Category: Scouting Report

Will Clarke: What the Lions are getting in their new DE

Scouting report on new Lions DE Will Clarke

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The Detroit Lions added Will Clarke to the crowd at defensive end on Sunday. Detroit signed the free agent and waived offensive guard Caleb Benenoch to make room.

What are the Lions getting in Clarke?

The 6-6, 285-pound end was a third-round draft choice by the Cincinnati Bengals back in the 2014 NFL Draft. Coming out of West Virginia, his size, power and upside elevated modest college production (9.5 sacks, 28.5 tackles for loss in three seasons) into a top-100 selection.

Clarke is a near clone physically of former Lions DE Devin Taylor, who had just completed his rookie season at the time. Tall, long-limbed and powerful through the shoulders, Clarke won with power and leverage in college.

He never emerged as the Bengals hoped. Playing in 35 games (no starts) in three seasons, Clarke managed just 4.5 sacks and 22 total tackles before the Bengals gave up on him. He played the next two years in Tampa Bay and continued to be little more than a placeholder along the Bucs line, registering 2.5 sacks and 15 tackles in limited playing time. He was out of football in 2019 before signing with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the now-defunct XFL.

His size and power to hold the end of the DL are still there, and his length and strength are qualities the Lions do like. Alas, Clarke has an almost complete lack of fast-twitch muscle; his length is often a detriment because it takes him too long to get it all moving and under control. He is not at all a candidate to play standing up on the edge or dropping into coverage.

Clarke is a longshot to stick with the Lions once the 2020 regular season begins. He ostensibly fills the role of injured rookie Jashon Cornell.

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Jonathan Williams: What the Lions are getting in their new RB

Scouting breakdown of new Lions RB Jonathan Williams, signed Monday

The Lions made an interesting signing on Monday morning. Just before the team took to the practice field for the first time in training camp, the Lions signed RB Jonathan Williams and dumped fellow RB Wes Hills.

Williams adds talent to a crowded backfield that now includes returning starter Kerryon Johnson, second-round rookie D’Andre Swift, speedy second-year back Ty Johnson, rookie Jason Huntley and big Bo Scarbrough, who played well down the stretch in 2019.

What are the Lions getting in Williams?

The primary thing with Williams is his health. Since being a fifth-round pick from Arkansas by the Buffalo Bills in the 2016 NFL Draft, Williams has only been healthy enough to be active for 23 NFL games. And that doesn’t include the fact he missed his senior season at Arkansas with a broken foot, either.

The 5-11, 217-pound Williams played nine games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2019, carrying the ball 49 times for a career-high 235 yards. Almost all that action came in a two-week period. In Weeks 11 and 12 last year, Williams topped 100 yards rushing in both games while filling in for various other injured Colts backs.

In those two games, Williams flashed the combination of power and balance that made him highly-touted before the final injury at Arkansas. He’s a physical, downhill-style runner with active shoulders and hands. Williams can jump-cut and burst out of a cut well.

This run against the Texans is pretty emblematic of Williams’ style: not always great with the vision or acceleration, but he’s tough and never stops the feet from moving,

As an inside runner, he’s quicker and faster to bounce out than Scarbrough. Staying aggressive in pressing the initial hole has been an issue for Williams going back to his college days; he’s impatient and will make unnecessary bounce cuts to the outside behind the line. Ball security was a big issue for the Bills, who let him go after two fumbles in just 27 carries in his rookie campaign.

He does have some receiving ability and reliable hands out of the backfield. Williams did get special teams work in Buffalo and again last season with the Colts, an important facet for reserve RBs in Detroit.

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Daylon Mack: What the Lions are getting in their new DT

A scouting report on new Detroit Lions DT Daylon Mack, acquired off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens

The Detroit Lions have themselves a big new addition to the defensive line. Daylon Mack is the newest member of the Lions defensive tackle group.

The team claimed Mack, 23, off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens. He was Baltimore’s fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft after playing collegiately at Texas A&M.

The first thing you notice about Mack is his rather generous posterior. He’s 6-foot-1, 340 pounds and most of that weight seems centered around the backside. Or as I said after watching him at the Shrine Game and Senior Bowl practices in 2019,

He was an underwhelming performer during his time at Texas A&M, flashing occasionally but never dominating. His production perked up as a senior after coaching changes, both at head coach and his positional coaches. The incredible lower-body strength and surprising quickness — quick enough that he played some option RB in high school at 300 pounds — for a guy of his considerable girth produced 5.5 sacks and caused a lot of disruption against a lot of good offensive linemen in the SEC that year.

