Lions Snag Abney, Strengthen Secondary

0:00It's April 27th. This is NFL News Today, your AI-powered source for everything in FL. Detroit Lions snagged cornerback Keith Avenue II from Arizona State in the 5th round, pick 157 of the 2026 NFL. Draft. It filled a quiet need at the position for a squad looking to bolster their secondary without much fanfare. Heading into the draft, folks saw corner as an under-the-radar spot for Detroit, especially after some key departures in injuries last season. Avenue slid to the mid-5th, which had scouts buzzing about value. He's just 21 years old at the start of next season, and his medical report comes back with zero out of 10 concern level about his clean as it gets. No major red flags, perfect availability in his last two college years. Digging into his history, he played 12 of 13 games in 2025, 14 of 14 the year before, and 8 of 12 prior. A possible hand tweak showed up once with some padding, but he missed zero games and

1:02it ain't a long-term worry for a corner. Overall, Avenue wraps college ball with six picks in 21 pass breakups, looking prime to compete right away in Motown's revamped defense. Lions fans got a gym here.