How DJ Wonnum chased close ties in landing with Lions

After signing with the Detroit Lions in free agency, edge defender DJ Wonnum will be hundreds of miles from his native city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Yet, he should have no problem finding a home in the Motor City. Wonnum, 28, played in the NFC North for four seasons and is acutely familiar with the Lions , went to the same high school (Stephenson) as defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, and has been tight with newly signed center Cade Mays since Mays was in high school.

More: After DJ Wonnum add, where do Lions stand on free-agent needs? "I love the physical nature, the winning culture that the Lions have been having over the past few years, and being familiar being up north, playing in Minnesota a little bit," Wonnum said Thursday at his introductory press conference. "And then being able to come back up north, which I'm very familiar with, was a big part of my decision.

And then the familiarity with the coaching staff. Just being around those guys, being able to meet them. And obviously having that relationship with Shep was a big decision for me.

" What was once an idol-like relationship between Wonnum and Sheppard has now become a working one, as Wonnum hopes to be a solution for a Lions defense that couldn't consistently find its groove in the second half of last season. "When I was in high school, everybody, we all looked up to him," Wonnum said of Sheppard, who is entering his second year in his post as DC. Asserting himself on the team's success will, of course, be easier said than done.