Tag: Christian Jones

Establishing the 53: Mailbag, part 2 is all about the LBs

Answering the reader’s mailbag questions after Erik Schlitt’s Establishing the 53 series of articles at Lions Wire.

After the conclusion of my “Establishing the 53” series of articles, I posed a question to the #OnePride fan base on Twitter asking for any mailbag questions surrounding my conclusions.

I answered the three most asked questions in Part 1 of the Mailbag, but there are still plenty of great questions to answer. So let’s get started.

Note: questions may have been edited for clarity

How are the Lions going to get pressure on the QB using a 3-3-5 alignment? — @joseph_xuereb

Last season the Lions were one of the worst pass-rushing teams in the league. As Jeff Risdon pointed out in his review of the first quarter of last season, the Lions found early success only rushing three linemen, but that turned out to be more of a curse than a blessing, as the team still had confidence rushing three later in the season even when it stopped working.

While the Lions did go a bit heavier in their three rusher alignments last season, for the majority of snaps they did rush four, with the extra pass rusher being JACK linebacker Devon Kennard.

One of the advantages of using a 3-3-5 set is you can disguise where the fourth rusher is coming from, but last year it was obvious to offenses that it would almost always be Kennard because he lacked the range to drop into coverage, and they were prepared for him.

This lack of range ultimately led to Kennard’s release and was likely a major reason why the Lions targeted Jamie Collins to replace him in the starting lineup.

Collins’ range will pair nicely with skill sets of Jahlani Tavai and Christian Jones and it appears the Lions may be looking to expand Jarrad Davis’ role. The addition of Collins will give the coaches options on where to bring pressure from, and in turn, should disguise the Lions’ defensive intentions.

This should also afford the Lions the opportunity to incorporate more blitzes into their game plans, allowing them to bring a 4th and sometimes 5th rusher from unique angles.

They still have to execute on the field, but the flexibility in their linebacker group should give them more options than they have previously had.

Jahlani Tavai, I believe, will be our consistent mike backer. I think they like him as the “voice” of the defense. Do you believe Tavai can play the mike position consistently? — @michaelman1212

As I eluded to in the previous question, I believe the Lions will be deploying their linebackers in several different spots, rotating players through positions, in order to confuse offenses. And while that means different players will line up at the MIKE, I agree Tavai could take on the traditional MIKE responsibilities.

One of the main jobs of the MIKE is to wear the “green dot” helmet and relay in the defensive play calls. During Davis’ first three seasons in the league that was his responsibility, but last year the Lions expanded that job to other players including Tavai.

The Lions typically allow their day two draft picks to slowly acclimate to the league during their rookie season — Tavai was a second-round pick in 2019 — and by year two they take on a much larger role. With Davis in a contract year, expect to see Tavai wear the green dot helmet quite a bit in 2020.

With both Jamie Collins and Christian Jones on the roster, could you see the Lions running a SAM LB more often in the scheme in order to get them both on the field? — @paullymac7

Typically the Lions only deploy a traditional SAM linebacker when they use four down linemen, which only happens against run-heavy offenses like the Minnesota Vikings.

That being said, the JACK linebacker spot looks primed to be adjusted and it’s possible that role will show more SAM-like qualities — especially if the Lions plan to disguise intentions.

As far as getting both Collins and Jones on the field at a time, I think there is plenty of opportunities to do so. Both players can play at the WILL, JACK, and SAM, and with the rotation levels the Lions use — last year four Lions’ linebackers saw over 52-percent of snaps — there is room for Collins, Jones, Tavai, and Davis to all get starter-level reps.

Reggie Ragland going to practice squad? — @CraigFe60141609

Leaving Ragland out of my projections got a big reaction on social media, but I stand by my assessment of him being an excellent scheme fit but only providing minimal value on special teams — something he will need to get better at quickly if he wants to win the fifth linebacker role.

As far as Craig’s question, under the 2019 practice squad rules, Ragland, who has three years accrued experience, would not have been eligible for the practice squad, but under the new CBA, he is now eligible. This season the practice squad will include 12 players, of which two can have any level of NFL experience — which makes Ragland eligible.

Now Ragland may not want to take a practice squad role but if he comes up empty on the free-agent market, it may be in his best interest to return to Detroit as a potential “practice squad elevation” player due to his fit in the defense. The Lions could also entice him by offering him a higher salary to stick around on the practice squad in an emergency role.