He built upon that momentum at the postseason all-star games. From my notes on the Shrine Game week,

He underachieved relative to his recruiting hype for the Aggies, but Mack came alive in St. Pete. From a heavy DE spot he has remarkable quickness to crash the B-gap. He’s a player I can verify the Lions watched intently throughout the week.

Their interest then was in using Mack in the A’Shawn Robinson role in Matt Patricia’s defense, a heavy DT that can maintain a gap against the run but also line up outside the guard in a 3-man front and attack.

Mack didn’t see the field in Baltimore other than on special teams. They drafted a couple of lighter-type players in this offseason while also letting Michael Pierce, who Mack sat behind as a rookie, leave in free agency. Their changing taste in D-linemen gives Mack an opportunity to prove himself to a coaching staff that liked him a lot heading into the 2019 NFL Draft.

Outlook

Mack has to be in shape, something he battled at Texas A&M. If he is, he can definitely crack the Lions 53-man roster. His ability to play as Danny Shelton’s primary backup but also kick outside to Da’Shawn Hand’s role gives him a very good chance to stick. With John Atkins opting out, Mack is competing for rotation spots with Kevin Strong, Olive Sagapolu, Jonathan Wynn and rookie John Penisini. Figure on two of them making the Lions final roster.

Darryl Roberts: What the Lions are getting in their new CB

Scouting notes and report on new Lions cornerback Darryl Roberts, who started for the Jets for the last two seasons

The Lions added another piece to the secondary on Thursday, reaching an agreement to sign former Jets CB Darryl Roberts as a free agent. Roberts, 29, started 20 games (of 29) over the last two seasons for the Jets after spending his first two years primarily on special teams and as the dime back.

New York released Roberts recently, and the Lions pounced on the versatile defensive back.

What are the Lions getting in Roberts?

I binged on a few of Roberts’ games from 2019 and two from 2018 to get caught up on the veteran. Paired with my pre-draft notes on him from his career at Marshall, here are my thoughts on the 2015 7th-round pick by the New England Patriots.

He’s an outside CB only

The Jets played Roberts almost exclusively at right outside CB early on in 2019, and it was his best role. He did get action at free safety later on, but Roberts doesn’t have the anticipation or quick diagnostic skills to play safety effectively.

I watched him perform in the slot, notably in the Jets’ Week 2 game against the Browns in 2019. He doesn’t have as much confidence in his technique on the inside; Roberts needs the sideline as an extra defender to limit where the WR can go. He’s much more aggressive and in phase outside.

Best attribute: Turn and run

Roberts has very good speed and he can accelerate with just about anyone he’s tasked with covering outside. It’s straight-line speed but it’s better than anyone the Lions have right now. He ran a 4.38 40-yard dash with an insane 1.48 10-yard split at Marshall’s pro day and it’s legit.

Worst trait: Awareness

Both the Browns and the Patriots (Week 3) picked on Roberts and his lack of anticipation. He’s got tunnel vision in coverage and it gets him into trouble. When he takes a peek back at the QB, he loses his track on his coverage responsibility.

Toast factor is high

Here’s an example from the Jets vs. Vikings in 2018 (it’s the first play on the clip) where he was close to being in a really good spot but still couldn’t make the play because of a lack of awareness.

That’s a great throw, to be fair to Roberts, but notice the space he concedes to Adam Theilen on the outside off the initial move. His inside help blitzed on the play, so he overcompensates just a bit to make sure he doesn’t get burned up the middle. Instead it takes him just far enough inside that Kirk Cousins can feather that ball in for the TD.

Willing tackler for his size

Roberts is slightly built at just 182 pounds on his 6-foot frame, but he’s not afraid to tackle. The form is generally good, too. He doesn’t have pop to his pads and lacks the strength to stop a runner with a head of steam coming at him.

Nevin Lawson flashback

The lack of bulk and strength is also an issue in press coverage. His jolt just doesn’t do much, and Roberts is quite grabby if he senses he’s losing the battle. While they’re quite different styles of athletes, in this regard Roberts will remind Lions fans of Nevin Lawson and his endemic holding when he either missed the jam or got crossed up.

Overall

Roberts is another option as an outside cornerback and his speed gives him a chance. He wasn’t bad as a starter for the Jets, especially in 2018, but he’s best-suited to be the No. 3 outside CB and a special teams fixture. That’s the spot he’s realistically competing for in Detroit in 2020.

Geronimo Allison: What the Lions are getting in their new WR

Geronimo Allison: Scouting report on what the Lions are getting in their new WR signed from the Green Bay Packers on Sunday

The newest Detroit Lions wide receiver is a familiar one for fans who have paid attention to the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers lately. Geronimo Allison defected from the Packers to join the Lions den.

