Getty Ifeatu Melifonwu in coverage in a game against the Atlanta Falcons.
After a turbulent rookie season and a position change in his second season, Ifeatu Melifonwu could face a battle to even make the Detroit Lions‘ final roster this summer.
Melifonwu came to the Lions as a third-round draft pick in 2021 but failed to make much of an impression his rookie year as he appeared in just seven games. The 24-year-old moved from cornerback to safety for his second season in the NFL, but was still unable to make a significant impact.
Now, Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire has pegged Melifonwu as a player on the “hot seat” this summer, noting that he is far from a lock to make the final 53-man roster.
Rough Start for Lions Defensive Back
As Risdon noted, the Lions seem to have struggled with where to put the former Syracuse standout in their secondary.
“Melifonwu enters his third season with the Lions in real peril of not even making the team,” Risdon wrote. “The 2021 third-round pick started out at cornerback and fizzled as a rookie. In 2022 the Lions moved him to safety and he struggled even more.”
Risdon added that Melifonwu’s struggles are not all attributed to his play, as he battled multiple injuries that cut into each of his first two seasons in the NFL. Melifonwu spoke last year about the “speed bumps” in his career, saying he worked hard to stay connected mentally.
“Mentally, I feel like I’ve handled it pretty well,” he told SI.com’s All Lions in October 2022. “I feel like I easily could have checked out. I feel like that happens a lot with some people, but I feel like mentally, I’m doing the best I can. I think I have good people around me, good teammates, family around me that helps keep me grounded. So, I think I’ve dealt with it pretty well.”
Hope for Ifeatu Melifonwu as Season Approaches
As Risdon noted, the Lions appear to remain committed to finding the right spot for Melifonwu. He spent time at free safety through the team’s minicamp, showing some promise there.
“The team is trying to find any position in the secondary where the physically gifted Melifonwu would be one of the two best options,” Risdon wrote. “The early returns from minicamp showed some progress at free safety, but Melifonwu will need to keep it up.”
Lions head coach Dan Campbell noted that he has seen some growth in Melifonwu this offseason and was confident he could pick up the position if given the right amount of time.
“Yeah, I would say you see growth,” Campbell told reporters on June 8. “To your point, he’s relatively new to the position and you’re right, the injuries hurt him, not being able to get the reps, the repetitions, added time on task. So, this is one of the few times that we’ve had him for a significant amount of time, consistently, consecutively, and so that in itself is paying dividends right now.”
Cambell also shared some praise for Melifonwu’s work ethic and football IQ, which could help him later in the summer if he should find himself in a battle for a roster spot.
“He’s coming along,” Cambell said. “And look here’s the thing, Iffy’s a pretty smart player, he really is, like he gets it. He just needs time. He needs time on task, he needs reps, like a lot of young guys do.”