Does Miles Killebrew’s contract make him more of a lock than we may otherwise think? It appears he signed a deal that qualifies under the new CBA for the “mid-level” veteran salary benefit. So he only counts $1.047M against the cap, but $1M is guaranteed. Seems safe to me. — @swarheit

To push Scott’s point further, Killebrew not only has $1 million in guaranteed salary but he also got $137,500 in a signing bonus. That means his cap hit is indeed $1.047 million in 2020 but it would increase to $1.375 million in dead cap if they release him — meaning it would actually cost the Lions $90,000 more to cut him than keep him.

So why did I have Killebrew on the outside of my 53-man projection?

Killebrew was one of the final few decisions I made when rounding out my projection, with it coming down to him or fellow special teams demon Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Both are dynamic pieces on special teams but are only emergency level defenders and I’m not sure the Lions will be able to keep multiple special teams only players.

Additionally, while his contract is very team-friendly, the additional $90,000 — or $1.375 million for that matter — is just drop in the bucket overall and I don’t believe it will deter the Lions from moving on if they need roster space.

There’s a real chance he finds his way onto the roster for a fifth season but he will likely have to make his money in the pre-season.

Film notebook: What I learned from the 1st 4 games of the 2019 rewatch

Film notebook: What I learned from the 1st 4 games of the 2019 rewatch, from Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon

I’m now a quarter of the way through my 2019 Detroit Lions rewatch project. Going back to review every snap of every game with both the broadcast and All-22 feeds from NFL Game Pass, I’m hoping to get a clearer picture of who did what for Detroit in the 2019 season.

The individual game breakdowns are here:

Week 1 vs. Cardinals

Week 2 vs. Chargers

Week 3 vs. Eagles

Week 4 vs. Chiefs

Through the first four games, here’s what I’ve learned. These are general observations spanning the four games, not necessarily indicative of what happened in one individual game performance.

Matthew Stafford

The QB has been mostly good, occasionally great and sporadically off target. Stafford is consistently at his best in the fourth quarter. There is a tangible difference in urgency with Stafford in these games when he’s playing with a lead versus needing to make a play in the clutch, and he’s much more consistently effective in the latter.

Offensive line

Outside of two notable plays, Taylor Decker has been solid at left tackle, particularly given the context of playing with a back injury that sidelined him in Week 2. Outside of facing Chris Jones of the Chiefs, center Frank Ragnow has been the Lions’ best player on offense.

I now have a better understanding of why coach Matt Patricia is a believer in the rotation at guard. It worked, by and large. I’ve been more impressed with Kenny Wiggins than I remember back in real-time, and less so with Graham Glasgow–especially in the passing game. Wiggins has shown more mobility and quickness to engage at second-level targets through the first four weeks, too. Joe Dahl is wildly inconsistent but tended to play better with Wiggins on the field, though that could definitely be a coincidence.

Rick Wagner’s play at right tackle has declined every week. Teams are figuring out how to attack him and he hasn’t been able to respond well. Tyrell Crosby’s game replacing Decker at left tackle was an unmitigated disaster.

Running game

Kerryon Johnson had the best rushing game of his career in Week 4, aggressively slicing through the Eagles. But in Week 1 he couldn’t find the holes and ran tentatively. It’s a microcosm of why the Lions still value him so much but also spent considerable resources to draft D’Andre Swift.

The sprinkling of J.D. McKissic on gadget plays has been refreshing. Ty Johnson got more work than I recalled and proved he could handle himself in the passing game. Nick Bawden at fullback has by and large been a massive disappointment as a lead blocker.

Receivers/TEs

Marvin Jones is the straw that stirs the drink thus far. When Stafford needs a hit, he invariably looks to No. 11. He’s outplayed his statistical impact. The opposite is true of Kenny Golladay. The TD receptions have been great, but his complete inability to separate from CBs that proved over the course of the season to be largely dreadful is very disturbing. He did play his best against the Chiefs in Week 4 and working the middle of the field more, which is encouraging.

T.J. Hockenson came out with a bang in Week 1 and also was a major receiving asset in Week 4. In between he was invisible as a target. His blocking is high-effort but low effectiveness. Defenses do definitely react to his presence though.

Outside of an impressive Week 2 against the Chargers, Jesse James has been brutal. He’s not an assertive or strong blocker and has no vitality whatsoever as a receiver.

