Lions take San Diego cornerback Jamal Agnew in Round 5 of NFL draft
On Day 2, the Detroit Lions took one of the slowest cornerbacks in this year’s NFL draft. On Day 3, they took one of the fastest.
The Lions drafted San Diego cornerback Jamal Agnew with the 165th pick of the draft in today’s fifth round.
Agnew, who made a predraft visit to the Lions earlier this month, ran two sub-4.4-second 40-yard dashes at his pro day last month.
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Speedy San Diego cornerback Jamal Agnew visits Detroit Lions
On Friday, the Lions drafted Florida cornerback Teez Tabor in the second round despite concerns about his speed. Tabor ran a 4.62-second 40-yard dash at the combine, and in the 4.7s at his pro day.
Lions general manager Bob Quinn said he’s more concerned with instincts than speed at the cornerback position.
“You have to be an instinctive player and we use the term reactionary athleticism,” Quinn said. “When you’re playing defense, you’re reacting to what the offensive player is doing. And it’s one of the hardest positions to play in sports. So if you don’t have really good instincts and really good feel and anticipation, it doesn’t matter if you’re 4.2 or 4.9. If you don’t have those anticipation, instincts, awareness, route recognition, all those things, I think I put those higher up than how fast the guy ran at the combine.”
Agnew should compete for a job in a secondary that returns starters Darius Slay and Nevin Lawson and added D.J. Hayden in free agency. Backups Johnson Bademosi and Quandre Diggs also are on the roster.
Earlier today, the Lions picked Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Toledo tight end Michael Roberts in the fourth round.
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