The Detroit Lions‘ defense does not have any answers right now. When asked what their identity was, cornerback D.J. Reed noted that what they do and what they should do might not be the same.
“I would say we’re a zone team,” said D.J. Reed when asked what the identity of the team is. “I feel like we gotta get back to being more matching. But, you know, whatever Coach Shepp calls, we gotta get it done.”
While Reed is suggesting the team changes the coverages they play, he is also acknowledging that he is just playing the defense he is assigned to play. This could have to do with why Reed is struggling so far this season.
He was expected to be the Lions’ top cornerback, but is allowing 264 yards in coverage, per PFF. That is almost twice as much as the next-best cornerback.
Detroit Lions Cornerback D.J. Reed Calls for More Man Coverage
Reed has always been better in man coverage than zone. Right now, the Lions are playing man coverage on 20% of the snaps that Reed is on the field. That is significantly lower than the 37% he played in the Kelvin Sheppard defense a year prior. When the Lions signed Reed, he was coming from the New York Jets, where he was also playing more than 30% of his snaps in man coverage.
Reed has allowed four catches for 76 yards in man coverage so far this year. Meanwhile, he has allowed eight catches for 178 yards in zone coverage.
The Lions would play more man coverage to help Reed, but the rest of the defense is not talented enough.
Lions Are Forced to Play Zone Coverage
Reed is also allowing far more yards than any other cornerback because none of the other options are playing enough snaps to give up that many yards. Rock Ya-Sin started on the outside for the first two weeks but has hardly seen the field in the past two games.
Now, Roger McCreary is starting on the outside and shifting into the slot for nickel snaps. Ennis Rakestraw is coming in for those snaps, so it is essentially a platoon across from Reed. McCreary is also sharing the slot with Christian Izien, who moves in and out of the safety spot.
The team is being asked to do a lot, and adding in man coverage duties is asking a lot of players who are not getting full-time work because they are not talented enough to hold it down.
The Lions could have played more man coverage if they had traded for Joey Porter Jr. They could try to swing another trade for a different man-coverage cornerback. Or, they could try to play more man coverage with Rakestraw and McCreary.
They have to try something, and Reed is suggesting man coverage is one of the keys.
Lions’ $48 Million Star Questions Defensive Identity