Tag: Will Harris

Week 1, Studs and Duds: Questionable decisions haunts the Lions once again

2020 Week 1, Studs and Duds illustrate why questionable decisions from the coaching staff and key players continue to be a problem.

The Detroit Lions have yet again disappointed in a season debut.

Though most of the focus will be on how they blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Chicago Bears, there are some players who deserve some credit for their performances throughout the game.

Here are the studs and duds for the Lions this week:

Stud: Tony McRae

The special teams standout from Cincinnati reunited with his former coordinator in Detroit and immediately justified his roster spot with a tackle on Tarik Cohen in the first quarter. Before Cohen could return Jack Fox’s first punt of the game, McRae was there to prevent the running back from making a play.

Dud: Jamie Collins

The veteran linebacker made a careless rookie mistake by headbutting a referee during the first quarter. Collins was ejected, leaving the Lions with an even worse linebacker group than they had at the beginning of the game. Not a great start to his career in Detroit.

Stud: Jason Cabinda

The linebacker-turned-fullback looks comfortable in his new role. In the first quarter, he laid out a clean block on Bears’ linebacker Danny Trevathan to open a path for Adrian Peterson’s 19-yard run.

Dud: The run defense

Detroit’s run defense allowed 149 yards against them in the 23-27 loss. Despite additions like Danny Shelton and Nick Williams on the defensive line, they were unable to contain Tarik Cohen for most of the game.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

The second-year tight end finished the game with 56 yards and a touchdown. After being unable to finish his rookie year due to injury, it’s nice to see the former first-round pick bounce back.

Dud: D’Andre Swift

Don’t let his second-quarter touchdown fool you; Swift did not have a great rookie debut. The second-round pick rushed for just eight yards on three carries and dropped what would be the game-winning touchdown pass.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

Peterson was by far the best Lions running back on Sunday afternoon, rushing for 93 yards on 14 carries. The 35-year-old must have discovered the fountain of youth because he looked good against Chicago’s defense.

Dud: Tyrell Crosby

With starting right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai sitting out of this matchup with a foot injury, the Lions looked to Tyrell Crosby to fill that role. Crosby had a tough time containing the Bears’ pass rush and committed two costly holding penalties. Let’s hope that Vaitai can return soon.

Stud: Quintez Cephus

This rookie made the most out of Kenny Golladay missing thus game with an injury. Stafford targeted him ten times, the most of any receiver in this game. Though Cephus only brought in three of those passes, he proved he can be a safety net for Stafford when the offense inevitably sputters.

Dud: Will Harris

Harris looked lost while covering Allen Robinson and Jimmy Graham. Lucky for him, Graham‘s knee went down before he could reach the endzone. The fact that he’s playing more than Tracy Walker is disgraceful.

Dud: Matt Patricia and Cory Undlin

When you let Mitchell Trubisky score 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, you have a serious problem on defense. Keep coaching like this and you’ll be out of a job by the bye week.

Could a healthy Tracy Walker not start at safety in Week 1?

Indications are the Lions will start Will Harris and Duron Harmon over Walker in Week 1

Tracy Walker led the Detroit Lions in tackles in 2019 with 103. He did that in just 13 games at safety. During the three games he missed, the Lions surrendered two of their three highest opposing passing yardage totals of the season. Only Trey Flowers earned a higher Pro Football Focus grade on the Lions defense for the season than Walker.

He’s part of the young core talent the Lions hope to build a winner around. Now entering his third year, Walker is poised to establish himself as one of the top young safeties in the league. Yet it appears he will not be a designated starter when the Lions take the field in Week 1.

Based on Walker’s own Zoom session with reporters and reports coming out of Allen Park on Friday, Walker will be on the sidelines behind newcomer Duron Harmon and second-year Will Harris on the Lions depth chart at safety.

Walker sheepishly indicated, “I don’t know” when asked if he would start against the Bears in Ford Field on Sunday.

“I don’t know how to answer that question because that’s above my pay grade,” Walker explained.

It’s a bizarre development. Walker has not appeared on any team injury reports and has receiving favorable reviews in practice sessions open to the media. His emergence as a do-it-all safety seems to be a big key for the “multiple” defense the Lions operate under head coach Matt Patricia and new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin.

