Roster impact of the Lions trading for CB Carlton Davis

The Detroit Lions have reportedly agreed to a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to acquire cornerback Carlton Davis. In the trade—which won’t be finalized until the beginning of the League New Year on Wednesday, March 13 at 4 p.m. ET—the Lions have secured Davis and a sixth-round pick in each of the next two drafts while sending a third-round pick (No. 92) in this year’s draft to the Bucs.

With Davis in the fold in Detroit, there are plenty of questions to be asked, including: Where does he fit in on the roster? How does he match the Lions coverage scheme? And how will this impact the Lions’ offseason plans?

Roster fit

Heading into his seventh season, Davis has started 75 games over the last six years, will immediately challenge for a starting role in Detroit, and is probably the early favorite to land a spot—if not the top spot.

A key member of the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl run in 2020-21 as their top cover cornerback, Davis has battled injuries over the past three seasons, which has led to some inconsistencies. Add in the fact that he was in the final year of his contract, was due $14.3 million, and the Bucs had youth at the position, and they were open to the idea of making a trade.

The Lions were in need of a starter-level corner, were reportedly exploring several trade options, and Davis’ price tag plus skill set provided the best match. Simply put, Davis’ value to Detroit was much higher than it was to Tampa Bay, and thus the trade was completed.

At 6-foot-1, 206 pounds, Davis is a bigger outside corner who can complement Cam Sutton, who is already comfortably in a starting role. Last season, Sutton was asked to take on opponents’ top wide receiver options, but Davis is much better suited for that responsibility.

Scheme fit

While the Lions started last season playing more zone coverage, they shifted to more man-based concepts over the back half of the season, which also plays into Davis’ best skills. At his core, Davis is a cover corner and his man coverage numbers support that.

Here’s a look at how Davis performed in man vs zone coverage situations in the 2023 regular season and 2024 post-season, with some help from PFF:

Based on players’ comments about the defensive scheme, and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s comfort playing man and blitzing, the Lions sure look like they plan on playing more man-based coverage in 2024.

Offseason impact

Any time a team gives up trade capital to acquire a player, they typically look to work toward a contract extension to justify the cost. With Davis being in the final year of his contract and with a $14.3M cap hit, expect the Lions to try and get an extension done and lower his cap hit this season.

Even if the Lions do reach an extension with Davis, the Lions are still in need of more depth for the immediate and long-term future. Here’s a look at the Lions current cornerbacks room:

While there are six corners on the roster, only three of them played more than three snaps last season. And while the hope is that Moseley can stay on track and recover in time for training camp, the depth behind him is very thin.

That means, the Lions are still very much in the market to add another cornerback—or more—for this season, while also needing more security for future seasons. That means, the Lions could still add another corner in free agency, and should still be in play to draft a cornerback high in the draft, including potentially using a first-round pick at the position.

The Lions got better after this trade, but there is still more work to be done in Detroit’s secondary.