NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport is reporting that cornerback Rashaan Melvin, formerly of the Oakland Raiders, will visit Detroit Lions on Wednesday.
At 6-2 with 4.42 (40-yard-dash) speed, Melvin is going to appeal to a lot of teams, so it should be no surprise that despite going undrafted in 2013, he has played for six different NFL organizations, including the Miami Dolphins twice.
In 2015, the New England Patriots claimed him off waivers and he played in eight games competing for a rotational spot at the back-end of the roster before ending the season on their practice squad.
In 2016, Melvin joined the Colts and it wasn’t long before he earned a starting role, finishing the season with nine starts over 15 games played. He kept his role in 2017 and started 10 games before injuring his hand and being placed on injured reserve — he would end the year with an overall grade of 77.9 grade from Pro Football Focus.
His breakout seasons with the Colts earned him a 1-year $5.5 million contract with the Raiders, where he was named a starter at the beginning of the season, but he only ended up starting half of the 14 games he played in, after landing in Jon Gruden’s dog house.
In Detroit, Melvin’s ability to win in press coverage would allow him to immediately compete for a starting outside corner role with newly re-signed Marcus Cooper, Mike Ford and Teez Tabor. The competition likely wouldn’t end there either, as the NFL Draft has several appealing options, including full QIB qualifiers Amani Oruwariye (Penn State), Justin Layne (Michigan State), David Long (Michigan), Julian Love (Notre Dame), JoeJuan Williams (Vanderbilt) and Isaiah Johnson (Houston), who the Lions could be interested in targeting on Day 2.
