There’s just one game left of the 2020 season, and the Detroit Lions’ rookie class is set to face off against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17.
With the team being eliminated from the playoffs, this is the time for these young players to get more playing time and get their final evaluations before the upcoming offseason.
The eight rookies remaining on the Lions’ roster have had very different seasons, but all could have a chance to make an impact on Sunday afternoon.
RB D’Andre Swift
Detroit is down to just three running backs and Swift is the clear number one as they prepare for Minnesota.
The rookie has struggled in recent weeks, due in part to the team going against some of the top defenses in the league. In each of the last two games, Swift had a fumble and has averaged 81 total yards from scrimmage.
Luckily for Swift, Minnesota is coming off a game where they allowed six touchdowns from a running back. This could open the door for the second-round pick from Georgia to have a big game.
OL Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg
Jackson had a spectacular start to the season and played well at both right and left guard on Detroit’s starting offensive line.
Much like Swift, he’s struggled in recent weeks, but still has only allowed four sacks on the year. At this point, it’s all but certain that Jackson remains as Detroit’s starting left guard for the foreseeable future.
Stenberg, on the other hand, has not had as great of a rookie season and is once again inactive for this game.
The fourth-round pick has only been active for two games and still couldn’t get any snaps on offense despite Detroit having more than their fair share of injuries to the offensive line.
EDGE Julian Okwara
Okwara returned from injured reserve last weekend and went on to record his first career stats.
Taking 20 defensive snaps against Tampa Bay, Okwara managed to make two tackles, one of which went for a loss of yardage.
He and Austin Bryant will serve as Detroit’s JACK linebackers against the Vikings. Expect about the same amount of production out of Detroit’s third-round pick in the final game of the season.
WR Quintez Cephus
Even with Kenny Golladay out, Cephus has not been able to capitalize on the extra offensive snaps that he’s been receiving.
Luckily for Cephus, he’s in a good situation to step up in this upcoming matchup. The rookie is the only currently active wide receiver under contract in Detroit past this season, meaning that the Lions may want to get some extended looks at him.
Marvin Jones, Danny Amendola, and Mohamed Sanu all top the receiver depth chart, and all three are over 30 years old. This leaves a window open for the 22-year-old rookie to come in and make an impact on offense.
Cephus has 18 receptions for 298 yards and a score on the season and could record his second career touchdown on Sunday afternoon.
DL John Penisini
Penisini has anchored the defensive line as nose tackle for most of the season, but that could change now that top free-agency acquisition Danny Shelton is back on the active roster.
The rookie lineman took nearly three-fourths of the defensive snaps last weekend and recorded four tackles.
So far, the sixth-round rookie has exceeded expectations and has proven that he can be versatile from the interior of the defensive line. Penisini has four tackles-for-loss and a sack so far this season as well as one quarterback pressure and just one missed tackle.
Expect him to still have a bigger role on defense, but his snap counts will go down with Shelton back in the starting lineup.
TE Hunter Bryant
The undrafted rookie has one career reception for an impressive 44 yards. Right now, Bryant is the third tight end on the roster and is expected to have a very limited role.
S Bobby Price
With the release of Jayron Kearse, Price was signed to the active roster, but unfortunately, he was declared inactive for this game.