As the draft proceeded, it became clear that GM Brad Holmes and the Lions front office wanted to infuse new talent into a defense that fell way below expectations last year. So even though it may be just how the board fell, the Detroit Lions were able to draft players from the front to the back with LB Malcolm Rodriguez, S Kerby Joseph, EDGE James Houston, and CB Chase Lucas. But the main focus will be on the two edge rushers, Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal, to make the most change to the defense.
Last year the Lions double dipped in the defensive tackles class; they pulled the same maneuver this year, but on edge rushers. Hutchinson and Paschal have similar skill sets but may be used differently, especially with a change of defensive philosophy, going from 3-4 to more of 4-2-5 with a 4-3 base coming into the 2022 season, especially after ranking near the bottom in the majority of defensive categories.
The Lions brass seemed quite pleased with how well their draft went along, with many media and draftniks giving out positive grades and critiques. Along with happy fans and leadership, defensive line coach Todd Wash is very happy with the new arsenal of players at his disposal in an interview with Lions Mike O’Hara.
“We’re going to have some really good depth. We got exactly what we wanted out of this draft.”
The Lions arguably took the best player in this draft in Hutchinson, who will look to revamp the Lions defensive front along with Charles Harris, Michael Brockers, and the Okwara Brothers. Hutchinson could play from any side, making him a versatile weapon and taking advantage of the mismatches.
“We had Hutchinson extremely high in the draft process,” Wash said. “We feel he was the most ready to play. We’re going to put him at the rush position in our base. Then he can play either defensive end in the subpackage. We changed a lot of our philosophy upfront. It’s going to get us more attacking. He’s got the ability to play either end spot.”
In a recent interview with 97.1 The Ticket, Brad Holmes told Dan Campbell that he would be “mad” if they didn’t end up with Josh Paschal. Looking into the context of that statement, it seems the Lions were enamored by Paschal and what he can bring to the table, which is plenty of versatility due to power and quickness skillets.
“We’re going to play him at 5 (outside the tackle) in base,” Wash said. “We see him possibly going to tackle at some point. Paschal is a guy who can play inside and outside. He could be that disruptive three-technique if he’s big enough to handle it in there. He has great flexibility.”
With the injection of young talent and the established veteran group, you can help be pleased with the vast improvement from last year for the defensive front. As long as the coaching staff can bring out the full potential, which doesn’t seem out of the question, this could be a dangerous group for opposing offenses, and Wash has already put teams on notice.
“We were a read front last year. Now we’re attacking. We’re getting off the ball and playing at the heels of the offensive line.