Detroit Lions Ennis Rakestraw has more clearly defined role

Detroit Lions defensive back Ennis Rakestraw has a more clearly defined role heading into his sophomore campaign in the National Football League.

Injuries derailed his inaugural season, but the former second-round pick has vowed to learn from the challenges he faced sitting out and dealing with physical ailments.

Last season, Rakestraw was mostly limited to special teams duties. He notched six combined tackles in eight games, as he spent time on injured reserve due to a nagging hamstring injury.

Defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend expressed recently the coaching staff wants Rakestraw to focus on competing on the outside as opposed to the nickel cornerback spot.

With Amik Robertson, Brian Branch and Avonte Maddox all being able to play at multiple spots, giving Rakestraw an opportunity to compete alongside Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed will also be beneficial in his early development.

Townsend expressed, “Right now, we’re going to let him focus on outside, let him go compete out there. Amik (Robertson) has done a really good job (playing nickel). We have Avonte (Maddox), who is another positional flex type of person. I think that will help him, as well.”

At the conclusion of the 2024 season, the former Missouri Tigers defensive back expressed he was planning to work on getting physically stronger in order to prepare himself to play much more moving forward.

Townsend noted this time of year is about competing and growing and not so much about counting reps and at which spot.

“The thing I do like about how he came back is just his mindset. You could tell that he understood what went wrong last year, and some things that you can’t control are injuries. For him, it’s now, ‘How can I be stronger? What did I do last year, being a rookie and training for the Combine and all that? Now, I get to really focus on myself and my craft a bit more.’ He understands, and in our room it’s about competition any way,” said Townsend. “We don’t care who gets a rep, a rep don’t care who gets it at this time of year.”

For young players, the culture has been clearly established. In order to earn playing time, the coaching staff must trust a player can consistently execute their responsibilities in order to help the defense.

“When you get it you better make sure you’re doing the right thing. That’s our room anyway,” said Townsend. “You’re gonna have to prove it, you better come in here ready to compete, and I think we’ve got a lot of good guys. In this league, you only can travel with so many.”