The team confirmed the signing on Sunday morning. While the Lions did not disclose terms of the deal, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports it’s a one-year deal for $910,000, the veteran minimum for a player of Allison’s NFL experience.

What are the Lions getting in Allison?

He’s had an interesting career arc. Allison was initially a feel-good success story, making the Packers as an undrafted rookie out of Illinois and earning early playing time. The 26-year-old brings size (he’s every bit of 6-3/202) and some ability to separate down the field.

After catching 35 passes in his first two seasons, including the finale in his rookie season where he torched the Lions for four receptions, 91 yards and a TD, expectations raised in Green Bay.

His third season got off to a flying start, posting 19 receptions, 289 yards, 2 TDs — all of which led the team — in the first four weeks. He then suffered a nasty injury, tearing a muscle in his groin. While he recovered well enough to play in all 16 games in 2019, he did not have the quick burst that helped him be so effective earlier.

Allison caught a career-high 34 passes, but his yards-per-catch plummeted from over 15 in his first three seasons to just 8.4. A devastating hit from Tracy Walker, who was controversially penalized on the play, knocked him out (literally) from the Packers officiating-aided win over the Lions in October.

The Allison from 2019 will struggle to make the Lions. The hope is another year of recovery from the groin injury and surgery allows him to get back his field-stretching legs. That’s a role the Lions desperately need filled.

I watched Allison flash those jets firsthand during the 2016 Shrine Game week. There wasn’t a cornerback in St. Pete that could stay with him, and he confidently released off jams with unexpected strength in his shoulders. I saw some of that Allison during his Packers days, particularly pre-injury in 2018.

He’s not the most sure-handed receiver. Pro Football Focus had him for five drops against his 34 receptions in 2019. Judging from social media reactions, Packers fans will tell you it was worse than that.

For the veteran minimum, Allison is a smart signing for Detroit. If the speed returns to his game, I have little doubt that Allison becomes the No. 3 outside WR in 2020. But the Lions cannot depend on that, hence the small contractual obligation. He’s a calculated gamble for a rebound season in a role the team desperately needs.

Breaking down new Lions LB Reggie Ragland with Chiefs Wire

Breaking down new Lions LB Reggie Ragland with Chiefs Wire and editor Charles Goldman

The Detroit Lions made an interesting roster move on Friday. They signed free agent linebacker Reggie Ragland, along with fellow LB Elijah Lee.

Ragland is the more renowned of the two new Lions. He was a popular object of Detroit fans in the 2016 NFL Draft wanting the physical LB from Alabama. Four years later, they land Ragland. It will be his third NFL team.

To find out more about why the Chiefs, like the Bills before them, moved on from such a touted prospect and impactful LB at Alabama, I turned to my good friend Charles Goldman. He is the editor of Chiefs Wire and someone I know has spent a lot of time watching Ragland.

Here’s what Goldman sent me via messaging when I asked him for his thoughts on Ragland and the fit in Detroit:

I’d have figured that Ragland would be a natural fit for the role that free-agent addition Jamie Collins is set to play for the Lions. It seems like Detroit has something else in mind or they’re stockpiling players with like skill sets.

Ragland has played a few different roles for the Chiefs over the years. Most recently in Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 under, he lined up as the SAM linebacker. He had some repetitions during the course of training camp as the MIKE & JACK linebacker spots but played them sparingly if ever during the regular season. In Bob Sutton’s 3-4 scheme, he was primarily utilized as a two-down thumper.

He’ll bring some juice rushing the quarterback and physicality against the run. He’s shown the ability to read the eyes of the QB and has a good feel for spacing in zone coverage drops, just don’t expect a lot of production there. He definitely doesn’t have the long speed to carry routes too far in man coverage.

In 2019, I think the thing Ragland proved is that he can be a team player. He played in the fourth preseason game, which usually is the kiss of death, especially as a veteran player. He made through roster cuts but was a healthy scratch through the first two weeks of the season. He didn’t play until Week 3 and even then it was only special teams snaps, and he hadn’t played ST before in Kansas City. Eventually, he worked his way up to a bigger role and started a total of seven games.

Thanks to Goldman for the detailed insight!

Geremy Davis: What the Lions are getting in their new WR

Geremy Davis: What the Lions are getting in their newly signed wide receiver

Geremy Davis is the latest free agent to sign with the Detroit Lions. The veteran wide receiver agreed to terms on Thursday to join the den.

What are the Lions getting in Davis?

In terms of pass catching, not much. Davis has five career receptions in five NFL seasons spanning two teams, the Giants and Chargers. In terms of everything else asked of a reserve wideout, Davis brings a lot to Detroit.

