Lions management didn't address the secondary? Think again.

     The Detroit Lions came into the offseason with the glaring hole in the defensive secondary, particularly the cornerback position, after giving up over 1,000 yards the last two games last season against Green Bay and New Orleans.  Many names were thrown around on who they can acquire in the first two rounds of the draft and in free agency to address the secondary.
     Cortland Finnegan, Dre Kirkpatrick, Stephon Gilmore, Jannoris Jenkins were the bigger names mentioned on the wish list.  Who among these names did the Lions get aggressive to acquire?  None of them.    Detroit decided to not be aggressive in free agency and spend money on keeping their own players and select safer moves on more talented players in the draft with tackle Riley Reiff and receiver Ryan Broyles.
     So, does that mean general manager Martin Mayhew did not address the position? Not at all.  The Lions acquired six cornerbacks, two via free agency, three via the draft and one acquired via trade. The Lions actually addressed the cornerback more than any other position this offseason.
     The problems with the secondary was a lack of depth.  The complications in the defensive backfield were shown when key starters Chris Houston and Louis Delmas.  Their tends to be deficiencies on a football team when you are putting guys that are third on the depth chart and putting them in the starting lineups exposes the backfield.
     So to prevent exposure, Mayhew went out and acquired corners that could be very valuable depth and can make an impact.  Once free agency started, he signed Jacob Lacey away from the Colts.  Lacey started 15 games for Indianapolis, and his starting experience is valuable.

Third round pick Dwight Bentley has many expectations
this season for the Lions

     Even though there were no corners taken in the first two rounds of the draft, the Lions drafted three corners out of six remaining picks the rest of the way.  Third round pick Dwight "Bill" Bentley out of Louisiana-Lafayette is an athletic, physical corner that has raised eyebrows throughout training camp and the preseason.  Bentley has a certain chance to start opposite Houston.  Detroit traded up in the fifth round to select Albion College corner Chris Greenwood.  Greenwood is a 6'1" size-strength-speed prospect who is still raw at this point after playing in smaller level college football, but the Lions staff is very excited to have him and he will provide more depth once he comes off the PUP list.  New Mexico State's Jonte Green, who was selected in the sixth round, is another size-speed combinations who will be relied on to add to the depth.

Veteran cornerback Drayton Florence brings experience and
leadership to the Lions secondary

     Mayhew didn't stop making moves to improve the secondary after the draft.  The recent final week of the preseason has been a busy one for the front office, mostly with the roster cuts for the regular season, but also acquiring two more veteran corners.  The week started with a trade with the Washington Redskins to obtain Josh Morgan.  Morgan played both outside and nickel positions for the Redskins and his experience will be valuable.  Finally, after every NFL team set their 53-man roster, the Denver Broncos cut veteran Drayton Florence, whom the Lions immediately jumped on and signed.  Florence is another experienced veteran and will be the oldest player in the secondary at 31-years-old.

     Overall, the Lions had an excellent offseason and appear to have a young but better secondary after adding six new players to the cornerback position.  Cornerback is a position that teams don't ruin a team, but they are still a part of the team and was a need for the Lions this offseason.  But to say the Lions didn't address the position isn't a smart statement, and the secondary will be better.