Neither Patricia nor Undlin has made any comment, positive or negative, about Walker recently.

Chris Burke of The Athletic, who served as the Lions media pool reporter for open practice sessions this week (meaning increased access), offered this softening explanation.

Our take

The Lions do indeed play three safeties quite a bit. But Walker was clearly the best playmaking and coverage safety on the roster a year ago. He’s demonstrably better than Harris at literally everything a team could want a safety to do on the field. If Walker is healthy and not a problem in the locker room — and there is zero indication of injury or discontent — it’s an inexplicable decision by Patricia and his staff to not have him on the field as much as possible.

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Former NFL scout: ‘I wouldn’t be too down on the Lions if I were you’

Kelly worked for the Jets under Bill Parcells

In an interview on the Split Division Podcast earlier this week, former NFL scout Daniel Kelly spoke a lot of praise for the Detroit Lions and head coach Matt Patricia.

Kelly began his NFL career as an intern with the Minnesota Vikings and eventually worked his way up to being a scout for the New York Jets in the late nineties, in a front office that included both Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.

Kelly had much to say on Patricia, who coached under Belichick in New England. One thing he pointed out is that Patricia has, in fact, brought a lot of Belichick’s tendencies to Detroit. While that may not show up yet on gamedays, Kelly seems to think that the Lions are heading in the right direction.

“I love what Matt Patrica is doing there.” says Kelly. “I love the toughness, I love the discipline.”

He later followed up with more of the same optimism.

“I just think that there’s a lot of good things they’re doing in Detroit.”

When asked about a certain position or specific traits the Lions are in need of, Kelly immediately responded with “a big-time running back.”

The Lions are heading into the season with oft-injured Kerryon Johnson and rookie second-round pick D’Andre Swift. If Johnson can stay healthy, he and Swift could prove to be the playmaking duo that Detroit desperately needs in the backfield.

Kelly’s shared his thoughts about the offensive line. He said plain and simple that the Lions’ offensive line was “average” in 2019, and that the team could use an upgrade on the right side of the line.

The Lions have parted ways with Graham Glasgow and Rick Wagner this past offseason, and brought in Halapoulivaati Vaitai to replace Wagner at right tackle. At guard, there is an open competition between a slew of players including rookies Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg, as well as former starters such as Kenny Wiggins, Oday Aboushi, Joshua Garnett, Russell Bodine and Caleb Benenoch.

When discussing the defense, Kelly did make some harsh remarks on one player in particular.

“Will Harris. I think that he was a big, big problem back there for them. I thought he was a problem. I didn’t like him at all.”

He explained that Harris, a third-round pick in 2019, was a below-average player when lined up at free safety.

Detroit did have to shuffle the safety position around quite a bit due to the trading of Quandre Diggs, as well as multiple injuries in the position group. Regardless, Harris did struggle quite a bit, giving up three touchdowns and an average passer rating of 125.7 on 668 defensive snaps. The rookie also missed six tackles.

Overall, Kelly stated that he was very excited about the direction that the team is heading in, and even made a bold prediction.

“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised, if Stafford can stay healthy, to see the Lions make some real noise in that division as a dark-horse team.”

Listen to the entirety of the interview on the Split Division Podcast.

Detroit Lions Breakdown podcast, Episode 157: Inching closer to training camp

Detroit Lions Breakdown podcast, episode 157: “Inching closer to training camp”, is now available to download and listen.

This week on the Detroit Lions Breakdown Podcast, the guys discuss how the NFL is inching towards training camp, what still needs to be resolved in order to have football in 2020, discuss the current events surrounds the Lions, and dip back into this week’s mailbag to answer listener’s questions.

The DLB podcast is a weekly conversation with Lions Wire’s own Erik Schlitt and his co-host Joe Kania.

This week, the guys discuss:

Be sure to follow the Detroit Lions Breakdown Podcast (@LionsBreakdown) and its hosts Schlitt (@Erikschlitt) and Kania (@JoeKania_DLB) on Twitter, with a Facebook page on the way.

The podcast is available to listen at the DetroitLionsBreakdown.com website and is also available to download and subscribe to on multiple podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher and others.

