Lions Insider

PHOENIX – New Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin hasn't received as many of the headlines as other big-name safeties throughout his four NFL seasons, but his talents certainly haven't gone unnoticed by the league's fraternity of head coaches.

"We played him a number of times the last couple years and he's a football player," said Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh of Quin.

"He is the epitome of a football player. He's really smart. He's really tough. He understands coverage. He's always in the right spot and he's a playmaker. I think (Detroit) got a great player in Glover Quin."

Quin had five tackles, an interception and defended three passes in Houston's 43-13 victory over the Ravens last year.

"Glover is a guy that we loved in the draft and we really had great interest in him coming out," Harbaugh said. "We were hopeful he'd be somewhere where we could pick him but he ended up being taken as highly as he should have where we couldn't take him."

Quin was selected in the fourth round by Houston in the 2009 NFL Draft out of New Mexico.

The Ravens' three picks prior to Quin being taken in the fourth round were tackle Michael Oher, linebacker Paul Kruger and cornerback Lardarius Webb. Quin was taken 112th overall before the Ravens could select again.

He started his first two seasons at cornerback for Houston before making the switch to safety in 2011. He has started all 16 regular season games the past three seasons.

"He's one of those guys that doesn't get a lot of recognition," said Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak, who saw Quin get his second interception of last season against his club in a Week 13 loss to the Texans.

"A lot of recognition goes to the guys upfront (in Houston), but what allows sacks to happen is coverage when you get that extra split second to get there. He allowed that to happen. He's a good football player."

The Lions certainly had the same evaluation of Quin, locking in his services for the forseeable future with a five-year, $23.5 million deal. They're confident Quin can have the same kind of impact on their defense with his cover skills.

"When you bring five guys (to rush the quarterback the way Houston did) all the time, you better be able to cover," Munchak said. "You need cover guys who are physical, and they were physical in their back end. I thought (Quin) played physical.

"I know when we heard he was leaving the division, we were like, 'okay, good.'"