ALLEN PARK -- There is one cornerback in the NFL who has played at least 20 percent of his team's defensive snaps, and is still allowing a perfect quarterback rating for the season.

His name is Teez Tabor.

The numbers say he couldn't be much worse, but the Detroit Lions insist he's actually getting better and that they're not mulling a position change.

"He's a very smart guy," defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. "Very, very intelligent player. And (we need him) to just keep getting better each week, keep working and keep improving, 'cause in this game, the margin of error at this level of football is so small for anybody, regardless of what position you play."

But is he doing that? Is he getting better?

Pasqualoni didn't even wait for the question to be finished before interrupti--

"I think he is," Pasqualoni said. "I think he's getting better. I think he goes out there each day and he's working hard on everything we're asking him to do. We've been in a stretch where we're playing a lot of good teams, and teams that have very, very good wide receivers, and that's going to continue to be the case this week."

That's true to some extent. Last week, for example, they saw Adam Thielen. But Nevin Lawson drew that assignment. And with Stefon Diggs not playing because of injury, Tabor saw the end of Minnesota's bench on his 14 snaps.

Still, he allowed completions on all four passes that came his way. That includes on one fourth down to an undrafted receiver who was making his NFL debut. And he also committed two more penalties, one of which was a pass interference where Kyle Rudolph caught the pass anyway for 24 yards.

Since his playing time expanded three weeks ago because of the Jamal Agnew injury, Tabor has allowed 13 catches on 14 targets for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He's committed four penalties in those games, and six for the season (two of which were declined). That leads the team, even though he's played just 40 percent of the defensive snaps.

Is that really the sign of a player getting better?

"He's an extremely hard working guy, constantly working on techniques and fundamentals," Pasqualoni said. "He's working on all that stuff, and, you know, doing everything we're asking him to do. So we're excited to have him here. He's a very talented, very athletic, long corner, which are hard to find, and we'll just keep working and keep getting better like everyone else on this team."

Tabor does have a high football IQ, according to people who have been in those meeting rooms. He is said to have tremendous recall of plays and formations.

But he doesn't have great speed either. That doesn't necessarily preclude him from playing corner -- there have been plenty of great corners who weren't fast on the stopwatch -- but it does narrow the margin for error.

A move to safety could make things easier on Tabor, but Pasqualoni says that's not in the works because the club still believes his future is at cornerback. Others have sorted themselves out after rough starts, too -- Darius Slay comes to mind -- but Tabor has a long way to go.

"We're not focused on (moving him to safety) right now," Pasqualoni said. "We're pleased with what we have at the safety position -- those guys are working hard. And at corner for us, we're going to just keep working on the details and the techniques and the fundamentals that are required tools you need to play that position, and just keep getting better. And we will."