lockers after the season-ending loss to Washington, Rakestraw made a surprising reveal.
“I actually was (going to) have an opportunity to play. That was gonna be the Tampa Bay week (Week 2), and I was coming up as the starting nickel that week,” Rakestraw said. “A lot of people didn’t know that. I got hurt in warmups, that was kind of a set-back, a step back.”
Rakestraw wound up playing in eight games as a rookie, and when he did suit up he didn’t play much (46 defensive snaps, 96 special teams snaps). 31 of those defensive snaps came in blowout wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans, and overall according to Next Gen Stats he allowed five receptions on six targets for 62 yards as the nearest defender in coverage.
Lions expect Ennis Rakestraw to be a big factor in their plans
The Lions notably lost cornerback Carlton Davis in free agency, and replaced him with D.J. Reed. Avonte Maddox and Rock Ya-Sin were also added to the cornerback mix, though Maddox may find himself in more of a safety-cornerback hybrid role and Ya-Sin could be more of a direct replacement for the departed Kindle Vildor as a core special teamer.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes both were asked about Rakestraw at the owner’s meetings this week.
“I’ve said this before, an NFL player, most of the time, the biggest jump you make of growth is between Year 1 and Year 2,” Campbell said, via the team website. “So, he’s going into Year 2. He had a couple of injuries that took him off the field, which is unfortunate because he was going and helping us a bit on (special) teams, which was good.”
“I would anticipate this guy takes another step up, man,” Campbell continued. “We’re not down on him. We’re not disappointed. We expect him to go in there and compete, man. There is nothing set in stone. You draft guys where you do and you sign guys according to what you think they’re going to be for you, but the best man is going to play. So, he’s very much in that mix.”
Holmes had a similar sentiment about Rakestraw when he spoke to reporters at the owner’s meetings this week.
“We’re still excited about Rakestraw, but unfortunately, he had injuries, and he wasn’t healthy enough to provide us a little bit more clarity in terms of where he was gonna be, so, I didn’t think it was going to be rational for us to depend on him,” Holmes said, when explaining the team’s signings in free agency. “But I know how Rakestraw’s wired, and this is going to fuel him to be ready and compete. So, we’re still excited about him but we’re just adding depth.”
Rakestraw’s rookie season basically turned into an injury-forced “redshirt year” (as he called in back in January), and injuries have impacted his last two seasons. Health will of course be the No. 1 key, but the opportunity is in front of him to earn a significant role in the Lions’ secondary.
