Anytime there are key injuries to a team, it’s illuminating to check how the team covers the hole. For the Detroit Lions in the Week 5 bombardment of the Carolina Panthers, replacing Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Branch proved pretty complex, based on the snap counts from Sunday’s game.
At wide receiver, St. Brown almost never leaves the field when he’s healthy. The Lions divvied up his snaps across several players in Week 5. No wideout played more than 35 of the 60 offensive reps.
- Marvin Jones – 35
- Kalif Raymond – 29
- Jameson Williams – 28
- Josh Reynolds – 28
- Antoine Green – 11
- Dylan Drummond – 5
It was the season debut for Williams, who caught two passes, and the NFL debut for undrafted rookie Drummond, who was not targeted in the passing game. Reynolds entered the game listed as questionable with a groin injury, which might explain his relative lack of usage. He led all wideouts with four receptions and five targets.
Detroit used more of a two-TE set. Rookie Sam LaPorta played 52 of the 60 snaps, with Brock Wright on the field for 37 — more than any wideout. No. 3 TE Darrell Daniels played 15, absorbing the typical reps from fullback Jason Cabinda, who is now on injured reserve.
Along the offensive line, Graham Glasgow started at right guard and played the whole game. Halapoulivaati Vaitai only appeared on special teams. When left guard Jonah Jackson sat for three plays, it was Kayode Awosika who entered in his place.
The running back workload was straightforward with no Gibbs in the lineup. David Montgomery played 45 of the 60, followed by Craig Reynolds with 13 and Zonovan Knight with two. Knight left with an arm injury on his one touch. Reynolds didn’t play until the third quarter.
Defense
The Lions replaced Branch with a healthy dose of Will Harris as the slot corner. Harris played 68 of the 71 defensive snaps. With starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Tracy Walker each playing all 71, it’s a pretty clear-cut replacement role from Harris.
At linebacker, there was a notable change. Malcolm Rodriguez did not play on defense, only appearing on special teams. Alex Anzalone (69), Derrick Barnes (45) and Jack Campbell (32) took all the reps.
Two Lions defenders made their 2023 debuts, albeit briefly in both cases. Julian Okwara was on the field for three snaps at EDGE, while CB Emmanuel Moseley lasted just two plays before suffering an injury to his right knee.
Chase Lucas and Ifeatu Melifonwu did not appear on defense, leaving a heavy DB workload for Cam Sutton (70 of 71 snaps) and Jerry Jacobs (68) at cornerback.