In the NFL oftentimes the best ability is availability.

That was the biggest hurdle with cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. last year. The Lions drafted Rakestraw in the second round after taking fellow cornerback Terrion Arnold in the first round. Lions general manager Brad Holmes said after the selections they were the top two cornerbacks on his draft board.

Arnold went on to start 15 games at one of the outside cornerback spots and had a big impact in his first season. He is now expected to have a big second season in Detroit in 2025 after gaining a ton of experience as a rookie.

Injuries never allowed Rakestraw to get his footing as a rookie.

He missed most of the spring as he recovered from a sports hernia that required surgery and cut short his senior season at Missouri. He also dealt with an ankle injury in training camp that forced him to miss time. He started the season with a role on special teams and was going to get his chance to make an impact defensively Week 2 as the starting nickel had he not pulled a hamstring in warmups. The hamstring injury lingered all year and eventually placed him on IR.

The injuries forced him into spot duty defensively, totaling just eight percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps.

But what a difference a year can make. Now healthy and with Arnold not taking part in OTA practices, Rakestraw has gotten most of the first-team reps opposite veteran D.J. Reed at one of the outside cornerback spots, and he’s caught a lot of people’s attention at the Meijer Performance Center.

“Ennis would be another guy that stood out,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Thursday. “It’s up to him. He’s got an opportunity. We’re going to play the best guy. That’s what competition’s about. The whole roster knows that. If you’re the best guy, we’re not going to just sit there. It’s the best guy.

“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.”

First, Rakestraw said it’s important to prove to himself and the coaching staff he can be available.

“Last year I felt like I wasn’t available for the most part, and that kind of made me mad and disappointed,” he said after Thursday’s final OTA practice. “Coming in as a rookie you have these goals for yourself. They drafted me and Terrion so I thought I was going to get to play with him a lot. Wound up not happening. Life, unfortunately.”

This spring has been very different in that regard for Rakestraw as he’s out to prove he can stay healthy and make an impact.

“Being healthy and getting into the playbook and just doing what I know I can do and what they drafted me for,” he said.

Being able to focus solely on the outside has been good for Rakestraw as well, he said. It’s tough playing nickel in this league with all the motions, shift and run fits. The players outside are on an island, and it’s usually just them vs. the player across from them. Rakestraw has liked being outside and is looking forward to competing for reps there come training camp. He’s gaining the trust of his coaches and teammates, and that’s important for a young player with not a lot of reps under his belt.

It was Rakestraw’s birthday Thursday. He turned 23 years old. A reporter asked him one thing he wanted to accomplish by his next birthday, and Rakestraw’s answer was perfect given what he went through as a rookie.

“I want to look you all face to face and say I did something to help this team win,” he said.