The Detroit Lions have turned what was once their biggest weakness into something that might be the biggest strength on defense. A year after allowing the second-fewest passing touchdowns in the NFL, the Lions let Carlton Davis and Kindle Vildor leave for the Patriots and Buccaneers and replaced them with two great options.
Former Jets cornerback D.J. Reed signed a big discount deal early on in free agency and he'll be the Lions' new CB1. after losing Vildor and not necessarily knowing what the future holds for Khalil Dorsey, the Lions went out and signed one of the best depth corners in the business in Rock Ya-Sin.
Ya-Sin was taken in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. While he was there he was a starter for the Colts in 29 of the 41 games he played for them and he played fairly well there too. In his final season with the Colts, he allowed a reception percentage of 56.5% and had seven pass breakups.
He was then traded to the Raiders for Yannick Ngakoue and started nine games there and played pretty well with a reception percentage of 58.5% and five pass breakups.
He signed with the Ravens the next year and played 14 games for them and came off the bench. Last season he played 13 games for the 49ers and was mostly a special teams guy for them since they had a pretty deep corner room.
For Detroit he's the Kindle Vildor replacement. He's the CB4 who can come in and play outside and in the slot a little bit here and there. He's an upgrade over Vildor as he's seen the field a little more as a starter and by all accounts played pretty well anytime he's on the field. This was a smart little signing for the Lions.