Establishing the 53: Projecting the Lions’ DBs

Examining the Detroit Lions defensive backs and project 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, established the top options at linebacker, and in this piece, we will project the Lions’ defensive backs — with 11 spots open on the 53-man roster.

Setting the table

While there are clearly defined starting roles on defense, the defensive backs are grouped together as their positional reserve roles do have some crossover, especially on special teams.

On defense, the Lions deploy five defensive backs in their base set, relying on two outside corners, a JOKER safety, a free safety, with the slot role alternating between a nickel corner or third safety. When they expand to six defensive backs, they typically keep both slot options on the field at the same time. The Lions also have defensive sets that use seven defensive backs in obvious passing situations.

Because of all defensive combinations and the frequency at which they deploy three corners and/or three safeties, it’s important to identify all six players as starters — even if they are not officially identified as such.

Identifying starters at corner

At corner, there has been a two-thirds overhaul among the starters with only Justin Coleman returning. Coleman has the potential to play both inside and out, but he takes roughly 75-percent of his snaps out of the slot.

The Lions were aggressive in landing free agent Desmond Trufant, and after seven years starting for the Falcons, it is assumed he will take a starting role on the outside. Trufant will turn 29-years-old when the season starts and the Lions are likely hoping he can hold down the CB1 role while their top 2020 draft pick acclimates to the league.

Jeff Okudah was drafted third overall for a reason and even general manager Bob Quinn has acknowledged that he is expecting him to start in 2020. Okudah has the talent level to win the CB1 job outright, or make claim to the role by the end of the season.

Erik’s take: Okudah, Trufant, and Coleman are clear Day 1 starters.

CB depth battle

After the trio above, the next notable name at corner is Amani Oruwariye. Oruwariye flashed skills in training camp, showed development throughout the year and should be considered the top reserve option. He is an outside corner only — and that’s probably not changing — but there is a need for a reliable third option at this spot.

Challenging Oruwariye on the outside will be Darryl Roberts — a two-year starter with the Jets — and third-year undrafted corner Mike Ford. Both players have plenty of speed and can contribute on multiple special teams units. Roberts has the experience edge, while Ford has shown the ability to step up when his number was called for the Lions in the past.

The options in the slot are not as strong with special teamers Jamal Agnew and free agent Tony McRae challenging to backup Coleman. The need here isn’t as pressing due to the third safety, but the Lions would benefit from at least one of these players stepping up their ability to play on defense.

Erik’s take: Lock Oruwariye in here based on upside alone, but beyond that, special teams will likely be the deciding factor.

Identifying starters at safety

Tracy Walker’s star is shining brighter with every passing day and he plays one of the most critical spots in the Lions’ scheme: the JOKER safety role. The JOKER is the most flexible player on the field, and Walker will split his time between the box (linebacker level), over the slot (covering tight ends, slot receivers, and running backs), and at deep safety.

Walker is reliable as a deep safety valve, but he can be most impactful when he lines up closer to the line of scrimmage — which is why the Lions traded for Duron Harmon.

Harmon will take over the single-high free safety role and will be the first natural centerfielder the Lions have had since Glover Quin. His experience — and success — in the scheme makes him an instant starter, and his ability to flex between positions will allow him and Walker to disguise coverage intentions.

The battle for the third safety role (the old Tavon Wilson role) will come down to second-year safety Will Harris and free agent acquisition Jayron Kearse.

Harris was drafted in the third round of the 2019 draft with the intention of developing him into this role. Last year he cross-trained at all three safety spots but was noticeably more successful when lining up over the slot and in the box. He should be the front runner for the job, but Kearse’s skill set offers a new range of skills. Kearse is big (6-4, 216), long (34.25″ arm length), and can cover, which will make him very appealing when the Lions want to play matchup football.

Erik’s take: Walker and Harmon are locked in starters, while Harris should get the early nod for the third-safety role based on his scheme experience.

Safety depth battle

Kearse should be an easy addition to the trio above, giving them four players they should feel comfortable putting on the field.

Beyond those four, the group is rounded out with four undrafted players: C.J. Moore in 2019 and three more added this offseason in Jalen Elliott, Jeremiah Dinson, and Bobby Price.

If the Lions keep a fifth safety, which one will likely come down to how they perform on special teams.

Erik’s take: Kearse is in. A fifth safety is still an option. 

