Lions roster preview: Is Ifeatu Melifonwu a long-term answer at safety?

After an impressive showing in 2023, can Ifeatu Melifonwu’s playmaking abilities turn him into a long-term starter?

After having a fully healthy season for the first time in his NFL career, the next player we focus on in the 2024 Detroit Lions roster preview series is safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. Melifonwu came into the season late after an injury struck safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, missing the rest of the regular season after Week 2. Fellow safety Tracy Walker was not playing as well as he was the year before when he tore his Achilles.

When given a chance to start, Melifonwu took that opportunity and ran with it. He helped seal the Lion’s first NFC North crown with his game-sealing interception on the road against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16. If you want to revisit one of the year’s top moments last season, it’s always nice to remember how the team won the divisional crown:

With Walker and Gardner-Johnson now gone, Melifonwu has a chance to take over the starting role. Let’s discuss how possible that is in 2024 and beyond.

Previous previews: WR Kalif Raymond, TE Sam LaPorta, LT Taylor Decker, DE Aidan Hutchinson, DT DJ Reader, DT Alim McNeill

Ifeatu Melifonwu

Expectations heading into 2023

Over his first two NFL seasons, Melifonwu struggled to stay healthy. He missed seven games in 2021 with a quad injury that put him on IR, and in 2022, he missed two games due to a hamstring injury and four more due to an ankle injury. His start to training camp in 2023 was rough as he dealt with a lower-body injury. He was not only dealing with injuries but also transitioning from cornerback to safety, which can challenge a player and push them past their limits.

Overall, the expectations for Melifonwu were low in 2023 as he was a player who could be found on the roster bubble in training camp. With star defensive back Brian Branch getting drafted, there was a chance Branch could play safety and compete with Melifonwu for a job at that position. If Melifonwu could stay healthy, he would have a shot to make the team, but he needed to showcase he could be on the field to prove his worth.

The Lions’ signing of Gardner-Johnson and Walker’s return from injury added some serious competition and pressure on Melifonwu to perform. The room was getting crowded, and he needed to show the coaching staff that he was ready to step up and be a player who deserved to be on the team. Whether that was on defense or through special teams, Melifonwu needed to give his best showing.

Actual role in 2023

Note: Stats are regular season only unless otherwise stated

17 games (6 starts)
Stats: 33 total tackles, eight pass deflections, four tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble
PFF defensive grade: 85.6 (8th out of 101 qualifying safeties—minimum 231 snaps)
PFF coverage grade: 80.9 (12th out of 101)
PFF man coverage grade: 54.5 (81st out of 103)
PFF zone coverage grade: 90.7 (1st out of 103)
PFF tackling grade: 58.8 (67th out of 101)
PFF run defending grade: 67.2 (48th out of 101)
PFF pass rushing grade: 92 (4th out of 101, 12 pass rushing snaps)

The 2023 season for Melifonwu was, without a doubt, his best one yet. Not only did he not suffer any injuries and miss any games, he recorded six starts—the most of his career—and made some big plays for the defense when they needed them. Despite the hype in training camp, Branch would find himself as the slot cornerback, with some appearances at safety, but when Gardner-Johnson went down, Melifonwu’s time on the field increased. The starters moved from Kerby Joseph and Gardner-Johnson to Joseph and Walker. Walker did well, but the team was looking for something different later in the season and gave Melifonwu a chance.

That chance turned out to be something he didn’t waste. He did fine enough against the Chicago Bears that he got another chance against the Denver Broncos the following week. He had his best game of the season with nine tackles, two pass deflections, a sack, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. Melifonwu took a hold of the job from then on and never looked back, even after Gardner-Johnson returned from injury at the end of the season.

With an entire season of being healthy and appearing in every game, Melifonwu finally stood his ground and showed the coaching staff, the fans, and the rest of the NFL that he was ready to become a significant role player and eventually start. His athleticism stood out the most to me, as he was an excellent option when the team wanted to blitz. He was able to get around the tackles and either sack the quarterback or disrupt the play enough that nothing could happen.

He also made some big plays in the secondary when needed. I mentioned earlier the interception against the Vikings, but he also had a crucial interception against the Dallas Cowboys. He consistently positioned himself at the right place at the right time, demonstrating his growing understanding of his capabilities. With each game, he grew and learned more about his capabilities, instilling optimism in the team and the fans about his skillset.

Outlook for 2024

With Gardner-Johnson and Walker not on the team anymore, is Melifonwu a lock to start at safety? Before the draft, you would think so. Still, despite the team drafting two cornerbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr., and signing cornerback Amik Robertson and trading for Carlton Davis III, the job isn’t solely his yet. I say this because, with all these new additions at cornerback, two of them are playing more of the slot role, which opens the door for Branch to help out at safety more this season.

Last year, the team had to rely on him for the nickelback role, and now that the team drafted and signed two nickelback cornerbacks, Branch isn’t locked into the position like he was in 2023. He could have a bigger role. He is a versatile player with experience at cornerback and safety, and with how well he played his rookie season, the coaching staff won’t want him off the field often.

The team doesn’t want to sign and draft players at a position and have them sit behind a second-year player; they will want to play for who they paid. With that, Branch might play less cornerback and more safety, and while Joseph did have a down year in 2023, I would say his job is more secure than Melifonwus’.

The coaching staff was impressed with Melifonwu last year though, and knows he had to overcome a lot to get where he was. They see a bright future with him. Even the new defensive assistant/safeties coach Jim O’Neill saw something in Melifonwu with how he played last season and how he got more experience near the end of the season with his good play.

“I think it’s awesome and it speaks a lot to the player’s resiliency,” O’Neill said about Melifonwu working his way through adversity. “He was banged up his first two years, he had a position switch, and then he just kept fighting and kept fighting and he got his chance halfway through last year, and we all saw the results of that. He did a lot of really good things as far as sacking the quarterback, intercepting the football, being down in the run fits. He still has a lot, a lot to learn with the safety position, but I thought he had a great spring.

“I thought the fact that Kerby and BB weren’t out there at the safety position really allowed him to step up and take on a leadership role as far as communicating, and I thought it allowed him to play a lot down in the box, also up high at the deep part of the field, which, if Kerby was out there, he’d probably be down in the box and that kind of stuff. I thought this spring has really allowed him to grow as a player, and I’m excited to see how that competition takes shape coming into training camp.”

However, Melifonwu will have to continue his play to remain a starter on this team. He knows he has to build upon last season’s success and keep stacking the good days on top of each other.

“I just feel like I’m very critical of myself, so I watch the tape last year and I feel like there was still plays I left out,” Melifonwu said. “I feel like I’m just in the middle of my progression, just trying to get better. I can’t be complacent with what I did last year, because there’s a lot more room to grow, and I’m just trying to get better.”

He is starting to get comfortable with his position as a player, and the more comfortable he can be, the harder it will be for someone to take him off the field in 2024. Compared to last season, Melifonwu feels a difference in his comfort.

“A little bit of a difference,” Melifonwu said. “I feel like towards the end of the season, I was really comfortable, and I feel like that just carried over. If you asked me last OTAs compared to these OTAs, it’s a big difference. But end of last season kinda just carried over into this season.”

As the secondary coach, it will be a tough job to try to keep this group happy with playing time. With talents like Branch, Davis, Arnold, Joseph, Melifonwu, Robertson, and more, someone will have to miss out on some snaps. The tricky part for Melifonwu is dealing with competition from Branch and the other safeties for playing time. If he can overcome it, he and Joseph might be the starters at safety, and Branch will have to find playing time at nickelback or outside cornerback.