More of a safety valve than a safety, Detroit Lions rookie defensive back Keith Abney is already surpassing expectations at an unfamiliar position.
Abney, the team's 2026 fifth-round draft pick out of Arizona State, made his first NFL start in Detroit's 45-21 Week 5 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 11. But he didn't make the start at cornerback, his primary position since his high school days in Texas, but instead at safety.
The unusual move worked out, with Abney recording six tackles and an interception while earning a game ball from Lions coach Dan Campbell after the win.
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It was a breakout performance for Abney, and one he knows he can still build on.
"As my first time really playing safety in the game, I guess some situations were my first time seeing [them], so just trying to learn from those mistakes and not make them again," he said after practice on Thursday, Oct. 22. "That'd be the most important thing."
And based on how he played, he'll keep getting chances to fix those mistakes.
Keith Abney's breakout start
Abney played in 81% of Detroit's defensive snaps against the Cardinals, seeing more playing time in Week 5 than in the first four weeks combined, when the rookie was used sparingly (outside of the team's Week 1 win against the New Orleans Saints). But the Lions needed a change at safety while still waiting on the return of Pro Bowler Brian Branch, and with Abney making noise mostly at slot cornerback in training camp and the preseason, the Lions took a gamble that his intellect and athleticism would translate on the third level of the defense.
It worked.
LIONS ROOKIE KEITH ABNEY GETS HIS FIRST CAREER INTERCEPTION pic.twitter.com/rvn6ZZGywX
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Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard called Abney one of the "smartest rookies" he has been around and said that Abney did his job for a struggling unit against the Cardinals.
"When you're the root of the defense, things can go really bad when that player makes a mistake," Sheppard said before practice on Thursday. "Credit the player, man. A player that didn't play safety since middle school and you ask him to go do that in the NFL, and for him to perform the way he did, the efficiency in which he played with.
But [there's] still so much meat left on that bone, and he'll be the first to tell you things he did in that game that he wants back, that wants to do better. But a lot more positive to build on than negative to learn from when it comes to that player."
Building on success
Abney will have to learn them quick, with the Green Bay Packers coming to Detroit this weekend with one of the NFL's most explosive offenses. Their deep passing threat is highlighted by receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, the latter of whom Abney matched up with in the first round of the 2025 College Football Playoff.
"Good player, fast player," he said of Golden. "[He and Watson] are great, great deep threats, especially when the quarterbacks have that arm. We've got to do a good job of keeping the cap on both of them and not letting them get behind us."
Despite a confidence-boosting performance against the Cardinals, the Lions enter their Week 7 matchup allowing a league-worst 297.4 passing yards per game. But with Abney helping the secondary trend in the right direction, and with Branch potentially bolstering the defensive backfield starting this Sunday, the Lions are hoping these changes help fix their most glaring issue.
Branch should help Abney and the rest of the defense on Green Bay's deep routes, with the safety scheduled to make his season debut against the Packers. Abney called Branch a "see ball, get ball" type of playmaker, saying that he admires how fast Branch plays his position without glitching.
Abney may not get the start this week against Green Bay like he did against Arizona, with veterans Branch and Chuck Clark available to play. But though Sheppard didn't say Branch would be on a rep count, it's likely the Pro Bowler won't get a full game's snaps as he ramps up in his return from an Achilles tear last season, leaving plenty of playing time for Abney and others to make an impact.
And however the Lions choose to use him, Abney says he's ready.
"I'm comfortable doing any job the coaches asked me to do," he said. "That's type of guy I am and type of mindset I have. Whatever they want me to do, that's what I'm going to try to do. Go out there and get my 100% off."
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Lions rookie Keith Abney could be key to Detroit's defensive resurgence