Marvin Hall had a nice game in Week 4 replacing Danny Amendola’s snaps as the No. 3 receiver. His speed lifted the safety off helping on Jones/Golladay. Amendola and Stafford were developing better chemistry through the first three games before Amendola got hurt. Amendola’s blocking tenacity stood out more than it did back during the season to me.

Defensive line

A’Shawn Robinson has been the most consistent of the rotating cast along the defensive front. He played very well against the Chargers. There is a definite point of diminishing returns with his snap count, something that’s also readily evident with Damon Harrison.

“Snacks” has not played well in any game. When the Lions use a straight 3-man DL, Harrison is adequate. In the 4-man or 2-man fronts, he’s woefully miscast and asked to do too much.

Trey Flowers is progressing by the week. There is little complexity to his game but he’s very good at what he does, working the outside in with power and then quickness. He was very good against the mobile QBs on the docket at playing contain and stifling keeper opportunities. What really stood out was his ability to contain rush Wentz and Mahomes, getting pressure while also not ceding a clear escape path.

The rest of the line has been largely irrelevant. I know Mike Daniels, Kevin Strong and Romeo Okwara have played a lot but they’re all losing more reps than they’re winning. Okwara had two great series vs. the Eagles in Week 3 as a saving grace.

LBs

One of my strongest takeaways is how much better Christian Jones played than I noticed in the fall. He’s been very effective and versatile. Like Flowers, a lot of what he does really well doesn’t show in the stat sheet through these four games. It’s now much easier to digest why the Lions gave him a contract extension midseason.

Devon Kennard has no creativity. He’s a very smart player though and that football IQ keeps showing up. Really the entire defensive front 6/7 shows a low level of schematic creativity and the in-play dynamics keep getting more vanilla by the week. Kennard’s run defense, outside of a couple of bad reps, has been strong.

Jarrad Davis missed the first two games. That allowed for trial by fire for Jahlani Tavai, who acquitted himself nicely as a pass rusher but thus far looks limited to being in the box and needs to work on shedding blocks. Davis probably should have kept sitting based on how he’s played thus far. He’s had a bullseye on his No. 40 jersey in coverage in both games, and rightfully so from an enemy perspective.

Secondary

I’ve been very excited to study Tracy Walker more and the excitement was justified. He’s been the best player on the defense outside of Flowers, notably when he’s playing as an extra LB or marking a flexed TE in man coverage. His coverage work against Kelce in Week 4 was very impressive.

It has not been a good start for Darius Slay. Philip Rivers picked on the Pro Bowl CB mercilessly and it worked. Slay did get his “Big Play” in the end to salvage an otherwise awful first two games by his standards. He was clearly bothered by injury in Week 3 and sat out Week 4.

Justin Coleman has played well all-around. His run support has been dynamic if not always effective. Rashaan Melvin looked good in Week 1 but has fallen off in coverage. Like Coleman, he’s much more integrally active in run defense than expected.

It’s hard to recall Tavon Wilson doing much in any of the games other than finishing off a lot of clean-up tackles. Quandre Diggs has wildly missed a couple of crucial tackles, but thus far his coverage range and diagnostic skills remain strong. Will Harris was woefully in over his head as the single-high safety against the Chiefs in his first extended duty. His lack of instincts, or perhaps confidence in his reads, was egregious. Prior to that, he’d performed capably in spot duty for a rookie.

Special teams

So many errors punctuate the first quarter of the season. Outside of Sam Martin being exceptional on directional punts and kickoffs, and the punt/kick coverage units led by Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Dee Virgin, it’s been a nightmare. Matt Prater has been shaky. Don Muhlbach hasn’t been perfect with his snaps. Blocking has been inadequate on placekicks and punts.

Jamal Agnew is in the midst of a maddening early campaign. He’s the direct culprit for why the Lions did not win in Week 1 and Agnew got bailed out from another massive, game-altering error in Week 2 thanks to a Chargers penalty. Yet they don’t beat the Eagles in Week 3 without his opening kickoff TD.

Coaching

As the offense gets more comfortable under new coordinator Darrell Bevell, it’s getting exciting. Bevell’s plan of attack is growing more suited to Stafford and Kerryon Johnson by the week. It’s creative, it’s balanced and it’s doing a great job keeping the opposing defenses off-balance overall.

