The Detroit Lions are getting ready for another run at the Super Bowl, but some players that used to call Detroit home are just looking for a job entering training camp. With several familiar faces in new places, it can be hard for Lions fans to keep track of where some former players have landed, and there’s even a greater chance they’ve already flamed out with new teams as turnover continues throughout the NFL.
But there’s one former Lion that’s already making a surprising impact. After failing as a top draft pick in Detroit, he seems to have found his footing with his latest team and could be a renaissance story that could have a big impact on the NFC North.
Former Lions CB Jeff Okudah Already Working With Vikings' First Team
Jeff Okudah hasn’t had the career many imagined when the Lions selected him with the third overall pick in the 2020 draft, but he’s already showing promising signs with the Minnesota Vikings. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted that Okudah has been working with the first team during the opening week of training camp and already has jumped 2023 draft pick Mekhi Blackmon for a starting role on the outside.
Quick thoughts from Day 2 of Vikings training camp: The Brian Flores defense looks revved up, per usual around this time. Disguised looks. Activity from Levi Drake Rodriguez. Lots of Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah. Offensively, a few crisp screens stood out.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) July 24, 2025
There are a few caveats to Lewis’s observation. Blackmon missed the entire 2024 season due to a torn ACL, and the Vikings could be working him in slowly as he returns to action. Okudah is also on a one-year, $2.35 million contract, and Minnesota could just be giving him an opportunity in a wide-open cornerback room. But Okudah’s previous performance hasn’t warranted him any guarantees and could pave the way for a surprising revival.
Okudah played three seasons with the Lions but couldn’t stay on the field long enough to make an impact. He appeared in just 25 games, making 124 tackles with a pair of interceptions and 10 pass defenses before he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in 2023 and subsequently signed with the Houston Texans in 2024.
With limited production, it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot to work with. But Brian Flores may have tabbed Okudah as his latest reclamation project. At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Okudah has the size to play on the outside in Flores’ scheme, which puts pressure on cornerbacks by blitzing an NFL-high 38.9% of the time last season. The Vikings are also in a position to throw darts at cornerback, even with the presence of Pro Bowler Byron Murphy Jr.
Perhaps Okudah can revive himself in the Vikings secondary, which also includes free-agent addition Isaiah Rodgers Jr. But even if he doesn’t, it’s a promising start that could help him get his career back on track.