ALLEN PARK -- Jeff Okudah considers himself a technician, always searching for new ways to sharpen his sword.

The newest member of the Detroit Lions went third overall on Thursday night, ending months of speculation about the team’s plans. This comes after months of rumor and innuendo surrounding a trade back, but the Lions made Okudah the pick where they started things off.

Okudah wasn’t shy saying he previously reached out to former Lions cornerback Darius Slay for help. He called the prospect of teaming up with Slay “magical” while at the combine, but it turns out he’s been ringing up more of the game’s best corners.

“I talked to a lot of guys. I talked to Jalen Ramsey, Stephon Gilmore, Tyrann Mathieu,” Okudah said during a conference call with reporters, “so pretty much just learning their process, learning things they’ve done earlier that they wish they could have done differently, and just kind of getting a feel of what the NFL’s all about.”

When he was asked what he knew about Detroit’s recent-addition in Desmond Trufant, Okudah had nothing but praise and admiration.

"I want to get with him. I want to learn his process, his routine," he said. "I'm going to be around him a lot, so I'm going to try to soak up everything that he knows, things that he wishes that he could have done differently and kind of use his trials and testimony to maybe help myself avoid going through the same things."

Related: Detroit Lions select Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah with third overall pick

Detroit allowed the most passing yards in the league last season, intercepted the fewest passes, and are now amid a defensive face-lift heading into a publicly mandated win-now year from ownership. Okudah was head-and-shoulders the top cornerback prospect in the draft and was the front-runner for Detroit in mock drafts near and far in recent weeks. Despite this, Okudah said he came into the night with no expectations and an open mind.

Related: No trade down? Detroit Lions fans OK with Jeff Okudah, but wanted a deal too

His main focus? Technique. Okudah said he tries to rely on his skills more than anything because, eventually, everyone’s athleticism fades away. It shows in his work.

“I think it’s just my technique. I try to consider myself a technician, so that’s just what I try to rely on because I know that when everyone’s athleticism fades away, now all you are left with is your technique,” he said. “So, I try to sharpen my sword every chance that I can get.”

When it comes to covering receivers up in the press, no one in college football was better than Okudah. The Lions love running man and press coverage schemes, and Okudah slides in nicely with Trufant on the other side and Justin Coleman in the slot. He logged 184 snaps in the press last season in Columbus, never allowing a play of more than 12 yards. Expand that to 400 coverage snaps overall, and he allowed only six catches of more than 15 yards.

These marks helped put Okudah in select company as the earliest cornerback to go in the NFL draft since 1997. He matches Shawn Springs, who went third overall to the Seattle Seahawks that year.

"It's a crazy feeling being drafted that high," Okudah said during the call. "The Detroit Lions think a lot about me, and I think it's up to me to return that and give them all that I have and go to work every single day with my teammates and be the best player that I can be."

The Lions ask a lot of their defensive players as a system that preaches versatility. He’s confident his experience at Ohio State is going to set him up to learn Matt Patricia’s defense, as he has experience in the Cover 1, Cover 3 and Cover 4. He said his conversation with the coach was brief, saying the two were simply excited to get to work together.

Okudah said he was back home at his aunt’s house in the Dallas area for the draft. He was surrounded by his aunt, uncle, cousins, sister and longtime trainer dating back to high school at his draft party.

He lost his mother shortly after arriving at Ohio State, and said this was a night he dreamed of sharing with her. It’s clear she was on his mind, as Okudah said he is looking forward to some alone time to have a talk with her.

“I know she would’ve been in tears. Honestly, she didn’t really understand football like that just being born in Nigeria, but she knew what made me happy,” he said. “So, I think just her seeing me smile, me being really excited, I think that it would just bring her to tears. She saw all the hard work. It was a moment that I really envisioned just embracing each other in.”

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