The defense is going in the opposite direction. One of my biggest takeaways is that the success the team had in dropping eight into coverage against the Eagles in Week 3 was a devastating false-positive outcome. It worked for a half against Mahomes and the Chiefs but they figured it out. While I haven’t rewatched beyond these games yet, I absolutely see the snowball rolling down the mountain of futility that’s coming.

Establishing the 53: breaking down the LB group

Examining the Detroit Lions linebackers and debating who and how many players they will keep on the 53-man roster.

It’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

Previously, in this series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, declared a winner in the fullback versus H-back competition, added an offensive weapon, narrowed down the offensive line, broke down the defensive line, and in this piece, look at the linebackers.

Setting the table

The Lions don’t use their linebackers like traditional 43 or 34 base players, instead opting to use traits from both schemes and asking their linebackers to be fluid in moving between positions.

In the Lions base defense, they deploy three linebackers on most downs. In the picture below, Jarrad Davis (40) is the MIKE, Christian Jones (52) is the WILL, and Devon Kennard (42) is the JACK.

The MIKE and WILL are off-the-ball players, with the JACK typically living at the line-of-scrimmage. While this is their base set, the Lions will lineup — and pass rush/cover — their linebackers in a variety of ways, as deception is part of the scheme.

For more detailed looks at how the linebackers are used in this scheme, please take a look at my film study: explaining how the Lions LB roles changed in 2019, and how adding Jamie Collins in free agency points to the linebacker positions being positionally fluid moving forward.

Natural JACK LBs

As mentioned in the Collins article, the adding of Collins and releasing of Kennard point to a shift in how the JACK linebacker spot is used. Instead of having a dedicated player at the position, the Lions appear to be leaning towards rotating off-the-ball linebackers and natural JACK linebackers here and in other roles.

In the last two drafts, the Lions have selected two JACK linebackers: Austin Bryant (in the fourth round in 2019) and Julian Okwara (third round in 2020) — both look like strong options for the final 53-man roster.

In addition to JACK, Bryant’s secondary position is as a down defensive end, while Okwara’s secondary position will likely be off-the-ball, with the goal of turning him into the next Jamie Collins. Both players were injured last season — Bryant with the Lions and Okwara at Notre Dame — and it points to them being rotational players in 2020 while they gain experience.

Erik’s take: With high developmental ceilings, both Okwara and Bryant should make the 53 with ease.

Who else can play JACK?

Anthony Pittman has also been a player primarily used at JACK, but at 225-pounds it’s hard to feel confident with him holding up there on a regular basis. He has also been cross-trained at the off-the-ball linebacker spots.

In college, both Jamie Collins and Christian Jones were pass-rushing linebackers and while they have transitioned to more off-the-ball roles in the NFL, they are also capable of rotating through the JACK position making them very valuable players in this scheme.

Jahlani Tavai and Reggie Ragland are also capable of rushing off the edge but they’re better suited as at the line-of-scrimmage run stuffers rather than pass rushers.

Jarrad Davis, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Miles Killebrew, Jason Cabinda, Christian Sam, and Elijah Lee are more traditional off-the-ball linebackers and are not considered players who can play at the JACK spot unless they expand their games.

Starter battle

With no dedicated JACK, I am anticipating the Lions to use three off-the-ball linebackers as their base starting unit, with plenty of rotation through all spots. There are four primary contenders for those spots.

Collins — who saw 80.7-percent of snaps in New England last year — was the Lions’ big-ticket free agent this offseason and should be considered a lock for a starting role. His contract backs that up, as it averages ($10 million) nearly triple any other Lions linebacker’s salary. For example, even Collins’ lower cap hit of $6.3 million in 2020 is a stone’s throw away from total cap hits of  Davis, Jones, and Tavai, which equals $7.4 million.

Last year Davis (57.3-percent of snaps) and Jones (53.3-percent) were the technical off-the-ball starters, but Tavai also saw starter levels snaps (52.2-percent). A similar rotation of these three in 2020 wouldn’t be overly surprising.

Erik’s take: Personally I think Tavai makes a leap in 2020 and earns a starting role, next to Collins and Davis, while Jones will come off the bench but still see a starters levels of snaps. 

Reserves LBs vs Special teamers

With Bryant, Okwara, Collins, Tavai, Davis, and Jones securing the top spots, that only leaves one or two spots for a reserve linebacker.

