Scouting Report: Leigh Bodden

Scouting Report: Leigh Bodden
by Tom Kowalski
Saturday May 24, 2008, 6:01 AM


Acquired as part of the trade that sent Shaun Rogers to the Cleveland Browns, Bodden is the ideal fit for the Tampa Two system. While he's not huge at 6-1 and 193 pounds, he's big enough and strong enough to be effective in jamming receivers off the line and stuffing the run.

Bodden's coverage skills are also ideal for the zone-heavy Tampa Two because he's better in coverage when he's breaking on the ball as opposed to keeping pace with deep routes. Bodden does a very good job with recognition and jumping routes but, at times, can be a little overzealous. In the Lions' system, they want their corners to keep everything in front of them whenever possible so risk-taking is discouraged.

With two years left on his contract, Bodden, 27, will be looking for the security of a long-term deal and the Lions should get that done by the end of this season. Because of his injury history, however - he had a torn pectoral muscle in 2005 and a bad ankle sidelined him for seven games in 2006 - the Lions might want to wait until 2009 to sign him.

Bodden, though, is coming off his best year - six interceptions in 16 games - and could be one of the foundations of the defense for years to come and the Lions should get him locked up for as long as possible - as soon as possible. Is there some risk involved? Yeah, but Bodden has shown enough on the field to be worthy of the investment.