Special teams battles

With 11 spots open for defensive backs, we have filled eight of them with four corners and four safeties — leaving three spots remaining.

After being benched in Week 2, Agnew bounced back in a big way, scoring touchdowns on both a punt and kick returns, the only player to do that in the NFL last season. He will be challenged by fifth-round pick, Jason Huntley — who had five kick return touchdowns in college — but Agnew has been a weapon on special teams and, at this time, should be expected to secure a spot on the 53.

That leaves the Lions with two spots remaining — and no gunners.

When the Lions signed McRae, I specifically broke down how that impacted the gunner competition. To summarize my conclusion, McRae’s relationship with new special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs should give him a leg up for one of the gunner roles, leaving Dee Virgin, Moore, and Ford battling it out for the final spot. Roberts — who wasn’t on the roster when I wrote the article — should also be in consideration here. Elliott, Dinson, and Price will also get a shot in camp but until I see them compete in person I can’t consider them options.

Based on the information available to me at this time, the final gunner role will likely come down to Virgin, Moore, Ford, and Roberts. Any of these four could make a push for a spot, but Virgin and Moore — the Lions’ starting gunners last year — lack Roberts and Ford’s ability to contribute on defense, which could be a difference-maker.

Erik’s take: The final three spots go to Agnew, McRae, and Ford for now, but all of their roles are in jeopardy come training camp.

Conclusion

In this projection, the Lions wrap up their defense with 11 players, who will play in the following roles:

  • Outside corners: Okudah, Trufant, Oruwariye, Ford
  • Nickel/dime corners: Coleman, Agnew, McRae
  • Position versatile safeties: Walker, Harmon, Harris, Kearse
  • Kick/punt returner: Agnew
  • Gunner: McRae, Ford
  • 4-phase special teams contributors: Kearse, Harris

What the Lions’ offseason moves mean for their 2019 rookie class

Examining the Detroit Lions’ offseason moves and projecting what they mean for their 2019 rookie draft class. Who gets promoted and who is pushed on the roster bubble?

The Detroit Lions have been busy this offseason. Key players on both offense and defense have left the team and gone elsewhere. New players have been brought in. Two trades were made.

Each move that Detroit made this season has impacted a player from the  2019 rookie class in some way, shape, or form.

Tight end

While the signings of tight ends Matt Sokol and Paul Butler don’t pose any threat to 2019 first-round pick T.J Hockenson, the two young players may challenge Isaac Nauta for the last spot on the depth chart.

Sokol, a former Michigan State Spartan, spent his rookie season in 2019 on the practice squads of the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars. He is a strong run-blocker who has the ability to play in a fullback role, meaning he’s in direct competition with Nauta.

Butler has slightly more experience, spending the last two seasons on the Raiders’ practice squad. His skill set is better suited for a pure-receiving role, but he could still challenge Nauta for that third tight end role.

Linebacker

This offseason, the Lions appear to have put an extra effort into their linebacker position. The team brought in four linebackers via free agency and futures deals, including Jamie Collins, Reggie Ragland, Elijah Lee, and Christian Sam (who was on the Lions’ practice squad).

Collins will start and likely alongside 2019 second-round pick Jahlani Tavai. As for the others, they pose a major threat to Anthony Pittman. Pittman spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad and earned a call-up in the final game of the season. While he’s likely to return to the practice squad for the upcoming season, these new signings lowered his chances of making the active roster.

Safety

Prior to free agency, Will Harris was slotted to be a starting safety for the Lions’ defense. Things changed quickly for him after the team traded for Duron Harmon. Harmon, a former starter in New England, is an instant upgrade at the position and will move Harris back to the third-safety role he played last season.

With the addition of special teamer and backup safety Jayron Kearse, C.J. Moore will have some fierce competition in training camp. Moore made the roster as an undrafted rookie and quickly became one of Detroit’s core players on special teams.

JACK linebacker

One 2019 draft pick who doesn’t have to worry about competition is Austin Bryant. If anything, the team’s offseason moves may have helped Bryant earn a starting role. The former fourth-round pick out of Clemson has the ability to play both JACK linebacker and defensive end, and the Lions haven’t done much to bolster either position this offseason. Instead, they released starting JACK linebacker Devon Kennard, meaning Bryant’s path to the first-team defense is wide open.

