{"id":867644,"date":"2026-04-16T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/867644\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T11:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T11:30:33","slug":"lions-loaded-up-on-vet-safeties-ahead-of-draft-but-long-term-injury-concerns-persist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/867644\/","title":{"rendered":"Lions loaded up on vet safeties ahead of draft, but long-term, injury concerns persist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>(Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Allen Park \u2014 When considering how an NFL team will approach the upcoming draft, you have to look beyond the immediate roster needs. Each selection should be viewed as a four-year investment. Therefore, we must weigh the bigger picture with each possible choice.<\/p>\n

Heading into the 2026 NFL draft, we\u2019re going to take a position-by-position look at Detroit\u2019s roster, focusing on areas where the team might add talent in the event. Today, we\u2019ll look at safeties. <\/p>\n

Current roster: Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch, Thomas Harper, Christian Izien, Avonte Maddox, Chuck Clark, Loren Strickland, Dan Jackson<\/p>\n

Short-term need: 3\/10<\/p>\n

Long-term need: 3\/10 (If Joseph and Branch return to form), 9\/10 if one or both don\u2019t<\/p>\n

Analysis: With Joseph and Branch facing injury-related uncertainty, the Lions aggressively stocked the cupboards with experienced veterans in free agency. <\/p>\n

Supplementing the returning Harper \u2014 an August waiver claim started nine games as an injury replacement last year \u2014 Detroit added Izien and Clark, as well as re-signed Maddox. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s viable and versatile insurance if Joseph\u2019s nagging knee injury doesn\u2019t improve after sidelining the 2024 All-Pro most of last season, or Branch\u2019s Achilles repair carries into the second half of the upcoming campaign. <\/p>\n

Those injuries also present long-term concerns. Will Joseph ever regain his range and playmaking ability? Or will Branch, already an average athlete for the position who relied on his instincts, lose a half-step during his recovery from a frequently explosion-sapping injury? <\/p>\n

The Lions have expressed more confidence regarding Branch\u2019s recovery as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. The team is hoping to lock him up with an extension, but any deal could, or should hinge on how he looks once he gets back on the field. <\/p>\n

Regardless, all that uncertainty makes safety a sneaky draft need, even if the Lions already strengthened their insurance policy for the upcoming season. <\/p>\n

Outside of Ohio State\u2019s Caleb Downs, who could potentially come off the board in the first five selections, Detroit could have their pick of safeties. <\/p>\n

While addressing the position in the opening round is unlikely, we can\u2019t fully dismiss the possibility. The player meriting consideration in Detroit\u2019s range is Oregon\u2019s Dillon Thieneman. <\/p>\n

Speedy, explosive and versatile, Thieneman is more Branch-like than a potential Joseph replacement. Still, you could build a pretty unique defense around the two chess pieces, who could easily share the field in a nickel package because of their shared commitment and effectiveness playing the run. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Toledo\u2019s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren could also sneak into the first round, but would probably be a reach for the Lions at 17. Long and lean at 6-foot-4, he\u2019s also more experienced playing in the box, with a penchant for violence. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m on the field, I can let all my anger out on the field,\u201d McNeil-Warren said at the combine. \u201cYou bleed just how I bleed. We\u2019re both human, so we going to bleed together.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Day 2, LSU\u2019s AJ Haulcy and TCU\u2019s Bud Clark carry appeal. Both play with tremendous swagger, although Clark is a little more noisy about it, pairing his playmaking with spirited trash talk. His personality will quickly remind you of Joseph or former Lions cornerback Darius Slay. <\/p>\n

Haulcy is a chiseled six-foot, 215 pounds. He\u2019s lined up wherever the Tigers have needed him in the defensive backfield, playing more strong safety in 2024 and centerfield last season. Regardless, he always finds ways to make plays on the ball, tallying eight interceptions and a forced fumble across the two campaigns. <\/p>\n

Clark, a former high school centerfielder, showcases that tracking ability in deep zones, tallying at least three interceptions each of the past four seasons. If there\u2019s a one-to-one replacement for Kerby in this draft, he\u2019s arguably the closest. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Drafting a safety on Day 3 might not make much sense for the Lions, given how they\u2019ve constructed their roster. A prospect selected in that range would be facing an uphill battle for a roster spot against a more proven veteran. They\u2019d have to demonstrate high-end special teams contributions almost immediately. <\/p>\n

One prospect who might fit that description is Texas\u2019 Michael Taaffe. He\u2019s a former no-star recruit who grinded his way up the depth chart with work ethic and football IQ. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Getty Images) Allen Park \u2014 When considering how an NFL team will approach the upcoming draft, you have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":867645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,2506,7,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-867644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions","10":"tag-detroitlions","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-lions","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116414162394267005","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}