The Detroit Lions are doing what they’ve always done with their rookies, and now we’re starting to see the results
The Lions’ rookies haven’t all played major roles through eight games, but some are starting to make their presence felt. And a look at how other NFL contenders use their first-year players offers a reason for fans to be patient.
More than any other season I’ve covered during the Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes era, I’ve had to talk Detroit Lions fans off the ledge about the rookie class. Some of you aren’t worried at all. Others are. Until recently, the Lions’ 2026 rookies just weren’t playing much. Derrick Moore didn’t see the field a lot. Jimmy Rolder didn’t either. Keith Abney had a stretch where he barely played.
You find yourself wondering where these rookies are and why they aren’t playing. That question comes up every year, usually for the first six, seven, or eight weeks. That’s because it looks this way every year.
This is what the Lions do with rookies
Go back to 2021. Amon-Ra St. Brown makes that unbelievable catch against the Vikings to give the Lions their first win of the season. Before that? He was out there, but do you remember him getting targets? He didn’t. He was brought along slowly.
Same thing with Alim McNeill that year. He played a low number of snaps. Kerby Joseph didn’t play a whole lot as a rookie. Remember all the fantasy football people freaking out because Detroit wasn’t using Jahmyr Gibbs much? That happened too.
The list goes on and on. It’s the Lions’ preferred method. Now it’s happening again.
The account Stick to the Model on X has been putting out a lot of great graphs lately, and I recommend checking him out. He posted one showing which teams are giving their rookies the most snaps.
Detroit sits 18th in the league, with 9% of its snap share going to rookies. That might feel low, but it’s right around the middle. Look at who else is down there: the Bears, Patriots, Eagles, Texans, Bills, Bengals, Vikings, Seahawks, Rams, and Broncos. A lot of playoff-bound teams just aren’t leaning on rookies. The Chiefs, Giants, and Jaguars play theirs a bit more than the Lions, but not by much.
So what Detroit is doing isn’t abnormal. More importantly, a lack of early snaps doesn’t mean the Lions had a bad draft. They didn’t.
The 2026 rookie class is playing well
For starters, Blake Miller is arguably the best tackle from this draft. Sure, there are things he’ll need to clean up. Otherwise, he’s playing exactly like you’d expect a first-round pick to play.
Now look around. Monroe Freeling, the guy Lions fans wanted so badly, is struggling through a true rookie season. Maybe he becomes the player everyone thinks he will be, but he isn’t right now. Francis Mauigoa isn’t playing well either. Spencer Fano looks good for the Browns, and Kadyn Proctor has barely played for Miami. Detroit got the good one.
Moore is starting to see more snaps, too. Against Miami, he came away with two sacks and four pressures, and he nearly had a third sack. That’s what I projected during training camp. D.J. Wonnum starts most of the season, Moore’s snaps gradually go up, and eventually the two share the load opposite Aidan Hutchinson. By 2027, it could be Moore’s job, especially with Wonnum hitting free agency after this season. If I’m the Lions, I’d bring Wonnum back.
Rolder is the tough one. He got hurt in training camp, which stunted his growth early. Then he started playing more, and against the Vikings he was all over the place with a tackle for loss and a sack. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending injury in that same game. The Lions clearly intended to use him more.
Abney has played plenty at both cornerback and safety, recently more at safety. With Andre Cisco getting traded to the Lions, you have to wonder if Abney slides back to the slot corner role he was drafted to play. Campbell has hinted that could be the plan. Either way, expect to keep seeing him, and I think he’ll be a huge part of this defense in 2027.
Kendrick Law got hurt in training camp and hasn’t played this season. Tyre West is no longer with the team.
Then there’s Skyler Gill-Howard. The sixth-round pick has been unreal. Detroit put him out there almost immediately, and he’s already got two sacks. I don’t think he’s done, either. He’s going to be a very big deal for this team.
The rotation of Gill-Howard, McNeill, and Tyleik Williams is a dangerous interior defensive line. The Lions scored big there.
This feels like a really good draft. Detroit doesn’t need many rookies to play, and nobody needs to start outside of Miller and maybe Moore at some point. Still, you’re starting to see what we talked about. The Lions are going to play these rookies more, and it’s going to work out. We’ll see where it goes.
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