20855933-standard.jpg

Lions cornerback Darius Slay has never lacked confidence, particularly when it comes to his speed.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Players like to say they don't read what is written about them, or hear what is said about them. But one thing many players will readily admit?

They know exactly what their "Madden" rating is.

And Darius Slay has always been one of those players.

The Detroit Lions cornerback graded out very well this year too, earning a 90 in the ratings that were released this week by EA Sports. That matched star defensive end Ezekiel Ansah for tops on the team, and ranked eighth league wide at the position.

But even that wasn't good enough for Slay.

"I need to boost my speed," he said after practice Wednesday night. "That's the only thing I need to worry about -- my speed. My speed needs to be 99."

Slay earned a 93 for his speed in this year's version of the game.

"I'm way faster than 93 speed," he quipped. "I run 93 speed backpedalling. I need to be 99 speed. That's all I'm saying. I need to be 99 speed. That's it. They need to change it. That's the only thing I need them to do. Put me 99 speed ... and have me back there returning a couple kicks."

The exchange cascaded into an interesting debate -- where does Slay's speed stack up against Devin Hester?

Hester, the greatest return man in NFL history, notoriously became the game's first 100-speed man back in 2007.

But Slay insists he's faster than Hester ever was, even in his prime.

"He is fast ... but I am faster than him," Slay said during the good-natured debate. "I remember Devin Hester now -- who don't remember Devin Hester? I think he ran a 4.4-something. I'm just saying.

"He's fast though. He's game speed fast. I'm just fast."

Hester ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds at the combine in 2006.

Slay, on the other hand, ran it in 4.36 seconds in 2013. That's still the second-fastest time by a defensive back since that year, and the Lions took him in the second round a couple months later.

"I beat that by a lot," he said. "I'm not going to say it out loud but ... " and then Slay started coughing uncontrollably, drawing laughter from the assembled media.

The exchange was light-hearted all the way, and Slay showed a lot of respect for Hester when asked whether he was a Hall-of-Famer.

"Of course," he said, almost apoplectic. "Of course. Who does what he does at punt return besides Deion (Sanders)? He owns that, like shoot. My God. I remember one time I saw him get a deal, and he got a big deal for just special teams. Like, ain't no regular special-teams deal."

Slay signed his own deal this offseason, inking a four-year, $50.2 million extension shortly before Detroit hit the practice field to open training camp. He looks a little bit different these days, too, now that he's added a "Jr." to his jersey in practice.

"I respect my dad, love my dad," he said. "You're only blessed with one dad, so I know it'll make him happy so I feel good about it so I just did it for him. My daddy."