The first player that should be considered is Ragland. His ability to be positionally fluid is a big plus, but he has always been a part-time player in the NFL. With the Chiefs, he saw only 21.3-percent of their defensive snaps in 2019, 49.4-percent in 2018, and 29.3-percent in 2017. His $962,500 cap hit doubles down on the fact that the Lions only see him as a reserve player as well. There is a contingent of Lions fans who would rather see Ragland get a shot over Davis but I don’t believe that to be a realistic option at this stage.

His primary competition is special teams’ demon Reeves-Maybin. He is not nearly as good a fit in the scheme as Ragland, but Reeves-Maybin is among the elite special teams’ players in the league — PFF gave him a 90.0 special teams grade in 2019 — and that will go a very long way with this organization.

Killebrew is even more limited than Reeves-Maybin in what he can do on defense, but he is also among the best special teams players on the roster. It’s also worth noting that his new contract carries a $1.05 million cap hit in 2020, which is slightly higher than both Ragland and Reeves-Maybin ($978,273). Elijah Lee has similar PFF special teams grades to Killebrew and will also be competition for this role.

Like Ragland, Cabinda and Sam are great scheme fits but offer more on special teams. They will need to take big strides in their game to make the 53,  but the practice squad is a likely landing for at least one of them.

Erik’s take: With defensive positions at a premium, reserves need to play multiple roles, including special teams, so give me Reeves-Maybin as my top option in this group. 

Conclusion

With Collins, Tavai, Davis, Jones, and Okwara rotating through three spots, along with Bryant and Reeves-Maybin holding down key roles, the Lions linebacker corps is improved from last season.

Ragland will likely be one of the final cuts, but as long as Davis is on the roster, Ragland will likely get pushed off it. Killebrew will also be a difficult cut, but he is somewhat redundant with safety Jayron Kearse, who seems like a safe bet for the 53. Additionally, expect one or two from the linebacker group to be kept on the practice squad for developmental purposes.

Making sense of the Lions roster overload at linebacker

After adding Reggie Ragland and Elijah Lee, the Detroit Lions have 11 LBs on the roster. Here’s how they sort out.

After adding Reggie Ragland from the Super Bowl champion Chiefs and Elijah Lee from the team Kansas City bested, the 49ers, the Lions can now deploy a defense comprised entirely of linebackers. With 11 linebackers currently on the roster, Detroit could have a backer at every single spot.

They won’t, of course, though coach Matt Patricia might be tempted to trot out a 2-8-1 formation just for the chaos factor. But there is certainly a deep mix of LBs to sort through.

The current list of LBs on the Lions roster:

  • Jamie Collins
  • Jarrad Davis
  • Jahlani Tavai
  • Christian Jones
  • Reggie Ragland
  • Jalen Reeves-Maybin
  • Elijah Lee
  • Jason Cabinda
  • Steve Longa
  • Anthony Pittman
  • Christian Sam

How they sort out

Collins will start at one spot, that is certain. The Lions didn’t pay him $30 million to defect from New England and then not play a significant role. He’s experienced at playing the SAM (strongside) role behind a 4-man front, which the Lions seem to be trending to play more often under new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin.

Tavai projects as the likely starter at middle LB, a role he grew in as a rookie in 2019. The Lions run defense did improve when he took over the primary ILB spot.

Jones and Davis now seem to occupy the weakside role, or WILL. If the defense deploys four LBs, they could both be on the field. Jones offers more versatility and is a more reliable all-around player, while Davis should now be able to play in more of a specialist role. That could be a boon for his struggling career.

Davis played his best football in 2018 as a pass-rushing LB behind DT Damon Harrison. With Danny Shelton now manning the nose, Davis could get more looks in that role as a rusher or an assignment-specific nickel backer. Outside of Collins, Davis remains the most athletic and fastest LB on the roster.

Ragland has become an effective run-stuffing ILB in the Chiefs’ version of a 4-man front. His coverage skills are weaker than Tavai, Jones or Collins (who excels in covering TEs). I expect to see him in place of Davis or Jones in short-yardage situations or when the opposing team uses a fullback or two-TE set.

Reeves-Maybin offers potential in nickel packages or 4-LB sets. Lee is the same sort of player, so they are likely dueling for the same roster spot. Lee played well on special teams in San Francisco and that could give him a leg up.

