6 Lions players who deserve more playing time after the bye, including one rookie who may have forced Detroit’s hand
Detroit has two weeks before Green Bay, and the bye gives Dan Campbell’s staff a chance to expand the roles of six players who have already shown enough to deserve a longer look.
The Detroit Lions have reached the bye week. Their next game is the Week 7 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, and the time off gives the coaching staff a chance to look at who deserves more snaps coming out of the break.
There are a few Lions players we just aren’t seeing enough of right now. Some are rookies and some aren’t, but all of them have earned a longer look.
Derrick Moore
First is Derrick Moore. The Lions’ second-round pick has played just 72 defensive snaps this year. I can tell Lions fans are getting antsy. Some people are even starting to throw the B-word around.
This happens every year. Lions fans tend to forget how their team handles rookies. Some guys get thrown into the fire because there’s no other option. Blake Miller is the starting right tackle, so he plays. The same went for Penei Sewell and Aidan Hutchinson. Other guys, like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Kerby Joseph, and Alim McNeill, started out slower. St. Brown was on the field early in his career, but Jared Goff wasn’t throwing to him much yet.
I projected all summer that the Lions would start D.J. Wonnum and work Moore in as the season went on. So far, though, Moore has barely seen the field. The problem is that Wonnum has five sacks. What more do you want from him?
Still, it’s time to get Moore some more pass rush snaps. He’s not a bust. He’s not in the same neighborhood as a bust. Detroit is just bringing him along a little too slowly for everyone’s taste.
Keith Abney
Next is Keith Abney. He played 40-plus snaps against the Cardinals at free safety and played incredibly well. Some people will say all he did was bracket tight ends. So what? That’s exactly what the Lions need. They’ve allowed nine tight end touchdowns this season. If it works, it works.
I wrote on Monday that there’s a real-world future where Brian Branch and Abney become Detroit’s new safety duo. Abney could potentially be the replacement for Kerby Joseph, who still hasn’t been seen practicing in nearly a year.
Nobody likes saying that out loud, but the Lions seem to see the same thing. Dan Campbell said on Monday that it was worth continuing to grow with Abney at safety.
Malcolm Rodriguez
Malcolm Rodriguez is playing better than he’s getting credit for. He’s only played 105 snaps, but he’s the fifth-highest-graded linebacker in the league, per Pro Football Focus.
I know the argument. It’s a small sample size. But Rodriguez also owns an 83.3 run defense grade from PFF, and he’s graded well in coverage and as a pass rusher.
With Devin White down with an injury, the run-stopping role at WILL is open. The Lions tried Trevor Nowaske. They tried White. Why not start Rodriguez and see what it looks like?
His high this year was 28 snaps against the Panthers, and he played well in that game too.
Sione Vaki
Jahmyr Gibbs is playing unbelievable football. You can’t dispute that. Call it an old-school fear, but I’d still like to see a little more Sione Vaki.
I’m not asking for Vaki to carry the ball 15 times. Guys carry the ball at huge rates these days. A human body is still a human body, though.
Gibbs did a really good job in pass protection against Arizona, and I’ll give him credit for that. But do you want edge rushers running into your starting running back over and over every week?
Vaki has done some nice things as a runner, a receiver, and a blitz protector. Give him a few more touches.
Jackson Meeks
This next one is for me. I’m on the Jackson Meeks hype train.
He has one target and one reception this year, and it went for a first down. Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright are playing well, so you don’t want to take much from them.
But I want to see more 13 personnel. Line Meeks up at tight end, motion him out wide, and see if it confuses a defense. Just show me if it works.
Jimmy Rolder
Finally, there’s Jimmy Rolder. Detroit’s fourth-round pick has played one game on defense and seven total snaps. He got a tackle for loss in one of them.
Rolder has the biggest excuse of any rookie on this list. He got hurt about two weeks into camp and missed a foundational part of his rookie year.
With White out, though, this is the opportunity. The Lions have Jack Campbell, Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes, Amen Ogbongbemiga, and Nowaske, but Dan Campbell talks about reps all the time. Let’s see some reps for Rolder.
Those are the guys who need more playing time starting in Week 7 against Green Bay. We’ll see if the Lions agree.
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