When the Detroit Lions selected Keith Abney II in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the expectation was that the Arizona State cornerback would come in, compete for snaps and potentially develop into a long-term option in the secondary.
Apparently, Abney isn’t interested in waiting.
The rookie has quietly climbed his way into one of the most important position battles on Detroit’s defense, earning extensive work with the first-team defense at nickel cornerback over the past several practices. With veterans Roger McCreary and Christian Izien also competing for the role, what once looked like a developmental season for Abney has suddenly turned into a legitimate opportunity to start.
Monday night provided the latest evidence that the Lions are taking Abney seriously. During Detroit’s scrimmage, the rookie made several plays in coverage, including breaking up a third-and-5 pass intended for Amon-Ra St. Brown that forced the offense off the field.
Going against St. Brown is about as difficult an audition as Detroit can provide.
Abney passed that test.
Keith Abney Is Forcing His Way Into the Conversation
The Lions entered training camp without a clear answer at nickel corner.
McCreary appeared to have the inside track because of his experience playing in the slot, while Izien brought versatility and NFL experience after joining Detroit during the offseason. Abney was the intriguing rookie who figured to receive opportunities, but expecting a fifth-round pick to seriously challenge for a starting role immediately felt aggressive.
That equation has changed.
Abney has received significant first-team work over the last few practices, and Dan Campbell made it clear Monday that the Lions are searching for more than simply the player who looks best in one-on-one coverage.
“I think we’re giving them all an opportunity and we use nickels for different jobs here depending on what the situation is,” Campbell said Monday. “And so, that’s some of it. It’s also, man, who’s your best cover guy? Who’s your best in the box player? Who’s your best blitzer? And who’s your best processor? The guy who’s going to put out fires for you, is just headsy, gets it. So, I think that’s why we’re rotating a lot of guys. We’re trying to figure out really who can do what.”
That last part is important.
Detroit may ultimately use more than one nickel depending on the situation, but somebody still has to earn the bulk of those snaps. With defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard planning to incorporate more nickel packages into the defense this season, this isn’t some minor battle for a handful of plays.
Whoever wins could have a substantial role.
Abney Has Already Passed His First NFL Test
Abney’s rise didn’t start Monday.
He also played well in Detroit’s 16-14 preseason loss to Cincinnati, finishing his NFL debut with five tackles, including four solo stops, and a fumble recovery. His willingness to attack ball carriers also showed up in the advanced numbers, where he earned an 81.9 PFF run-defense grade, one of the better marks on Detroit’s defense.
That’s exactly the type of football the Lions believed they were getting.
Abney is only 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds, but Detroit didn’t draft him because it wanted a cornerback who avoids contact. His physicality was one of the traits that jumped off his college tape, and the Lions saw it again during their first padded practice when Abney diagnosed a run from the nickel spot, shot into the backfield and delivered a tackle for loss.
For a defense built around aggression, versatility and tackling, Abney checks quite a few boxes.
Brad Holmes Thought He Stole Abney on Draft Day
Maybe the rookie’s rapid rise shouldn’t be quite as surprising.
Abney may have been the 157th player selected in April, but Brad Holmes has already revealed that Detroit valued him much higher.
“He’s another instinctive guy that he could find the football, he could trigger, he can tackle, he’s pretty sticky,” Holmes said after the draft. “I was just, he was just a simple one because we had him ranked a couple rounds higher than where he was, so that was a no-brainer for us.”
That wasn’t typical post-draft optimism. Holmes essentially admitted the Lions believed they were getting a player several rounds later than their own evaluation suggested he should have been available.
The college production backed up that belief.
Abney recorded 96 tackles, 21 passes defended and five interceptions over his final two seasons at Arizona State. In 2025, opposing quarterbacks completed just 44.4% of their attempts when targeting him and produced a 46.1 passer rating. He finished that season with an 86.3 overall PFF grade and an 85.3 coverage grade.
Detroit Sports Nation noted shortly after the draft that Abney had the mentality and versatility to make an immediate impact. Three months later, that possibility is beginning to look much more realistic.
The Nickel Competition Just Got Much More Interesting
None of this means McCreary or Izien has fallen out of the race.
Quite the opposite.
McCreary was excellent against Cincinnati, earning an 86.3 coverage grade while allowing no receptions. Izien has consistently received first-team opportunities since returning to practice, and his versatility gives Detroit another experienced option.
That is what makes Abney’s emergence notable.
He hasn’t moved up the depth chart because the Lions have nobody else.
He’s moving up while competing against veterans who can play.
Earlier this summer, McCreary was viewed as a potential breakout player in Detroit’s secondary. He still may be. But Abney has done enough to force Campbell and Sheppard to keep putting the rookie on the field with the starters.
Every time they do, he gets another chance to make the decision more difficult.
Detroit May Have Found Another Day 3 Contributor
Finding starters outside the first few rounds has become one of the reasons the Lions have built one of the NFL’s deeper rosters under Holmes.
Abney still has a long way to go before anyone puts him in that category. He has played exactly one preseason game, and NFL offenses will test a rookie nickel in ways training camp cannot replicate.
But the trajectory is impossible to ignore.
Before camp, the conversation surrounding Abney was mostly about whether he could work his way into Detroit’s defensive back rotation. Less than a month later, he’s taking first-team snaps, making plays against one of the NFL’s best receivers and putting legitimate pressure on two experienced players for a major role.
That’s quite a jump for pick No. 157.
Bottom Line
Keith Abney II was supposed to be one of Detroit’s intriguing developmental rookies.
Instead, he might be starting.
The fifth-round pick has followed an impressive preseason debut by earning significant first-team work at nickel, and Monday’s breakup against Amon-Ra St. Brown was another example of why the Lions continue giving him opportunities.
McCreary and Izien aren’t going away, and Campbell has made it clear that Detroit could use different players at nickel depending on the situation. Still, there is no mistaking what is happening in Allen Park.
Abney has gone from a Day 3 draft pick trying to earn a role to a rookie with a legitimate chance to earn one of Detroit’s most important jobs in the secondary.
Brad Holmes said drafting him in the fifth round was a no-brainer.
If Abney keeps this up, deciding whether to put him on the field might become one, too.