The rest are unlikely to have any role beyond special teams. Longa and Cabinda could be competing for the same backup MLB/ILB role, but the team may opt to not carry than many LBs. Pittman should stick on the practice squad, where he spent his entire rookie season before making his debut in Week 17. Sam is only on a reserve/future contract and might never don a Lions uniform, his Patriots heritage be damned.

Variables

It seems extremely unlikely the Lions will draft any linebackers with any reasonable expectation of making the active roster in 2020. It doesn’t rule out a developmental talent on Day 3, but anything more than that would appear to be a redundant case of draft resource wastefulness.

While I don’t expect it to happen, the possibility of Jarrad Davis being traded does at least merit consideration. His inexpensive salary means there is no real point in cutting the 2017 first-rounder. Davis is well-respected in the locker room and deserves a chance to try and salvage his Lions career in Undlin’s new defense. His trade value would appear to be quite low.

Jones signed a two-year contract extension in November, an indication of some level of commitment. It’s a team-friendly contract if they opt to remove Jones, who did not play well in 2019, before the season. Dumping the veteran would eat just under $2.2 million in cap room in 2020 and about $1.1 million in 2021.

 

How adding Jamie Collins impacts the Lions roster

Examining how agreeing to terms with hybrid linebacker Jamie Collins impacts the Detroit Lions roster.

The 2020 tampering period is just over a day old and the Detroit Lions have already agreed to terms with several players, including hybrid linebacker Jamie Collins.

Early predictions for where Collins will play in the Lions scheme are all over the map. And for good reason. Of the game film I studied when trying to ascertain where Collins would play, I arrived at one answer — everywhere.

Collins played for the New England Patriots last season, and because their scheme is as close to the Lions as there is in the NFL, it was easy to do an apples-to-apples comparison of how he would be used in Detroit.

In 2019, Collins lined up at all four of the Patriots linebacker spots, even shifting over the slot on occasion. In the games that I watched, he rarely lined up at the same position on back-to-back plays, illustrating his true versatility.

Collins is able to play at all these spots for three major reasons. He has a freaky level of athleticism, can effectively rush the passer, and is one of the better coverage linebackers in the NFL. This combination of skills makes him a unique player and one that fits the Lions like a glove.

Like in New England last season, I don’t expect Collins to stay put at any one position, and honestly, that will complement the way the other Lions linebackers are trending as well.

Lions LBs trending towards positional fluidity

After the conclusion of the 2019 season, I did a film study, examining how the Lions linebacker roles were changing. The results showed that while Jarrad Davis and Devon Kennard — who was released yesterday — held static roles, Jahlani Tavai and Christian Jones’ roles were more fluid.

Now the Lions have three fluid linebackers all signed to multi-year contracts. Collins just signed a three-year deal, Tavai’s rookie contract expires in 2022 and Jones got a mid-year extension that expires in 2021.

Meanwhile, the static off-the-ball linebackers that remain, Davis and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, are in the final year of their contracts. Reeves-Maybin has consistently made the final roster based on his special teams ability, while Davis began to expand his duties to the WILL position in the latter parts of the season, something he may need to do more moving forward.

Will the Lions add more LBs?

If they do, it will surely be a player who is positionally fluid so that they can mesh with the other linebackers currently on the roster.

The most obvious name remaining in free agency is Kamalei Correa, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, who was directly coached by new Lions’ linebacker coach Tyrone McKenzie over the last two seasons. Correa has experience playing the JACK linebacker role, can rush the passer and drop into coverage. He has been a career rotational player, but on the Lions roster, that’s what they likely need right now.

If the Lions look to the draft, there are four top-100 players they are surely watching. Zach Baun (Wisconsin) is an off-the-ball linebacker who has shown a knack for rushing the passer. Josh Uche (Michigan) is lightning quick off the edge and can drop into coverage better than most JACK linebackers. Bradlee Anae (Utah) is primarily a pass rusher but has shown the ability to win from his feet. While Curtis Weaver (Boise State), who at 6-63, 265-pounds, is physically as close to a Dont’a Hightower clone as you will find. Weaver is a junior, but Baun, Uche, Anae were all on the North roster at the Senior Bowl and were coached by the Lions staff.

Adding any one of these players would give the Lions front a significant boost in 2020, even if they are in a limited role to begin the season.