Cornerback

Amani Oruwariye is currently in the fight to be the starter alongside newly-signed Desmond Trufant. His primary competition is another recent free-agent signing: Darryl Roberts. Roberts, who will turn 30 years old during the season, started the past two seasons for the Jets. The Lions also have a chance to grab Jeff Okudah in the upcoming draft, which might mean that both Oruwariye and Roberts will be backups in 2020.

Running back

Ty Johnson hasn’t had much to worry about this offseason. The Lions brought back Wes Hills and Tra Carson on a futures deals in January and lost J.D. McKissic in free agency but haven’t done anything else at the position. The team is now housing five players at a position where they usually keep four, but it’s safe to say that Johnson has nothing to worry about.

Wide receiver

The deepest position group the Detroit Lions have is the wide receivers. The additions of Geronimo Allison, Geremy Davis, and Victor Bolden will directly impact three 2019 rookies. Travis Fulgham, Tom Kennedy, and Jonathan Duhart are all in the fight for the last one or two spots on the depth chart. Both Fulgham and Kennedy spent some time on both the practice squad and active roster in 2019. Duhart, a college teammate of Fulgham, remained on the practice squad and was brought back on a futures deal.

Fulgham and Duhart are both big-bodied receivers who fit best as outside receivers. This will put them in direct competition with Allison, Davis, and the other outside receivers on the roster. Kennedy is a pure slot receiver who can contribute on special teams as a punt returner. Unfortunately for him, so is Bolden. The two are the only current options as backups to Danny Amendola.

Offensive line

On the offensive line, Beau Benzschawel will have quite the fight ahead of him. With an opening at the right guard position, the Lions brought in a slew of interior lineman to compete. They re-signed Oday Aboushi and inked Russel Bodine, Joshua Garnett, and Casey Tucker in free agency. All three of these players have at least one season of starting experience, while Benzschawel has yet to play a snap on offense. The Lions are likely to find their starter in the draft, but these offseason moves have made it a very difficult path for the 2019 undrafted rookie earning a starting role.

Defensive line

Undrafted in 2019, Kevin Strong made a big enough impression in training camp to make the active roster. Serving as both a 3T and big-bodied edge rusher on the defensive line, Strong played well up until his season-ending injury in Week 9. The Lions brought in three more defensive tackles this offseason, Danny Shelton, Nick Williams, and Olive Sagapolu. Shelton will start at nose tackle, and Williams will likely start at 3/5T. This leaves Atkins and Sagapolu to compete with Strong as the primary backup on the defensive line.

Quarterback

David Blough was Detroit’s third-string passer in 2019 and will hold that role again in 2020. He was primed to be the backup until the Lions brought in veteran Chase Daniel.

The Detroit Lions have done a lot throughout the offseason and have added depth to each position. While this has directly impacted most of their 2019 rookie class in a negative way, it has clearly helped the team as a whole. With the draft coming up this month, expect their roles to change even more.

How adding safeties Duron Harmon and Jayron Kearse impacts the Lions roster

Examining how adding safeties Duron Harmon and Jayron Kearse impact the Detroit Lions 2020 roster. Are they done making moves at safety?

During the opening week of the 2020 free agency period, the Detroit Lions made several key moves and arguably the most significant additions came at the safety position.

After trading with the New England Patriots for Duran Harmon and acquiring Jaylon Kearse in free agency, the Lions now have five safeties on the active roster who played almost 400 total snaps on defense/special teams in 2019.

Here’s a look at the snaps breakdown from last season:

Player Defense Special teams
Tracy Walker 843 14
Duron Harmon (NE) 702 20
Will Harris 667 259
Jayron Kearse (MIN) 271 231
C.J. Moore 77 315

The Harmon impact

Harmon said in a recent interview with Detroit media that he is hoping to earn a starting role and see “90 to 95-percent of snaps”, but he recognized the talent on the roster and wasn’t going to take anything for granted.

“I know they already have two talented young players (Walker and Harris) in the room,” Harmon said, “and I’m just trying to come there to help in any way I can. I don’t know what my considered role will be, but I know whatever I get will be earned.”

