Ennis Rakestraw Jr. has been on the Detroit Lions‘ roster for two years. He hasn’t played an NFL game yet in the way he intended when they drafted him. The former second-round pick out of Missouri made that clear on Tuesday, and the honesty in how he framed it was striking.
“The thing I always really wanted to do has not happened yet,” Rakestraw said at Detroit’s minicamp. “So that’s what is keeping me hungry, because one day I’m going to finally fulfill the life of an NFL player, and make Detroit proud of me.”
Injuries have cut into every offseason and regular season he has had since arriving in Detroit. The solution, in his view, was getting bigger. He spent this offseason adding weight with the specific goal of being able to hold up through a full 17-game schedule for the first time in his career.
Feb 29, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Missouri defensive back Ennis Rakestraw Jr (DB32) talks to the media during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
What Rakestraw brings to a Lions secondary that needs him healthy in 2026
Detroit’s cornerback room took a significant hit in 2025, which factored into the Lions’ 9-8 finish and missed playoffs. Rakestraw’s absence made the secondary thinner than what head coach Dan Campbell had built around in the two years prior.
The Lions spent resources in free agency to address the depth, but getting their own 2024 second-round pick to a full season would represent the kind of internal improvement that doesn’t require draft capital or cap space.
Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr. is sick of being injured. The former second rounder bulked up with the goal of being an everyday NFL player.
“The thing I always really wanted to do has not happened yet. So that’s what is keeping me hungry, because one day I’m going to finally… pic.twitter.com/gKXbwEVdg9
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) June 16, 2026
Rakestraw is 24 years old. He came out of Missouri with a reputation as a physical, press coverage corner with above-average ball skills. The Lions drafted him specifically for that profile, given how aggressively they build around man coverage principles defensively.
There is no playbook for frustration management when your body keeps interrupting your career. What Rakestraw said on Tuesday suggests the frustration hasn’t beaten him.
He’s still chasing something he hasn’t had yet, and the weight he put on this offseason is how he’s trying to make sure nothing stops him from finding it in 2026.