Getty Jeff Okudah dives for a tackle on Marcus Mariota in 2022.
The Detroit Lions were likely holding their breath when Jeff Okudah made it back on the field, but the cornerback did nothing to frustrate them with his maiden voyage for 2022.
Okudah came back on the field for the first time in a year during live action, and the team and head coach Dan Campbell seems pleased with where he is at in terms of his game.
Speaking with the media on Monday, August 15, Okudah’s play was discussed. As Campbell said, the team came away happy with what they saw on the field from the cornerback during live action.
“We came out of this game encouraged with Jeff.”
“Listen he did some good things. It was encouraging. We came out of this game encouraged with Jeff,” Campbell said. “It was like ‘OK, this is pretty good.’ Just to see him get up there and press a little bit, challenge, and man, he’s getting involved in some of these tackles. I would say we were encouraged, that’s the best way to say it.”
Okudah has endured an injury-riddled, up and down start to his Detroit career, so to see his first action go as planned is great news. It could allow Okudah a chance to build off this game and get established before the season.
The Lions need Okudah to turn things around for their defense, so this is a great first step for the youngster to collect.
Okudah Reacts to First Game Back
While the Lions weren’t upset with Okudah, the cornerback himself came away wanting more from his play, even if he felt confident about what he did on the field for the team.
Speaking to the media after the game on Friday, August 12, Okudah talked about the game. As he said, he thought he played solid, but as a perfectionist, could not ignore the one play he did give up.
“I think it was solid. I think all things considered, it was solid. For me being a perfectionist, I hate that a receiver caught a ball on me but I think it’s something I could definitely look at and build from it,” Okudah told the media.
The completion Okudah allowed was only for 12 yards, but in his mind, that was 12 yards too many. Okudah would finish with 3 tackles on the night, which was second on the team and a very solid total.
All-told, it was a good start for Okudah, but hearing that he wasn’t satisfied is good news. That shows the drive to be even better if not elite still remains with the young cornerback.
Okudah’s Early Play Good News for Lions
More important than any stats that were put up, it was simply good to see Okudah on the field and knocking off some obvious rust for the first time in a year.
Felled by an ACL injury in Week 1 of the 2021 season, the team likely had no idea what kind of a time table Okudah was on in terms of a return. All offseason, he worked incredibly hard to get himself ready for this moment. To see him on the field was a tribute to that hard work and preparedness.
Locked in a battle to earn starting reps with Will Harris, Okudah’s first action should only help him in terms of finding comfort in between the lines and taking the next steps forward.
As always, the best man will win the role, but Okudah has reason to feel confidence at this point, especially after the staff seems to be very impressed with his abilities on the field.