While Harmon is exercising caution publicly, his ability to play single-high safety at a high level is a missing element on this roster. Add-in his multiple years of scheme familiarity and he has the potential to be an instant impact player for the Lions.

In addition to playing single-high, Harmon is comfortable in the slot and is a perfect complement player to Walker and Harris as their skill sets are more impactful in the slot and in the box.

The Kearse impact

A four-year contributor for the Vikings on special teams,  Kearse expanded his duties over the past two seasons securing a third safety position. With the Lions, Kearse’s role is expected to be similar to that of Harris, as a slot/box safety who can heavily contribute on special teams.

At a minimum, Kearse should become a special teams starter in all four-phases, and because of his ability to cover the slot, he could challenge Harris for time in the third-safety role.

Will the Lions add more safeties?

The Lions deploy three-safety sets roughly 50-percent of the time and the early expectations are that Walker, Harmon, and Harris will be the starting trio. Kearse adds depth in the slot/box, while Moore gives the Lions depth at single-high, and both are likely starters on special teams.

Despite having between $12 and $15 million in workable cap space and nine draft picks, the additions of Harmon and Kearse eliminate the need to add more players at the safety position at this time.

2019 rookie report: Will Harris

From snap counts to competing for a starting role, we review the rookie season of Detroit Lions third-round pick safety Will Harris.

Another third-round safety selected by the Detroit Lions, many expected Will Harris to surprise like Tracy Walker did in the 2018 season.

Though he had a fairly quiet training camp, Harris showed up big in the preseason, giving some much-needed optimism about Detroit’s safety situation.

Harris started the season as the Lions fourth safety behind Walker, Quandre Diggs, and Tavon Wilson. In the first game of the year, he appeared on the field for 17 percent of defensive snaps. His role was primarily special teams, and things were expected to remain that way for the season.

Harris’ snap counts remained low for the first three games of the season, but he saw a huge uptick in usage on defense in the Lions’ Week 4 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Quandre Diggs was forced to leave the game early due to an injury, giving Harris his first experience as a starter in the NFL. He held his own, making three tackles and not allowing a touchdown against him.

Following the bye week, the rookie found himself thrust into the starting lineup again, this time filling in for veteran Tavon Wilson. Harris was used as the team’s third safety and put up a career-high six tackles in that game while maintaining solid coverage on opposing receivers.

Harris resumed his role as the team’s fourth safety the next week, but little did he know that he’d find himself as the clear-cut starter soon after. Before the Week 7 game against the New York Giants, Detroit traded away Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks.

Harris looked fine as the starting strong safety for the first game, but he began to look more and more like a rookie as the season continued.

By the end of Week 9, Harris had played two consecutive games where he saw the field for every defensive snap. He had just allowed the first touchdown against him to a tight end of the Chicago Bears and was giving up an average passer rating of 113.7 when targeted.

Missed tackles became a big issue for the rookie as well. Harris had whiffed on six tackles by Week 10. But to his credit, he hasn’t missed one since. Nonetheless, this proved to be a big liability for him, which lead to his benching later in the season.

Though his duties were relegated to being on the field just for three-safety sets, he did have to fill in for injuries often during the remainder of the season.

Harris finished his rookie season with 36 total tackles, three passes defended, and a sack. While he struggled in coverage for most of the year, he did finish strong. He allowed less than 60-percent of passes against him to be completed and didn’t miss a tackle in the final six games of 2019.

The rookie still has a lot of room for improvement. With Walker returning, and the Lions expected to make a move for a starting-caliber safety via the draft or free agency, it is expected that Harris returns to his backup role where he can learn and develop his skills.

There’s a lot of potential here for the young, physical safety. With a new defensive coaching staff taking over, have some optimism that Harris can develop into a full-time starter by the end of 2020.

Former Astro Will Harris in tough situation with Nationals

What I’m Hearing: USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale says former Astro Will Harris is having a hard time fitting in with his new Nationals teammates who have openly called the Houston cheating scandal “disgusting”.

What I’m Hearing: USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale says former Astro Will Harris is having a hard time fitting in with his new Nationals teammates who have openly called the Houston cheating scandal “disgusting”.

Rookie expectations: David Blough, Amani Oruwariye preparing to start

The Detroit Lions are about to face off against the Chicago Bears for their annual Thanksgiving Day game. Unfortunately for them, a short week means that injured players have less time to heal and prepare, leaving the rookies to fill their roles.

