The Detroit Lions have one of the NFL’s best starting offensive tackle tandems in LT Taylor Decker and RT Penei Sewell. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and head coach Dan Campbell like to augment the strong tackles by often adding a third tackle to the mix.
Matt Nelson plays an unusual amount for a reserve tackle that isn’t pressed into injury-relief duty. The Lions have used an extra tackle on 38 plays through the first five games. Only the Cleveland Browns, another run-heavy offense, have deployed a sixth OL more often (54) than the Lions in total plays. The Las Vegas Raiders creep just ahead of the Lions in the percentage of plays using six linemen, where Detroit ranks third at 11.4 percent.
The heavy volume of the heavier offensive package seems smart on the surface for a team that lacks a true blocking tight end. T.J. Hockenson and Brock Wright are receiving-oriented TEs, so bringing in the bruising Nelson to block instead of Hockenson or Wright appears to make sense. But is the extra tackle gambit paying off for Detroit?
Week 1
Using the sixth lineman sure worked well in Week 1. Nelson was the extra blocker for five plays. Four of the five were short-yardage or goal-line scenarios. On those plays, the Lions scored three touchdowns and the one that failed was immediately turned into a success with a TD on the following play.
The one standard down (1st-and-10) where Nelson was the sixth lineman against the Eagles resulted in a four-yard run by Jamaal Williams, a run to the other side of the formation from where Nelson was blocking.
Running success
The Lions only used an extra lineman once in the Week 5 shutout loss to the Patriots, and it was Dan Skipper instead of Nelson. On a 4th-and-1, Jamaal Williams got stuffed on an interior run. It was an unusual failure for a short-yardage run play with an extra lineman for Detroit’s offense.
The Lions have run the ball eight times this season with an extra lineman in short-yardage (4 yards or less to gain). Five of those have produced the desired result, either a first down or a touchdown. One of the fails was in Week 1 and the Lions scored on the next play, so the failure didn’t hurt.
Passing fancy
Detroit has thrown the ball 10 times with the heavy package on the field. It’s been a mixed bag of results, one where the catastrophic negatives ultimately outweigh the positives.
There have been some successes. In Week 2 against Washington, Jared Goff hit Hockenson off play-action for a nice 18-yard gain on 2nd-and-2 with Nelson in the game helping Sewell deal with the pass rush on the right side. Another play-action pass on 1st-and-10 created a seven-yard gain on a swing pass to Williams behind Nelson’s blocking.
Alas, there have been some notable fails when Detroit passes with a sixth lineman in the game. Nelson himself was guilty of a holding penalty that ruined a promising drive against Seattle, a game where every possession proved important. Goff threw his pick-six against the Seahawks with an extra blocker, too. All three 4th-down or goal-to-go passes where Nelson has played have fallen incomplete.
1st-and-10
The Lions have used the extra blocker on 14 occasions with 1st-and-10 through the first five weeks. On the nine run plays with the sixth lineman in the game, the Lions gained 41 yards. Eight of those nine plays were handoffs to Jamaal Williams, with Craig Reynolds getting the other tote. The average of 5.1 yards per carry comes in below the team’s 5.4 YPC average on the season, and it’s propped up heavily by a 13-yard TD run by Williams. The Lions average 5.6 YPC on 1st-and-10 for the season, a figure that includes the nine with an extra blocker.
Personnel tip-off?
Of the 38 plays with an extra lineman, 34 have featured Williams as the RB. D’Andre Swift was in for two, Reynolds and Justin Jackson one each. It makes sense to use the more power-oriented Williams (or Reynolds) with the extra blocker in the game. However, Swift did score a touchdown on his one carry with six linemen in front of him. It might behoove the Lions to try more of that, though Swift’s opportunities have been limited with missed games and snaps due to shoulder and ankle injuries.