The Detroit Lions got a welcome surprise out of Sunday’s win over the New York Jets. Two young defenders who haven’t seen much playing time this season stepped up, played well, and earned the attention of coach Dan Campbell. Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and linebacker Trevor Nowaske both made the most of their opportunities, and it sounds like more snaps could be headed their way.

Rakestraw’s path from healthy scratch to potential starter

Lions fans have gone back and forth on Rakestraw for a while now. He had an up-and-down summer. Some weeks he looked really good in camp, and other weeks he just couldn’t seem to figure it out. Add in two minor injury issues during the preseason that pushed him to the back burner, and when he showed up as a healthy scratch in Week 1 and Week 2, it looked like the beginning of the end for him.

Then he came out against the Jets and balled out. He had a big pass breakup, allowed just one catch for 6 yards, and was noticeably impactful in his roughly 25 snaps. Campbell weighed in on Monday afternoon:

“Rake, I thought, showed up. He’s going to get some more opportunities here. I thought he showed up. That was promising. Right now we’re still thinking about outside, but that doesn’t mean we won’t think inside. Roger did some good things back at the nickel when we bumped him, but I think Rake has earned the right to get out there a little bit more at outside corner. So I think there’s a chance he gets a few more reps than he got last week, certainly.”

I don’t want to put the cart before the horse here. It wasn’t a full game. It was about 25 snaps. But when Rakestraw was out there, the Lions defense was noticeably better. So you start thinking about the progression. He goes up against Carolina on Sunday night, gets more reps, looks good. Then Arizona comes in Week 5, and he plays a little more. After the bye, assuming Detroit doesn’t pull off a Joey Porter trade or some other deal for a starting corner, maybe you start thinking about Rakestraw starting opposite D.J. Reed.

This is a former second-round pick. He has had injury history, no doubt about that, but his ability to play was never really fully in question. We always kind of thought he was good. It was just a matter of staying healthy. If he can do that this year, stay on the field, and have more games like Sunday against the Jets, you might see a career turnaround. A lot of things have to happen, though. He’s got to put the work in. Nobody is just going to hand him the job.

Nowaske earns Campbell’s praise with career-high workload

Then there’s Nowaske. He has predominantly been the Lions’ backup SAM linebacker, averaging somewhere around 8 to 12 snaps per game. On Sunday, Detroit let him play 33 snaps, the most he’s ever played in a single game. And he looked really good. Pro Football Focus gave him a 71.4 overall grade with a 66.4 run defense grade, a 76.8 tackle grade, a 66.1 pass rush grade, and a 67.1 coverage grade. He was all over the place, got some pressure, and did his thing.

Campbell also talked about him on Monday:

“As far as Nowaske, he just does everything right. He’s been doing that now for a while. He came in, had a really good camp, and he’s a very disciplined player. He’s grown a ton since he’s been here and turned himself into a real solid player. He just does things right. That whole thing we talk about — be where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there — that’s him. He’s exactly where he’s supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there, and he makes plays. The flip down there on the goal line, that’s him. We gave him that rep in practice the other day. Coaches did a great job. Then we get in the game, same thing. He didn’t miss a beat. He’s just very disciplined that way, and that’s all you want. That’s what you’re looking for. So he’s going to continue to get opportunities because he’s earned that. He’s a valuable special teams player for us, and there’s a role on defense where he can help us. He did a good job.”

Nowaske probably doesn’t have the same path to a starting job that Rakestraw does because the linebacker room is more filled out. Derrick Barnes is there, Jack Campbell is on the other side, and Jimmy Rolder is being worked in slowly. You have to remember Rolder was essentially a one-year starter at Michigan. Of all the rookies the Lions have, he’s probably going to be brought along the slowest.

The weak-side linebacker spot is the one worth watching. Malcolm Rodriguez is fine, but it’s fair to wonder if he’s a good starter. Devin White was a healthy scratch for the Jets game, which was not a good look for him. Maybe Nowaske starts getting a look there full-time.

If he gets another 30 to 35 snaps against Carolina on Sunday night and puts up numbers like he did against the Jets, that’s exactly what you want to see. We’ll see where it goes, but both Rakestraw and Nowaske showed something promising, and the Lions clearly see it too.

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