Why aren’t we talking about this? Two Lions defenders quietly played much bigger roles than expected
A rookie defensive lineman immediately carved out a major role, while a young safety out-snapped a veteran starter. Both developments could have implications well beyond Week 1.
The Detroit Lions got contributions from two young players in Week 1 that deserve more attention. Defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard and safety Thomas Harper both logged significant snap counts against the New Orleans Saints, and the implications for Detroit’s roster going forward are worth breaking down.
Let’s talk about it.
Skyler Gill-Howard’s 47 snaps are a big deal
Gill-Howard was somebody I talked about being a big deal for the Lions going into the season. I thought by the end of the year he’d be a household name in Detroit. Lions fans are going to love this guy. But I didn’t think it would start in Week 1.
Gill-Howard played 47 snaps against the Saints. That’s a lot. For context, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, the Lions’ first-round draft pick last year, played 35. Now, that’s not because Williams is a bad player. If that’s your thought, that’s not it. The game shifted at a certain point. Williams came out and did his job early, making sure New Orleans couldn’t get the ground game going. Then the game turned into a pass-rush situation, and that’s where Gill-Howard is just a better fit.
Gill-Howard played 31 pass rush snaps and just 11 run snaps. The run game is supposed to be the area the Lions want him to improve, but he actually played fairly well there. Pro Football Focus gave him a 76.8 run defense grade, which is pretty good. Williams was better in that department, sure, but pass rush isn’t necessarily Williams’ game either. Williams did get the most important pressure of the entire game, though. Go back and look at that 2-point conversion attempt by the Saints. That play goes wrong because of Tyleik Williams. He gets the pressure and forces Tyler Shough into a pump fake and an off-kilter throw. The Lions win that game because of it.
But Gill-Howard made the most of his performance. He walked out with a 71.6 PFF grade, 2 pressures, 2 hurries, no sacks or hits. You’d like to see the sack numbers grow as time goes on. He even dropped into coverage a few times (5 snaps) and posted a 61.2 coverage grade. That’s not bad.
What it tells you going forward is this: expect more of this. Williams is going to be in there to clean up the run game early. When it comes time to get after the quarterback, the Lions are not going to be shy about getting Gill-Howard on the field. They shouldn’t be, because we’ve seen what that looks like. He can pressure. He had some good spots in this game.
If we’re overreacting to Week 1 a little bit, I’m starting to think Gill-Howard might be an even bigger part of this team than I expected. If an all-rookie team existed at the end of the year, Gill-Howard would be on it. That’s the kind of season I think he’s going to have. We’ll see what happens.
Thomas Harper’s role might be bigger than we thought
The other guy is Thomas Harper, which maybe shouldn’t be a total surprise because he started games last year. But he played 54 snaps on Sunday, more than starter Chuck Clark, who logged 41.
Again, that’s not to say Clark had a bad game. He graded out well, had the interception, got a pressure and a quarterback hit, and posted an 81.7 tackle grade. That’s really good. His 62.2 coverage grade and 67.6 run defense grade show he played a solid all-around game.
Then Harper comes in, grades out at 64.6, records a pressure, and gets a big pass breakup. He played 41 snaps in coverage alone. The Lions clearly view Harper as something bigger than maybe I thought.
Here’s the thing. What happens when Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph come back, which is theoretically just a few weeks away? Both should be able to start practicing after Thursday’s game. If they return to practice next week, that would be huge. But what does that mean for Harper?
If I’m the Lions, I want to keep Harper involved. He consistently has shown he can be a good safety. Last year he was the 11th highest graded safety in the league, and he still didn’t win the starting job this year. What Sunday showed is that it didn’t really matter. Detroit is going to play him a lot regardless.
So when Branch and Joseph come back, do Clark and Harper get relegated to the bench? Obviously Branch and Joseph are two of the best safeties in the league, so yes, some guys are getting pushed down. Avonte Maddox will probably slide into the nickel and play the slot. But how little are we going to see Harper and Clark? Who gets more of those remaining snaps?
You can make the case that Clark is great, but the Lions should nurture what they’ve got with Harper. If there are only so many snaps to go around, I’d lean towards giving the young guy every opportunity. Clark still has a few weeks before Branch and Joseph return to prove that his veteran ability is something you don’t want to take off the field.
We’re going to find out. Those are two things from Sunday’s game I don’t think we’re talking enough about, and I’m interested to see where they go.
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