He’s a special teams ace. Davis has been a standout on coverage and blocking units his entire career. The 6-3, 211-pounder is an instant upgrade on the punt and kick units.

I formally interviewed Davis during the 2015 Senior Bowl (for a now-defunct site, RIP Draft Breakdown) before he was a sixth-round pick by the Giants. Even then he saw the merit in trumpeting his special teams ability, and he’s made it his NFL calling card.

On offense, the Chargers deployed him in short-yardage situations as a blocking receiver. Davis had several games where he did not play at all on offense, and against the Lions last September the UConn grad played exactly one offensive snap. He did catch three passes in 2019, but Davis is not much of a receiving threat. He’s a good example of the notion that bigger receivers who struggled to get open in college don’t get any better at that in the NFL.

Tony McRae: What the Lions are getting in their new CB

Tony McRae: What the Lions are getting in their new CB and special teams player, including reviews from Bengals analysts

Tony McRae is one of the newest Detroit Lions. McRae agreed to a one-year contract with the Lions on Friday.

For most fans, even hardcore NFL fans, McRae is pretty much an unknown commodity. That’s true for me, too; I knew he played cornerback and on special teams for the Cincinnati Bengals, but I couldn’t recall ever watching the 26-year-old journeyman actually play.

So I spent a couple of hours on a sunny Saturday morning watching McRae with the Bengals. He started two games at CB in 2019, against the Rams and Jaguars, as an injury replacement. I watched those games and reviewed both his games against the Cleveland Browns, where he played exclusively on special teams.

The best play was his first defensive snap against the Rams. He smartly stayed at home on the backside slot and made a nice low tackle on Todd Gurley near the line of scrimmage. I probably should have stopped there…

In coverage, McRae consistently showed little anticipation of the receiver or the ball. He’s slow to react to cuts and moves. It seems like he’s always playing catch-up on passing reps, never the dictator of the action. The Bengals were frequently in zone and McRae often hedged between his two responsibilities instead of committing to one and allowing his fellow DBs to react off that.

As a tackler, McRae is pretty adept at squaring up the target and then diving low. Most of the time it was effective, but he does drop his eyes. He’s better at it on special teams. He’s also more aggressive at taking on and subsequently discarding blocks on special teams.

For a more intimate knowledge, I turned to a couple of trusted colleagues who covered McRae during his time with the Bengals.

From Joe Goodberry of The Athletic,

“You’re looking at a special teamer for the most part. McRae runs and moves better than his tested times, but still isn’t a great or aware athlete. The Bengals mostly used him in the slot when he did play defense and he was pretty bad. Inside breaking routes, stacking receivers and deep ball skills ruined his day. Keep him on special teams as the 5th or 6th cornerback.”

Bengals Wire editor Chris Roling was a little more optimistic and brought up more of McRae’s past experience.

Tony McRae joined the Bengals in 2016 and eventually became another undrafted gem for the staff. He technically went to Baltimore briefly in 2017 and then bounced around before the Bengals slapped him on a practice squad, then called him up.

McRae was initially a callup in late 2017 to replace Adam Jones, which speaks a bit to his versatility. Over 12 games in 2018 he took the spot of Darqueze Dennard in the slot and that earned him an extension into 2019. He didn’t see a ton of base-defense snaps in 2019 and was targeted by opposing offenses when he got on the field (14 completions on 19 targets at 16 yards per completion) but he’s got some good value on special teams besides secondary depth.

He’s a scrappy player all around and it speaks to his production and upside that he stuck around for a while on a Bengals roster that has so many major assets invested in the position over the years. The link with Lions’ special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs (who would hold the same position in Cincinnati if Darrin Simmmons wasn’t assistant head coach) is a big one.

In short, don’t expect McRae to play much — if ever — on defense. But he’s a good special teams player and fills the role that Johnson Bademosi or Julian Sanford played in past years, a special teams specialist that also happens to play a position somewhere on defense in an emergency. That’s why new Lions special teams coach Brayden Coombs, who was the assistant in Cincinnati, coveted McRae as a free agent.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai scouting notes on the new Lions right tackle

Film review and scouting report on the Lions new right tackle, Halapoulivaati Vaitai

I must admit, when I first saw the news that the Lions had flooded Halapoulivaati Vaitai’s bank account with more dollar bills than there are letters in his first name, I was a little irritated. I have a few friends who cover the Eagles for a living – if you could call that a living – and I’d heard offhand stories about what a horror show their swing tackle was. From the sounds of it, the guy couldn’t even open a pickle jar while walking backward and live to tell the tale.

