All offseason you’ve heard the expression, “Reggie Ragland is a perfect fit in the Detroit Lions scheme”, but I’m not sure I realized how good a fit he was until I dug deeper into his game film.
As a MIKE linebacker coming out of Alabama in 2016, Ragland (6-2, 252) gained Top-50 notoriety as an instinctive player who could line up at almost every linebacker spot on the field regardless of scheme, but his lack of athleticism and coverage skills would likely keep him out of the first round.
Sure enough, that scenario played out and the Buffalo Bills traded up to the 41st pick selected Ragland. They immediately plugged him into a starting at inside linebacker role in Rex Ryan’s 3-4 scheme, but an unfortunate ACL injury cost him his rookie season before it even began.
To make matter worse, Ryan was fired mid-season, replaced with Anthony Lynn who was let go at seasons end, and the Bills turned to Sean McDermott (their current coach) who runs an entirely different defensive scheme. It didn’t take long to realize Ragland wasn’t a fit in McDermott’s 43 scheme and he was traded to Kansas City during the Bills’ 2017 training camp.
Just three games into the Chiefs season, Ragland earned a starting role at inside linebacker and he would go on to start 10 games in 2017. In 2018, the Chiefs moved on from Derrick Johnson and asked Ragland to take on a bigger role. While he started 15 games, he struggled without Johnson, and his exclusively off-the-ball role proved not to be an ideal fit.
Here’s a look at where Ragland lineup pre-snap in 2018 via ESPN’s Seth Walder using Next Gen Stats:
In 2019, the Chiefs switched from defensive coordinator Bob Sutton’s 34 scheme to Steve Spagnulo’s 43 under scheme, and Ragland once again looked like the odd man out. To his credit, Ragland took the demotion in stride and worked his way into a rotational role, starting seven of the 14 games he played.
A new set of roles and responsibilities came with the scheme change and the Chiefs asked Ragland to spend less time strictly off-the-ball, and more time at the line of scrimmage stopping the run and pass-rushing.
Here’s a look at how his pre-snap role changed, via Walder:
To get a better understanding of the plots, here are four snaps from the first series Ragland played in the Super Bowl. In the first picture, he lines up at what would be the WILL in the Lions scheme — keep an eye on No. 59:
In this next picture, he is at the WILL at the LOS (line of scrimmage) outside the left tackle’s shoulder:
Here the Chiefs switched to a traditional 43 and Ragland lined up at the SAM:
In this final shot, he is once again at the WILL, but lined up (and blitzed) the B-gap:
Based on my film study of how the Lions used their linebackers in 2019, Ragland’s pre-snap plot chart looks very similar to how the Lions used Christian Jones — only with a bit more experience at MIKE:
It’s easy to see why Ragland’s versatility was so appealing to Lions coaches and how he fits in with this current linebacker group and scheme.
With the addition of Jamie Collins, the Lions appear to be shifting towards a more positionally fluid linebacker group. A quick glance back at the chart above and you can see Jahlani Tavai and Jones should have no problems adapting, giving the Lions at least four positionally fluid linebackers — with Ragland likely fourth among that group.
Working against Ragland making the Lions 53-man roster is the Lions’ love of Jarrad Davis, as well as Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Miles Killebrew’s special team dominance. If Davis can expand his role, he will join Collins, Tavai, and Jones as the top-4 options on the depth chart, leaving Ragland to battle Reeves-Maybin and Killebrew for one of the final one or two spots.
In my pre-training camp 53-man roster projection, I had the Lions keeping only five off-the-ball linebackers and sided with Reeves-Maybin over Ragland and Killebrew based on the Lions special teams preferences.
But, after giving more consideration to the Lions scheme, and relooking back at how Ragland can be deployed, I am starting to lean towards the Lions keeping six linebackers — with Ragland being the clear best defensive option.
By keeping Ragland, the Lions would enter the season with two MIKE linebackers (Tavai and Davis), two versatile WILL linebackers (Jones and Ragland), two developmental JACK linebackers (Julian Okwara and Austin Bryant), and the multipurpose Collins to roam through all three positions.
Things are far from settled, and Ragland is just as likely to beat out Reeves-Maybin for the Lions fifth linebacker spot as he is to lose the sixth spot to Miles Killebrew, but Ragland is such a perfect fit for the Lions scheme, it’s hard to bet against him.