Detroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah (1) celebrates after an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in Detroit. The Lions won 36-27. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions have been encouraged by cornerback Jeff Okudah’s play after the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft missed significant time his first two seasons with injury.

Watching the tape, Seattle receiver DK Metcalf isn’t so impressed.

“There’s a safety over the top of him, so he’s not really locking people down,” Metcalf said. “But he’s a good corner.”

They’ll get a closer look at each other Sunday, when Detroit (1-2) hosts Seattle (1-2). The pair are expected to match up at times.

It’ll be a test for the emerging Okudah, a former Ohio State star bouncing back after a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the 2021 opener. He was also limited to nine games as a rookie with other ailments.

So far this year, Okudah has delivered.

“There is nothing physically that he’s lost,” coach Dan Campbell said. “He looks great.”

Okudah played a part in holding Philadelphia’s DeVonta Smith without a catch, limiting Washington’s Terry McLaurin to four receptions on eight targets and Justin Jefferson to just three catches.

“He’s got a lot of confidence right now,” Campbell said. “He’s really come a long way. It helps because now you can start to do some things coverage-wise that take pressure off other areas.”

Metcalf thinks the coverage has been helping take that pressure off Okudah. The Seahawks receiver had five catches for 64 yards and a score last week. He scored a career-high three touchdowns in the 2021 regular-season finale, when the Seahawks routed the Lions 51-29.

NEW DIGGS

Detroit is facing a former standout defensive back that it traded away for the second time this month.

Seattle safety Quandre Diggs, a sixth-round pick by the Lions in 2015, will play at Ford Field with a road team for the first time.

“It will be different walking down that tunnel as a visitor,” he said.

Dealing Diggs backfired for former general manager Bob Quinn, who also made an ill-advised trade to send Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles, who won at Detroit in the opener.

Diggs was a Pro Bowl selection each of the past two seasons with Seattle and had five interceptions in each of the last two years.

SHORTHANDED

Detroit has been hit hard by injuries this season, and losing defensive back Tracy Walker for the season with an Achilles tendon injury is the latest hit.

“It’s going to be a tough adjustment to losing someone who was both one of our best players and a captain,” linebacker Alex Anzalone said. “He does everything you want out of a safety.”

Two of Detroit’s best players on offense, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back D’Andre Swift, are also banged up with injuries.

SEATTLE (1-2) at DETROIT (1-2), Sunday, noon, Fox

SERIES RECORD: Seahawks lead 11-5.

LAST MEETING: Seahawks beat Lions 51-29 on Jan. 2, 2022, in Seattle.

LAST WEEK: Lions lost to Minnesota 28-25; Seahawks lost to Falcons 27-23.

SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: OVERALL (28), RUSH (29), PASS (21), SCORING (28T).

SEAHAWKS DEFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (30T), PASS (19), SCORING (20T).

LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (3), PASS (16), SCORING (2).

LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (30T), PASS (19), SCORING (32).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Lions even; Seahawks minus-1.

SEAHAWKS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Rashaad Penny. Penny had a career-high 170 yards rushing and two touchdowns in Week 17 last year against Detroit.

LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Jamaal Williams. RB D’Andre Swift is banged up, as he often has been during his brief career, and that will open up more opportunities for Williams.