Lions Snag Intriguing Young Big-Play CB From Eagles Practice Squad

The Detroit Lions need as much help as they can possibly find this offseason on defense, and specifically at the cornerback spot.

That makes any addition they can come up with potentially valuable. As in the past, the Lions prefer to find younger and hungry players rather than overpay multiple veterans. To that end, their latest addition was a very intriguing one.

Late on Thursday, February 23, the Lions revealed they had signed cornerback Mac McCain III from the Philadelphia Eagles. The team’s account confirmed the signing of McCain to the Lions.

“Lions signed CB Mac McCain,” the Detroit Twitter account tweeted.

McCain had spent the 2022 season with Philadelphia’s practice squad, and latched on to the Eagles roster after signing with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2021. Since, he has been up and down off both team’s practice squads, and has spent the last two seasons between the Broncos and most recently the Eagles.

With depth at cornerback a must, the team will be looking in plenty of places to find hungry players to come in and compete for roles. McCain is the first signing for the team in what figures to be a very busy offseason of additions.

McCain’s Stat’s & Highlights

In terms of an intriguing young player, McCain certainly fits the bill as that for the Lions. He was an undrafted free agent out of Alabama A&T in 2021, and while in college, made several big plays.

McCain has shown the explosion with the ball in his hands. While playing 20 career college games, he has 113 tackles, eight interceptions, 22 pass breakups and 30 pass deflections. Perhaps most interestingly, he also collected 374 career interception return yards for four touchdowns, showing big play potential.

The highlights show an explosive player whenever the ball gets into McCain’s hands:

McCain has only played in two career games in the NFL, and has three tackles to his credit in the league. It’s safe to say he’s never been able to get a big chance to show his stuff relative to the strength of the defenses he was trying to crack.

In Detroit, he could very well get that chance to prove his worth faster than any of his other stops.

Lions Have Offseason Need at Cornerback

Why prioritize the cornerback spot this offseason so early on? Detroit’s secondary was arguably the worst group on the team’s defense this year, and they have the statistics to prove it.

Detroit finished 30th in pass defense, allowing 26 touchdowns and over 245 yards per-game on average. Worse, they allowed a total of 4,179 yards through the air. That points to a group that simply didn’t get much going all season long.

Jeff Okudah, who posted 73 tackles and one interception was the most consistent player of the group, and by the end of the season, he was struggling to find consistency as well. The Lions have solid pieces like Jerry Jacobs, but not nearly enough depth at the position, which proved itself to be the case most of the year.

Free agent Amani Oruwariye figures to be on the outs after a very tough season in 2022, and Mike Hughes may not have done enough to stick around as a must re-sign player. That could lead the Lions to prioritize the spot heavy in the draft and also free agency.

McCain is a start for the Lions, and given the fact that a cornerback was signed first, it feels safe to say that his addition could be the first of many moves at the position.