Detroit Lions: 2016 Rookie Stock Report After First Preseason Game

After the first week of preseason, some of the Detroit Lions rookies have started to solidify their place on the team, while others still have work to do.

The Detroit Lions traveled to Pittsburgh to open the 2016 preseason and came away with a 30-17 victory. Now, of course, this is just the preseason, but there was still a lot to learn from the game. The most noticeable trend, was that the rookies looked much more comfortable in a game setting than they have in practice.

Taylor Decker

The Lions left tackle started out well but he is still adjusting to the speed of the NFL. After getting penalized for holding on a 3rd down , he allowed a sack on the next play. He commented on these two plays after the game:

"“I think with any player there is going to be ups and downs. You just have to be able to respond. You can’t let one bad play turn into 10 bad plays. You just have to respond and go out there and keep playing.”"

His performance was a typical debut for a rookie offensive lineman. The real test will be how he reacts to his performance. If he is able to make adjustments and improve over the next three games, it will go a long way to helping solidify the offensive line.

A’Shawn Robinson

Robinson is part of a deep defensive tackle group and didn’t do anything to stand out from the group in this game. This can be both good and bad. So while the second round pick didn’t make any highlight reel plays, he also didn’t end up in anyone else’s highlights either. He won some one-on-one battles but only recorded one tackle on the box score. Overall a steady but not spectacular showing for Robinson.

Graham Glasgow

With starting center Travis Swanson making more than one bad read, it opened the door for Glasgow to stand out. Taking reps with the second team offense, the former third round pick had a solid debut.

Because of Pittsburgh’s defensive scheme, Glasgow found himself in several one-on-one match-ups. For the most part he held his own. Even showing the intelligence of knowing when to drop off his block to help others around him. Glasgow’s ability to anchor and absorb a power rush is noticeably stronger than Swanson’s. This will be a big component in him challenging for a starting job.

Miles Killebrew

Despite having skill set of a small linebacker, the Lions coaches seems determined to keep Killebrew at strong safety. While this is the best strategy for his long-term development, it will limit his ability to see the field in 2016.

Killebrew showed his power when he, almost effortlessly, lowered his shoulder and jarred the ball away from Sammie Coates (the play is pictured to the right). He finished the night with 3 solo tackles. Killebrew showed that despite a big jump in competition he can still deliver the big hits.

Joe Dahl

Joe Dahl took reps with the second team offense at left guard and showed he’s transiting well from offensive tackle. Dahl had a more up and down debut than his other offensive line rookie teammates, missing bad on block that led to a turnover.

That being said, he is easily the most comfortable of all the offensive lineman in space. When he pulled to block on screen plays, he was smooth and effective. When the Lions call a play that requires six offensive linemen, I fully expect it to be Dahl. Additionally, if either starting guard struggles or misses time, Dahl looks ready to step in on either side.

Antwione Williams

Williams had a pre-draft label as a downhill thumping linebacker, but he showed enough range against Pittsburgh to dispute that label.  He led the defense in both snaps (34) and tackles (five), and often found himself in the right spot at the right time. Williams has a chance see some meaningful snaps this season because of a thin group at linebacker.

Jake Rudock

There may not be a more polarizing rookie on the Lions than third string quarterback Jake Rudock. It doesn’t matter if you love him or hate him, on Friday night he looked like a serviceable NFL backup. He showed he’s more capable than previous Lions third stringers, finishing 8 of 11 for 72 yards, with 1 TD and a 2-pt conversion. Rudock had a nice start to his career but also needs some work.

Anthony Zettel

Anthony Zettel found the field in the second half and managed to get to the quarterback twice, once on a sack and another on a knock down. Mlive photographer Mike Mulholland captured the sack in the tweet below. Beyond those two plays Zettel didn’t stand out much but accounting for a sack in his rookie debut should still get him noticed by the coaches.

Jimmy Landes

As a drafted long snapper, Landes is under the microscope on every play he’s involved in. It’s worth noting that for the most part he looked efficient, but on the one extra point that the Lions missed, Landes was the snapper. It was hard to see what was the cause of the problem, but whatever the issue was Landes needs to make sure it’s corrected. Even if it wasn’t his fault.

Dwayne Washington

The highlight play of the game was running back Dwayne Washington’s 96 yard kick return (video in the tweet below). He rushed twice for 12 yards and had 1 catch for 15 yards. Washington still a long way to go as a depth running back but if he can continue to produce on special teams he will find himself on the 53-man roster.

Cole Wick

The undrafted tight end got the start with Eric Ebron sitting out the game with an injury. Wick looked comfortable in his routes, catching one pass for 10 yards on a third down play to convert the first down. He showed good awareness of the first down marker and ran his route properly. As expected of any rookie, his blocking still needs work as James Harrison welcomed him to the NFL.

Quinshad Davis

There was a lot of chatter on twitter when Davis took the field with the second team offense over fellow undrafted rookie Jay Lee (who has had a better camp). Before you jump on the hype train, we need to look at the whole picture.

All positions are identified with names or letters, with wide receiver positions being identified with letters X, Y, and Z. Golden Tate is Detroit’s starting “Z” receiver, backed up by TJ Jones and Quinshad Davis is third on the list. Marvin Jones is the starting “X” backed up by Andre Roberts and Jay Lee is third. 

When the second team offense took the field, T.J. Jones and Andre Roberts were the starters. Then TJ Jones, fumbled out-of-bounds, and dropped a pass on consecutive plays. He was replaced by Davis over Lee because of the positional depth chart.

That being said, Davis took advantage of his early opportunity, catching two passes for 14 yards and caught a 2-point conversion pass. He’s not burning down the stat sheet here, but he also didn’t fumble or drop a pass.

Jay Lee

Lee has stolen the show in camp so far. Which is why it was so disappointing to see him come up short on the stat sheet. It’s hard to put an exact reason on why but it’s worth noting that in camp he’s been mostly receiving passes from Stafford and Orlovsky while in the game he played with Rudock. Keeping in mind that Lee is  a deep threat and like Jeff Risdon said in the tweet above, Rudock looks short first. Lee really needs Stafford at quarterback to help him fully show his skill set.

Jace Billingsley

The “Y” wide receiver position, better known as the slot, is where Anquan Boldin is starting, Jeremy Kerley the primary backup and Jace Billingsley in the third position. Billingsley, has had a difficult camp, but showed very well in this weeks game. He finished the night with, three receptions for 33 yards and very shifty touchdown, which you can in the video tweet below.

Devon Bell

Unfortunately for kicker/punter Devon Bell, Detroit has two of the best kickers in the league in Matt Prater and Sam Martin. Working in his favor is Detroit will likely give a lot of rest their veterans kickers during the preseason. This will allow Bell to showcase his leg strength and position versatility to the rest of the league. Last year, the Lions used the same approach, and it helped Kyle Brindza land a starting job. Bell is hoping to follow the same path.

Next: Detroit Lions Preseason Roster Stack

Other Lions rookies Alex Chisum, Adam Fuehne, Ben McCord, Chase Farris, Deonte Gibson, Louis Palmer, Adarius Barnes, Charles Washington, Rashaad Williams saw limited snaps in the preseason opener and unless something changes, look to be camp bodies for now.