Lions' Rakestraw making positive impression with coaches, teammates entering second season

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Allen Park — Nothing about Ennis Rakestraw's rookie season went as hoped or expected.

A starter every year since his sophomore season of high school at Duncanville (Texas) High School, there was a mental adjustment to coming off the bench for the Detroit Lions as a second-round pick a year ago. Then, when the team was set to insert him into the starting lineup, Rakestraw suffered a hamstring injury in pre-game warmups. That nagging strain limited him to just eight games and 46 defensive snaps, resulting in his primary contributions coming on special teams.

The totality of the situation lit a fire under Rakestraw as he headed into his first full offseason as a professional.

"Last year I felt like I wasn't available for the most part, and that kind of made me mad and disappointed," he said after the team's final OTA practice last week. "Coming in as a rookie you have these goals for yourself. They drafted me and Terrion (Arnold) so I thought I was going to get to play with him a lot. Wound up not happening. Life, unfortunately."

Arnold, the team's first-round pick, had no such limitations. He was a Day 1 starter and logged 948 defensive snaps, the third most on the team in 2024. His importance to the defense's future is clear. Rakestraw's remains cloudy, especially after the team spent big in free agency to bring in veteran D.J. Reed to fill the cornerback job opposite Arnold.

Regardless, the team remains optimistic, and with Arnold sidelined by an injury this offseason, Rakestraw has been drawing first-team snaps. That's a sign of his opportunity to be a top reserve this season.

"It's up to him," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "He's got an opportunity. We're going to play the best guy. That's what competition is about. The whole roster knows that. If you're the best guy, we're not going to just sit there. It's the best guy. He's going to have a chance to compete. We'd like to keep him outside right now and just let him go. He had a good spring.

"There again, we're in pajamas (not wearing pads), but he's going to get a chance to compete and see how much he's grown and what kind of production he can have for us," Campbell said.

Being pinned to the outside is a change this offseason. As a rookie, the team tried Rakestraw both there and at nickel. When he was going to start that early-season game against Seattle, it would have been in the slot. However, with Amik Robertson returning this season after securing the job while Rakestraw recovered, plus veteran nickelback Avonte Maddox added to the mix this offseason, it was determined that the best path forward for Rakestraw was to concentrate his focus on playing wide.

"Look, we tinkered with some nickel last year, and it was probably a little too much, too fast for him," Campbell said. "We felt like once we did some things with him outside — practice, things of that nature — man, he really began to grow. And I think right now that's where he really belongs."

So far, everyone seems pleased with the progress.

"Ennis has been balling his ass off, Reed said. "…Ennis has been out here and he's playing really well. It is great to see him putting it all together."

Robertson, who has a better frame of reference after competing with Rakestraw last offseason, also sees the growth.

"I see the game is slowing down for him," Robertson said. "It's slowing down for him. And I know, when he comes back, he's going to get even better. So I expect Ennis to take a huge jump this year."

Until a significant defensive role opens up, most likely because of an injury, Rakestraw still has the potential to be a key special teams contributor. He was drawing more than 10 snaps per game in those roles as a rookie, and he has the inside track for a gunner job on Detroit's record-breaking punt coverage unit.

First, he's got to stay healthy. From there, he wants to make an impact, however that comes about.

"I want to look you all face to face and say I did something to help this team win," Rakestraw said.