The Lions quickly pivoted to D.J. Reed as their replacement for Carlton Davis, and it's about time he got proper acknowledgement.
As part of an effort to finally get the cornerback position right, the Detroit Lions traded for Carlton Davis during the 2024 offseason. Then he went out and delivered like he promised he would, like the shutdown corner that was desperately needed in the Detroit secondary.
Davis then entered 2025 free agency intent on getting what he felt (and the market would determine) he was worth. So he was pretty easily gone, to the New England Patriots, and the Lions quickly pivoted to D.J. Reed, who spent the last three seasons with the New York Jets.
Reed operated in the shadow of Sauce Gardner in New York, which also means he was tested plenty as the perimeter corner opposite one of the best in the league over the last three seasons. It's also clear the Lions had him on their radar as a top pivot option once it was obvious Davis would be gone.
D.J. Reed gets proper acknowledgement as suitable Carlton Davis replacement
Pro Football Focus has taken a look at one impact offseason acquisition for each NFL team based on their data. For the Lions it was Reed, with the "key metric" being a PFF coverage grade of at least 70.0 in each of the last six seasons.
"Detroit has been searching for cornerback stability for several years. Carlton Davis III left for New England in free agency, but D.J. Reed should be able to provide that stability for an otherwise young group. Cornerback production is notoriously volatile, but Reed has managed to earn at least a 70.0 coverage grade in each of the past six seasons. In that same span, Detroit has only had three instances where a cornerback played at least 100 snaps and recorded at least a 70.0 coverage grade."
Davis' PFF coverage grade (72.1) was a little better than Reed's (70.1) last year. But over the last six seasons, Davis' PFF coverage grade has ranged from 63.3 to 73.8 while Reed's (as noted) has been at least 70.0 with four season-long marks higher than Davis' best.
Reed missed three games last season, otherwise he likely would have extended his streak of seasons with more than 990 defensive snaps to four. Davis has never reached that number of snaps in a season during his career, and he has missed at least four games in four straight seasons.
The Lions may miss Davis to some extent, or a lot according to some, but they got the talented Reed for less money. The supposed big impact of losing Davis is further softened by the step young cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw are lined up to make this season.
As a 1-to-1 replacement, any far-fetched idea Reed is not fully up to replacing Davis as the Lions' No. 1 cornerback falls apart rather quickly. PFF data just provides more proof.