The Detroit Lions are about to face off against the Chicago Bears for their annual Thanksgiving Day game. Unfortunately for them, a short week means that injured players have less time to heal and prepare, leaving the rookies to fill their roles.

Here’s what to expect from the rookies before Thursday’s game:

Quarterback David Blough

Matthew Stafford has been ruled out.

Jeff Driskel, limited with a hamstring injury, is not expected to play.

Now, the Lions have to rely on undrafted rookie David Blough to lead the offense this Thanksgiving.

The rookie out of Purdue, who the Lions acquired via trade from the Cleveland Browns, has yet to play a snap in a regular-season game. With Cleveland in the 2019 preseason, he completed 58 percent of his passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns, along with two interceptions.

The level of competition will be much higher than they were in the preseason. The Bears have one of the best defenses in the league at the moment, so the rookie will have a lot to prove.

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Running back Ty Johnson

Johnson’s rookie campaign has slowed down immensely due to Bo Scarborough’s recent successes on offense. Once thought to be the team’s starter, Johnson has taken just 31 snaps on offense since the Lions signed Scarborough two weeks ago, rushing six times for 17 yards and making three receptions for a mere 10 yards.

Facing off against a solid Bears’ run defense that is allowing just 3.7 yards-per-carry this season, Johnson isn’t expected to contribute much on offense this week.

Tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Isaac Nauta

Despite taking the most tight end snaps last week, Hockenson managed to keep his name clear from the box score. He was targeted twice but failed to make a reception on either pass. Expect the team’s first-round pick to start once again, but don’t expect him to make a difference on offense — especially if his shoulder injury continues to be burdensome.

Nauta, who played in his first regular season game last week, took a bulk of his snaps from the fullback position. While only used for a handful of offensive snaps, the rookie tight end showed promise as a run blocker. His ability as a lead blocker could make an impact in Detroit’s run game. Expect the rookie’s role to be limited to fullback and special teams against Chicago.

Offensive lineman Beau Benzschawel

The undrafted rookie was active for the first time in his career on Sunday but never saw the field.  With both Frank Ragnow and Kenny Wiggins being full participants in practice, expect Benzschawel to make his way back to the inactives list.

EDGE Austin Bryant

Bryant’s NFL debut last week showed some promise in his limited action. The rookie was credited with one quarterback pressure, where he was able to make a hit on Washington’s Dwayne Haskins.

With both Trey Flowers and Da’Shawn Hand limited in practice, Bryant may have another opportunity to see the field this week.

Linebacker Jahlani Tavai

The last time the Lions faced the Bears, Tavai walked out of that game with three tackles and a sack. Despite his usage on-field going down drastically in recent weeks, the rookie could still have the chance to make some big plays. He’ll be used in a much more limited role, coming in as an extra linebacker in some situations. Expect the rookie to see the same success he had last time.

Cornerbacks Amani Oruwariye and Michael Jackson

One of the most pleasant surprises of the Lions’ 2019 seasons was the sudden emergence of Amani Oruwariye. After spending most of the season on the bench, the fifth-round pick found himself in the starting lineup against Washington, subbing in for an injured Rashaan Melvin.

In his first full game as a Lion, Oruwariye blanketed receivers, allowing just half of the passes that came his way, with an average passer rating of 18.7 against him.

With Melvin still listed on the injury report, expect this rookie to come in and contribute heavily on defense once again.

Fellow rookie cornerback Michael Jackson received his first snaps as a pro on special teams. If he is active again this week, his role isn’t expected to change.

Safeties Will Harris and C.J. Moore

For the third time this season, rookie Will Harris saw the field for every defensive snap in the game.

While he started the season strong, his skills in coverage have started to look like an issue. He has missed almost a fifth of the tackles he’s attempted this season and has allowed an average of nearly 12 yards-per-completion.

With Tracy Walker limited again with his lingering knee injury, Harris may be starting again this week. Hopefully, his struggles don’t show up in this matchup.

Undrafted rookie C.J. Moore has remained relatively quiet this season on defense but he’s shown some promise on special teams. With injuries at the safety position, expect Moore to be active again this week with a limited role on defense.