The Detroit Lions’ fears were realized Monday when an MRI confirmed cornerback Jeffrey Okudah ruptured his Achilles in the Lions' Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported Monday.
An MRI confirmed #Lions CB Jeff Okudah suffered a ruptured Achilles, source said. Season over for last year's No. 3 overall pick, who was coming off a strong camp.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 13, 2021
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the team believed the second-year cornerback had torn his Achilles after Sunday’s game. Okudah will be out for the remainder of the 2021 season.
Okudah, the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, missed seven games last season with hamstring, shoulder and core muscle injuries. Rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu filled in for Okudah after he left Week 1. Detroit started Amani Oruwariye outside and A.J. Parker in the slot on Sunday.
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NFL IMPACT
Okudah's time in the NFL has been a struggle so far. His 42.5 PFF overall grade as a rookie ranked 125th of 136 qualifying cornerbacks. He earned a PFF grade of 53.0 across 48 snaps against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Okudah has been beaten for a passer rating of 121.8 in his NFL career, showing little in the way of the elite play we saw from him at Ohio State.
Okudah improved each season in college, ending with an outstanding year in 2019 in which he gave up only 274 yards all year and allowed a passer rating of just 42.5 when targeted.
| Player | Snaps | Coverage grade | Yards allowed per coverage snap | Rtg. allowed |
| Amani Oruwariye |
28 | 38.1 | 2.93 | 136.5 |
| Jeffrey Okudah |
26 | 53 | 3.31 | 149.3 |
| AJ Parker |
11 | 66.3 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
Click here to view the grades and stats from Week 1's NFL games
BETTING IMPACT
Lions last in PFF Power Rankings: Despite a backdoor cover to save their Week 1 performance, the Lions were a disaster for three quarters against the 49ers. Things were even uglier off the field, with dissension showing between coaches and players. PFF's new Power Rankings Tool offers projections based on 10,000 season simulations, given Team Point Spread Ratings, Strength of Schedule and team records.
Okudah hasn't performed up to expectation on the field, but the cornerback situation in Detroit is even bleaker after him. Expect the Lions to struggle to stop anyone defensively but play with enough urgency throughout the season to cover most weekly totals. PFF Greenline uses exclusive game and player data to make projections on NFL game spreads, moneyline, and over/under.
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