PITTSBURGH – New Lions safety DeShon Elliott has known third-year cornerback Jeff Okudah since high school, with both players being from the Dallas area.
Elliott said one of his first tasks after signing with the Lions as a free agent this offseason was to see if he could help bring the best out of Okudah.
“I told Jeff today he has the talent,” Elliott said after Detroit’s 19-9 loss to the Steelers in the preseason finale. “He has the talent to be a top five cornerback in the NFL. I told him the only thing he needs to work on is mental. He has to take care of himself. If Jeff Okudah takes care of himself, and grows mentally, he can be the best corner in this league.”
Over the last couple weeks Okudah has been playing good football. Head coach Dan Campbell said after the game Sunday that Okudah has earned the starting spot opposite Amani Oruwariye at outside cornerback.
“I thought he did some good things,” Campbell said. “I feel like he’s been trending in the right direction now for two weeks.”
Okudah had a couple tackles, a tackle for loss and a key pass breakup on a third-down play in the first half that forced a Steelers field goal.
This has been a really important training camp for Okudah as he’s tried to overcome two years of injury, and show people why he was the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2020.
Oruwariye had a breakout third season last year with the Lions, finishing third in the league in interceptions and proving he can be a No. 1-caliber cornerback. If the Lions can get a similar performance from Okudah in his third season, the Lions secondary should be much improved.
“That just allows us to solidify one other spot outside,” safety Tracy Walker said of Okudah. “We have Amani already, who is going to go out there and make his plays, and with Jeff being confident and coming out here playing the way he needs to play, we’re a secondary that’s really going to have it.”
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