A $50M emergency tackle with the motor skills of an industrial Shop-Vac would surely have been the nail in my coffin, but I was pleasantly surprised with his film. That might not be saying much given the expectations that had been set, but I was certainly happy to come away with my corneas intact.

2019 games watched: 11/17 vs. NE, 11/24 vs. SEA, 12/15 at WAS, 12/22 vs. DAL, 12/29 at NYG

Pros

  • Above average athlete with good quickness and sufficient agility/change of direction/balance
  • Sufficient lateral agility in his initial kickslide
  • Good stopping power in his punches and adequate ability to time his strikes in pass pro
  • Has enough change of direction ability to redirect to handle inside counters and pick up twists
  • Sufficient anchor
  • Good power to anchor his run lane on base blocks and create movement on doubles
  • Has the necessary quickness to cut off B gap defenders on the backside of zone runs
  • Good hand placement as a run blocker
  • Flashes fluidity as a pulling guard
  • Sufficient ability to sustain in the run game

Cons

  • Tends to stop bring his feet late in the rep as both a pass protector and run blocker
  • Struggles with speed, especially from wide alignments
  • Inconsistent ability to stay square negatively impacts ability to withstand speed-to-power
  • Mediocre awareness to identify stunts and his responsibility against overload blitzes
  • Marginal screen blocker due to struggles tracking and taking effective angles to assignments in space
  • Will become top-heavy while driving or anchoring and fall off run blocks late
  • Plays with mediocre timing off doubles and takes suboptimal angles to second level defenders

The bottom line is that Vaitai is a lower-end starter at RT who has the ability to make spot starts at RG.  Although a move to the interior would make him a plus athlete and assuage concerns about his ability to play on an island against speed, he may not see the game quickly enough to make a full-time move to guard.

By all accounts, 2019 was a step in the right direction for him, but he will need to continue to improve his pass pro footwork if he wants to shed his reputation as a marked man. He also has the potential to develop into a very good run blocker if he plays with more body control to sustain his blocks, but this deal will ultimately be judged on whether or not he can consistently hold his own as a pass protector against top competition. He flashed the ability to do so against Demarcus Lawrence in Week 16, but he needs to show more consistency in this regard to earn fan confidence.

Fortunately, his deal is pretty team-friendly and the Lions can get out from under it after just two years if need be. As for now, this appears to have been a slight overpay for a player who should be a team’s fourth- or fifth-best offensive lineman, but nothing catastrophic. And if Vaitai’s performance is nothing catastrophic, then this signing will be just fine.

Danny Shelton: What the Lions are getting in their new DT

Danny Shelton: What the Lions are getting in their new DT

Danny Shelton is an easy guy to spot. The new Detroit Lions defensive tackle weighs 340 or so pounds and sports long black hair and distinctive tattoos up and down both arms.

He also happens to be a pretty darn good football player, and the Lions are a better team for adding him as a free agent this week. The five-year veteran instantly bolsters the interior defensive line.

What exactly are the Lions getting in Shelton?

He spent his first three seasons in Cleveland as a first-round pick out of Washington in 2015. In college, he was a versatile nose tackle with a good sense for the ball and an Academic All-American.

For the Browns, expectations were too high based on his draft status. He was a good-not-great contributor on some bad Browns teams. First-round status implies pass rush, fair or not, and that’s not Shelton’s game. He managed just 1.5 sacks among his 11 TFLs in three years before the Browns traded him to New England.

Note the timeline. Shelton did not join the Patriots until March of 2018. That’s two months after Matt Patricia left to coach the Lions. While Patricia and his Lions staff are certainly familiar with his role(s) in New England, they have no real ties to Shelton or history with him.

I say roles in New England, because Shelton’s changed from 2018 to 2019. His first year in Foxboro was a continuation of his Cleveland career, a very good interior run defender with gap integrity and a good nose for the ball but almost no penetration or upfield surge. That changed in 2019.

New England started shading him over a guard or tilting him from being heads-up on the center more. It played to his quick burst and let him get a little more space to operate. He responded by making more plays in the backfield, getting a career-high three sacks and more pressures. It’s akin the jump Damon Harrison made when he joined the Lions in the middle of the 2018 season.

Shelton’s trademark run defense did suffer a bit as a result. Increasing his range led to more opportunities to miss. He’s still a very sure, powerful tackler, but he was more vulnerable to cut and wham blocks in the run game.

Shelton is a quality replacement on the nose for Harrison. If the Lions move to a more traditional 4-man front, and that appears to be the case based on their offseason moves, Shelton will play the 1-tech and play a lot. If he’s more of a 0-tech in an odd front, he won’t make as many noteworthy plays but also won’t be noted missing as many chances, either.