Ennis Rakestraw entered Monday night's Detroit Lions scrimmage needing something positive to happen.
The former second-round pick had watched his standing in Detroit's secondary slip during training camp, struggled in the preseason opener against Cincinnati and found himself working primarily with the second-team defense. With Nick Whiteside emerging as one of the surprises of camp and other young defensive backs pushing for opportunities, Rakestraw's margin for error was getting smaller.
Then Monday happened.
Rakestraw delivered easily one of his best performances of the summer, showing the physicality, instincts and playmaking ability the Lions believed they were getting when they selected him No. 61 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. It was only one practice, but for a player fighting to change the direction of his camp, it was an important one.
Rakestraw announced himself immediately during the scrimmage. On his first snap, he aggressively attacked the line of scrimmage and delivered a strong hit on running back Jacob Saylors. One play later, he came off the corner on a blitz and dropped Saylors for a loss.
#rakestraw #lions #himself
The former second-round pick had watched his standing in Detroit's secondary slip during training camp, struggled in the preseason opener against Cincinnati and found himself working primarily with the second-team defense. With Nick Whiteside emerging as one of the surprises of camp and other young defensive backs pushing for opportunities, Rakestraw's margin for error was getting smaller.
Then Monday happened.
Rakestraw delivered easily one of his best performances of the summer, showing the physicality, instincts and playmaking ability the Lions believed they were getting when they selected him No. 61 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. It was only one practice, but for a player fighting to change the direction of his camp, it was an important one.
Rakestraw announced himself immediately during the scrimmage. On his first snap, he aggressively attacked the line of scrimmage and delivered a strong hit on running back Jacob Saylors. One play later, he came off the corner on a blitz and dropped Saylors for a loss.
#rakestraw #lions #himself
3 months ago
