Six Detroit Lions players the national media are sleeping on

The lost linebacker

Jarrad Davis was handed the starting middle linebacker role about fifteen seconds after he joined the team. The IDP fantasy crowd loved him early in the season. The reason was that he was not good enough to get the job done.

Defensive fantasy players are more productive if they’re good against the run, but give up a lot of plays in the passing game. That description should sound familiar to Lions fans. It describes Davis’ rookie season perfectly.

He began the year as the starting middle linebacker. By the end of the season, he was a two-down thumper playing the strongside linebacker position. The green dot on his helmet, signaling to the referees the player in communication with the defensive coordinator, had been passed to another.

Tahir Whitehead, the Lions middle linebacker for the seasons preceding Davis’ arrival, had regained his job. The old coaching staff had a parachute. They had a veteran option. Rather than put their full effort into planning defenses Davis could succeed in, they took the safe route in an effort to win games. They knew their jobs were on the line.

The new coaching staff has significantly more leeway. They also have a reputation for building schemes that put their players in a position to succeed. Davis is going to be brought given responsibilities he can handle, not responsibilities that no Lions linebacker since pre-injury Stephen Tulloch could handle in the middle.

There is no more safety net. The new staff has to work with Davis in the middle, at least for this year. It is in their best interest to put him in a position to succeed.