Examining the Detroit Lions rookie roles as they prepare to take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9.
The Detroit Lions are headed to Minnesota to take on the Vikings today in the hopes of bouncing back from last week’s gut-wrenching loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Much like the Lions, Minnesota has underperformed this season but has showed some real flashes of potential. Last week, the Vikings beat out the Packers in an impressive display in the running game — something that the Lions struggled against last week.
This will be a tough divisional matchup for Detroit, and one that may define the rest of their season. A win pushes the Lions to 4-4, a loss makes it a resounding 3-5, likely taking away any chances at a postseason.
Here’s what to expect from the rookies of the Detroit Lions this week:
CB Jeff Okudah
Okudah will likely move down to the reserves now that starting cornerback Desmond Trufant is healthy.
Don’t let this demotion make you think that the third-overall pick has been a bust in Detroit. It’s quite the opposite, actually. Okudah has shown improvement every week that he’s been on the field this season. Right now, he’s just still learning the ropes of the NFL, and Trufant along with second-year cornerback Amani Oruwariye are just better at the moment.
Expect Okudah to be the primary backup cornerback behind Trufant and Oruwariye. Justin Coleman will likely play in the slot, making Okudah the fourth corner on the depth chart but coudl see time in a possible rotation.
RB D’Andre Swift
If Swift is to make an impact in this game, it will have to be on the ground. The running back has been praised for his ability as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, but to his dismay, the Vikings haven’t let a running back score a receiving touchdown yet this season. To make it worse for the rookie, no running back has had more than 27 receiving yards against Minnesota in 2020.
Swift, for some reason, has had to share his snaps with Adrian Peterson, despite the rookie showing plenty of flashes of potential. The Vikings have allowed over 100 rushing yards per game this year, so hopefully Swift can make an impact there.
Expect the rookie running back to assume receiving and third-down duties for this game, and hope that he gets more attention than Adrian Peterson in the run game.
OL Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg
Jackson has started every game this season, and will continue to do that this week. The question for this game is, where will he line up?
Starting guard Joe Dahl has been ruled out for this matchup and starting guard/tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai is a bit banged up. Depending on what the Lions choose to do, Jackson could end up on either the left or right sides of the offensive line.
Stenberg is once again inactive.
WR Quintez Cephus
Cephus played in the first two games of the season while Kenny Golladay was out with an injury. Golladay will be out for the unforeseeable future with a hip injury and Jamal Agnew has been ruled out as well, meaning that Cephus should be seeing the field for the first time since week 4.
Expect him to back up Marvin Jones and Marvin Hall on the outside. But don’t rule out his ability to create some mismatches as a big-bodied slot receiver.
DL John Penisini
Penisini took 14-percent of defensive snaps in week 1. By week 8, he was on the field for over 60-percent of defensive snaps.
The rookie nose tackle has exceeded any and all expectations of him for this season. While his stat line looks bleak with just 11 tackles, two of which went for a loss, Penisini has done an exceptional job at creating pressure in the middle of the defensive line and helping contribute to big plays against the run.
Expect his snap counts to start plateauing a little this week as he will be sharing his snaps with Danny Shelton, Nick Williams, and Da’Shawn Hand. The rookie will have a tough assignment against Vikings’ Dalvin Cook, who decimated Green Bay’s defense last week for 163 rushing yard and four total touchdowns.
