Seven bold predictions for the Detroit Lions in 2018
By Ash Thompson
No subtractions with Kennard and Hyder added
Devon Kennard is going to play a position that the Lions have not had. He will be pressuring the backfield from the linebacker spot. He will move around the formation a bit, but his role will generally be the same. Whether it is forcing running backs inside, or pressuring the quarterback, Kennard’s role will be a completely new feature of the Lions defense. He is not going to be on the field for 100% of the Lions snaps, however.
Most teams in the NFL play three wide receivers the vast majority of the time. Matt Patricia has a tendency to drop eight players into coverage a lot. That will limit Kennard’s, role as he is not someone you want dropping into coverage particularly.
The Patriots rushed only three players a lot under Patricia, and there is little reason to expect much difference from the Lions. Kennard is not suited to any sort of run stopping role on a three-man line. It is possible that he would be deployed this way in two-minute defenses but not at other points during the game.
That puts a focus on defensive linemen with versatility. Anthony Zettel, Kerry Hyder, DaShawn Hand, and Cornelius Washington have experience on the inside and outside of defenses. Hyder is a forgotten man in Detroit. He was expected to take the starting left defensive end role in 2017 but sustained an Achilles tendon tear in the first preseason game.
Zettel was an effective pass rusher early in the season before the toll of extra snaps meant for Hyder led to injuries. There is no guarantee Hyder will return to form, but last season there was Ziggy Ansah, Zettel, and then nothing. This season there will be Kennard, Hyder, and whatever rookie DaShawn Hand can bring to the table in addition to Ansah and Zettel.
Ansah will be the beneficiary of that vast improvement over his support in 2017. He will still be the primary focus of opponents blocking schemes but not their only focus. His numbers will likely not improve much, but his actual level of play will look better. Injury, of course, is the wildcard for Ansah. If healthy he is a double-digit sack producing terror. If he is injured all season, a few bright spots are possible but not guaranteed.
To say that the pass rush has not improved is nonsense. It is not likely to be a top ten group. Such optimism would also be overstated. Last year’s pass rush was terrible though, and this year’s group is very likely to be better than that extremely low bar. There will not be two undrafted rookies logging snaps in week one of the 2018 season.