When examining the Detroit Lions (3-5-1) snap counts from Week 10, one glaring thing stood out: Jarrad Davis’ had his best game of the year in a game where he saw his lowest snap counts of the season.
That and more takeaways from this week’s snap counts below:
No Matthew Stafford means it’s Jeff Driskel time
Jeff Driskel — 83, 100-percent
With Stafford’s status moving forward very much in question, we may see a lot more of Driskel in the near future.
Guard rotation declines, Tyrell Crosby steps up
LT Taylor Decker — 83, 100-percent
LG Joe Dahl — 75, 90-percent
C Frank Ragnow — 83, 100-percent
RG Graham Glasgow — 79, 95-percent
RT Rick Wagner — 28, 34-percent
RT Tyrell Crosby — 56, 67-percent
OG Kenny Wiggins — 15, 18-percent
Wiggins saw one series filling in for Glasgow and one for Dahl, down from the two series he had seen in previous weeks.
Crosby took over for Wagner when he left the game due to a concussion and Crosby will likely hold down this position as Wagner moves through the NFL protocol.
The Lions continued to use six offensive linemen sets — four times in this game — beginning with Crosby in his typical role. But when Crosby was needed to take over at right tackle, Wiggins took over this role for the final three snaps.
Ty Johnson’s exit forces J.D. McKissic into the spotlight
J.D. McKissic — 58, 70-percent
Paul Perkins — 15, 18-percent
Ty Johnson — 12, 14-percent
Nick Bawden — 11, 13-percent
Depending on the severity of Johnson’s concussion, we could see a roster move at the position sometime this week. Regardless of what happens, McKissic has proven himself as Driskel’s preferred safety valve — he saw seven targets in the passing game — and will likely be holding down an extensive role moving forward.
Three receiver sets see the majority of the snaps
Kenny Golladay — 78, 94-percent
Marvin Jones Jr. — 76, 92-percent
Danny Amendola — 56, 67-percent
Marvin Hall — 11, 13-percent
Golladay and Jones rarely left the field, while Amendola has now put together four games in a row of over 60-percent of offensive snaps.
Hall’s numbers were down a bit from normal, but with Driskel at the helm — and coaches keeping things simple for him in his first start — it’s not overly surprising. As Driskel gets more comfortable in this offense, expect him to take more deep shots downfield — he has the arm strength to do it — and that means more opportunities for Hall.
Tight end snaps declining
T.J. Hockenson — 48, 58-percent
Jesse James — 28, 34-percent
Logan Thomas — 18, 22-percent
With the Bears’ weakness covering the tight end, these numbers were surprisingly low. Over the last month, Hockenson has seen about two-thirds of snaps, while James has leveled off at around one-third.
Lions DL snaps down due to injury
A’Shawn Robinson — 29, 51-percent
Damon Harrison — 25, 44-percent
Mike Daniels — 21, 37-percent
John Atkins — 20, 35-percent
Kevin Strong — 12, 21-percent
Every player on this list either (save Atkins) entered the game with an injury, suffered an injury during the game, or both. Expect these numbers to increase with their health.
Flowers snaps rise, Kennard’s decline
Trey Flowers — 50, 88-percent
Devon Kennard — 39, 68-percent
With no Romeo Okwara available and injuries on the interior, Flowers saw a significant increase to snap count — his highest of the season.
Kennard has seen his snap percentage drop from the 90-percentile to the 80-percentile, but this week was a season-low. The Lions use a heavy rotation at linebacker in this game and Kennard’s usage reflected that.
Jarrad Davis sees lowest snaps of season, thrives
Jarrad Davis — 44, 77-percent
Christian Jones — 41, 72-percent
Jahlani Tavai — 38, 67-percent
Davis, like Kennard, saw his lowest snap percentage of the season, but Davis responded with his best game of the year. Maybe the light bulb turned on for Davis in this one, but with less responsibility on his plate — Tavai was calling plays at different points during this game — he responded in a positive way.
Jones snaps stayed close to his average snap total, while Tavai’s streak of seeing over 50-percent of defensive snaps is now at five games in a row. Tavai’s increase in responsibilities and consistent snap counts suggest a larger role for him in the near future.
3 and 4 corner sets rise
Rashaan Melvin — 57, 100-percent
Darius Slay — 55, 96-percent
Justin Coleman — 46, 81-percent
Mike Ford — 15, 26-percent
Slay and Melvin were back to their starting cornerback roles, while Coleman settled back into his typical nickel corner role. Coleman was replaced on the field at times by Ford in an apparent effort to exploit a speed-on-speed matchup.
3 safety sets return to average
Will Harris — 57, 100-percent
Tavon Wilson — 56, 98-percent
C.J. Moore — 22, 39-percent
Despite Tracy Walker missing another game, the Lions returned to their standard three safety rotation usage, with undrafted rookie Moore taking on his highest defensive snap counts of the season.
Moore also led the team in special teams snaps. As usual, he and Dee Virgin are one-two in third-phase snaps.
Special teams
C.J. Moore — 27
Dee Virgin — 26
Jalen Reeves-Maybin — 23
Steve Longa — 23
Nick Bawden — 22
Logan Thomas — 22
Mike Ford — 20
Will Harris — 19
Jamal Agnew — 17
Paul Perkins — 16
Christian Jones — 11
Amani Oruwariye — 9
Tavon Wilson — 9
Jesse James — 6
Jahlani Tavai — 5
Justin Coleman — 5
Jarrad Davis — 4
Devon Kennard — 4
Trey Flowers — 4
Marvin Hall — 4
