It’s been a long time coming but last Sunday against the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions finally saw defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu return to the field. Fortunately for the Melifonwu and the Lions, he didn’t disappoint with his performance either.
One season ago, the Lions saw Melifonwu have the best season of his career. He finished with 33 tackles, three sacks, four tackles for loss, two interceptions and 8 pass deflections. Last year, much of his success came from week 13 through the end of the season.
Now the hope for the Lions defense is that Melifonwu has the same late season impact he did from a year ago. Let’s dive into some tape to look at where he will impact the Lions the most on defense.
Early and often in the Lions/Bears game, Aaron Glenn used Lions DB 6 Ifeatu Melifonwu to send pressure at Caleb Williams. On this one, Melifonwu isn’t able to keep his feet but it forces Caleb out of the pocket. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/Pv0Gve9Ab9
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 24, 2024
By having Melifonwu on the field, it provides the Lions defense some versatility it didn’t have a few weeks ago. This allows the Lions to place Melifonwu as one of the safeties in a two-high shell or they could play him closer to the box.
Either way, I’d expect him to play interchangeable roles with Brian Branch. Ultimately, we should see the Lions have three safeties (Joseph, Branch and Melifonwu) on the field at the same time.
Looking at the play above, we get exactly that. The Lions come out with an inverted Cover-2 look on defense. Prior to the snap, you’ll see the Chicago Bears in a 2×2 bunch set on offense. In the process, you’ll see Melifonwu (No. 6) in a press alignment on the left side of the defense (bottom of the screen).
Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see the Lions send a 6-man pressure and the first player in the backfield is Melifonwu. Unfortunately, he isn’t able to stay square or keep his feet and he ends up on the ground rather than the quarterback. That said, it doesn’t give Bears quarterback Caleb Williams a clean pocket and forces him out, and he ends up having to throw the football away.
Lions DB 6 Ifeatu Melifonwu gets his first sack of the season. It was great seeing him back on the field for Detroit. His ability to blitz and play near the box will be a big benefit to the Lions defense. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/pk19IyfOXw
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 26, 2024
Moving onto the next play, we get into the later part of the game but Melifonwu is able to record his first sack of the season. Looking at the play above, we’ll see a similar type of blitz from Melifonwu and the Lions defense.
Sending a 6-man pressure with the point of emphasis coming from the middle, the Bears max protect with the running back to prevent any pressure coming from that area. That said, the speed and pursuit from Melifonwu is too much and it leads to the sack.
Overall, it was a strong season debut for Melifonwu. He registered four total tackles, two total pressures and a sack. In coverage, he was only targeted once and no reception was recorded, per Pro Football Reference.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Melifonwu earned a 64.5 run defense grade, 67.0 coverage grade and a 66.5 overall grade. Not bad for a player that hasn’t been healthy enough to play in the preseason or regular season this year. It’s worth noting that he led all safeties last season with a 47.4% pressure rate.
Having Melifonwu back is important for the Lions defense. We see the pressure he brings and he’s able to help consistently in coverage for the defensive backfield. That said, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn knows exactly how and when to use Melifonwu. Especially when it’s time to get the quarterback.