The Detroit Lions corner battle is heated heading into the preseason

Cornerback is one of the few positions where we do not already know who will start for the Detroit Lions. The competition is heated, and the winner will likely only sit at the top until matchups dictate otherwise.

The Detroit Lions have been working on their secondary from the moment Bob Quinn came to town. It has become one of the strengths of the team. There is no position where the competition is more fierce. There are several viable contenders for a position across from Darius Slay. Here is a look at the team’s options as they sit heading into the team’s first preseason competition.

Teez Tabor had been running with the first team for the entire offseason program. The second-year corner who went in the second round of the 2017 draft was making plays in the shorts and helmets portion of the offseason. By all accounts, he had firmly grasped the role. There seemed to be little doubt in many minds that he was an ascending player.

From day one of training camp, however, the cornerback across from Darius Slay was DeShawn Shead. Shead was the Lions biggest name free agent addition to the secondary during the offseason. He replaced D.J. Hayden as the veteran depth option. His position across from Slay to begin training camp was a surprise, to say the least.

Lost in this was the incumbent starter, Nevin Lawson. He missed the first few days of training camp as his second child was born. When he returned though, he also took reps with the ones over Tabor. It is not unreasonable for a Lions fan to be asking what the heck is going on.

The answer is actually pretty simple. Matt Patricia led defenses play matchups. In order to do that, the coaching staff needs to know exactly what their players can, and more importantly what they can not do.

Stories emerging of Marvin Jones victimizing Shead are not surprising. Jones has made Pro Bowl corners look bad, and Shead is certainly not on that level. Shead is a big and physical corner, but the team is seeing that he likely can’t be matched up with an elite downfield receiver like Jones.

Stories of Tabor dominating the Lions second and third string receivers are welcome. The team is getting to know that Tabor can be trusted to handle a scenario where an opponent has a single dominant threat, but lesser receivers around him. Tabor’s weakness is athleticism, so the fact that the team is matching him up against their hyper-athletic backup receivers to test how he responds is not surprising.

Lawson is not a mystery at all. He has been providing a “not the problem, but not the solution” level of play for the Lions for years. He is the hurdle that anyone needs to clear to take the job on a full-time basis. He is also by far the most athletic of the three contenders. Patricia likely wants to see exactly how Lawson fits what the team needs to do for himself.

The Raiders have an interesting group of receivers to deal with. During the upcoming joint practices and the game Thursday night, the Lions should learn a fair bit about their corner group.