Rookie report: Lions 2021 class shines in season finale

Detroit Lions rookie report: The 2021 class shines in the season finale

The 2021 Detroit Lions rookie class ended the season on a high note with a 37-30 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

The Lions faced their fair share of adversity throughout the season, which in turn made them rely on many of their rookie players to take on larger roles.

This remained true for their season finale, as Detroit utilized 13 first-year players in their victory over Green Bay.

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has become the focal point of the Lions’ offense. Not only did he make franchise history by recording the most receptions by a rookie, he put his name down in NFL history books as one of three rookie receivers to record the stats that he’s put up over this half of the season. His abilities on the field drew plenty of attention to himself, which benefitted Detroit on trick plays as well. Green Bay’s defenders assumed St. Brown would get the ball and hone in on him, allowing the offense to make some big scoring plays. St. Brown finished the game with eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown along with one carry for 12 yards.

Cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu also had himself a day. Expectations were low for the rookie after a rough outing against Seattle the week prior. He was tasked with covering Davante Adams, one of the league’s top receivers, and managed to hold his own. Melifonwu managed to suppress Adams the best he could and allowed just two receptions for 17 yards when targeted. His most stunning play was a pass breakup against Adams that forced a fourth down by Green Bay. The rookie corner showed vast improvement and hopefully will be able to carry that momentum into next season. He had five tackles and a fumble recovery against Green Bay.

Melifonwu’s aforementioned fumble recovery was set off by fellow rookie cornerback AJ Parker, who knocked the ball out of the hands of Packers receiver Juwann Winfree. Parker has started at the nickel cornerback position for most of the year and has shown some great potential there. The undrafted rookie laid out several big hits in this game and proved he’s capable of holding a starting role next season. Parker also is credited with a pass breakup and three tackles in this game.

Rookie tight end Brock Wright returned after dealing with both injury and illness for the two weeks prior to this game and still managed to put on quite a show. While initially used as a blocking tight end, he was forced to become more of a receiving option after T.J. Hockenson was placed on injured reserve. Wright caught both passes thrown his way for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Another rookie who had a decent game was nose tackle Alim McNeill. The third-round pick only played a little over a third of the defensive snaps for Detroit, but was a dominant force as a pass rusher and run defender. McNeill bullied Green Bay’s offensive line, dropping down on them like the 330-pound anvil that he is.

Derrick Barnes finally earned a start at inside linebacker and made the most of it. Other than getting beat for one touchdown that he had no business covering in the first place, Barnes had a decent game. The rookie came away with five tackles and a sack, but still has plenty of room to improve. He has a long way to go before he can be a full-time starter, but the door is open with both Alex Anzalone and Jalen Reeves-Maybin set to hit free agency.

Defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike had a fairly quiet game. He saw more reps than usual but failed to make much of an impact on the game.

On the offensive line, Ryan McCollum was thrown into the action after Evan Brown suffered an injury just five snaps into the game. On his first snap, McCollum was easily beat and gave up a sack. He played 31 snaps before Detroit opted to shift left guard Jonah Jackson over to center and have Jared Goff take direct snaps from him instead. Undrafted rookie Tommy Kraemer took over for Jackson at left guard for the remainder of the game and didn’t allow any pressure on Goff.

Kicker Riley Patterson had another perfect day. The rookie attempted and made four extra points and three field goals. At this rate, he should be the heavy favorite for the kicker job next season.

Mark Gilbert, Brady Breeze, and Tavante Beckett only took the field for special teams plays. None of the three rookies recorded any stats.