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Ezekiel Ansah, Darius Slay becoming superstars for Detroit Lions

By Ryan Disdier

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The Detroit Lions have turned their season around, and the play of budding superstars Ezekiel Ansah and Darius Slay has certainly helped

The Detroit Lions are playing some damn good football as of late, and they’ve really turned their season around after a front office debacle that saw a lot of pieces removed.

Detroit features players like Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford on offense, but the defense also has a lot of talent too.

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Particularly, Ezekial Ansah and Darius Slay are two players who have bright futures in the Motor City. Ansah and Slay were Detroit’s first two picks in the 2013 draft, and they’re beginning to blossom into bona-fide superstars for the Lions.

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Ansah began his career in the shadow of Ndamukong Suh and to some extent, Nick Fairley. The BYU alumnus played well during his first two seasons, recording eight sacks as a rookie and seven and a half last year.

Some of those sacks came thanks to the Lions vaunted defensive front, as teams simply couldn’t afford to double-team everybody. This year, things are different for the 26-year-old end. This year, Ansah has ascended into an J.J. Watt-like atmosphere.

Through 11 games, Ansah has recorded 11.5 sacks, and he absolutely feasted on the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving day. The Eagles simply had zero answer for Ansah, and it was a beautiful display of dominance.

That was his signature game, but expect a lot more of those from the uber-talented rusher. Ansah’s best trait is his freakish athleticism. Ansah is fast, strong and relentless in pursuing the passer. He can beat linemen with both his strength, as well as his incredible quickness.

Essentially, it’s tough for offensive linemen to try to figure out a finite way to stop Ansah.

All that’s impressive, but it becomes even more impressive, border-lining unbelievable, when you take a moment to realize Ansah only began playing football in 2010 as a walk-on. After failing to make BYU’s basketball team, Ansah put the work in to become a star on the football field.

Of course, Ansah’s dominance is making an already-talented cornerback’s job that much easier.

Oct 18, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay (23) breaks up a pass intended for Chicago Bears tight end

Martellus Bennett

(83) in a NFL game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Darius Slay has the distinction of earning my “Best Cornerback Nobody Talks About” Award (pretty dubious honor, I know), which was once held by Alterraun Verner and Josh Norman.

He’s not a household name, but he’s becoming one of the best cornerbacks in the league. What makes Slay so impressive to me is the way he times his hand placement. A lot of corners get flagged for illegal contact, but Slay seems to have a timer inside of his mind that’s never wrong. He’s got sticky coverage, despite flying under the radar.

The 24-year-old cornerback also received some lofty praise after Detroit’s improbable win against Aaron Rodgers‘ Packers.

“He [Rodgers] just told me, when I came and shook his hand, ‘Slay, you’re one of the young best (corners),'” Slay said, according to Justin Rogers of MLive.com.

During that game, Slay did a great job locking down James Jones, and his performance was a catalyst for Detroit’s upset.

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I’m not prepared to put Slay in the same class as guys like Darrelle Revis and Patrick Peterson, but he certainly has done enough to enter the same class as Desmond Trufant, Stephon Gilmore and Prince Amukamara, in my opinion.

With the Detroit a long-shot to make the postseason, Lions fans can take solace in knowing they have two defensive superstars who should be part of the team for years to come.

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