Twelve interesting things about the Detroit Lions first depth chart
By Ash Thompson
The defensive line
Anthony Zettel is slated to start across from Ziggy Ansah. Zettel had been taking reps in Ansah’s spot prior to the Lions franchise player’s return to the field today. This is not an incredible surprise, but the listed base defense is definitively a 4-3. This is despite Matt Patricia’s protestations that the nickel defense is truly the team’s base defense. The Patriots officially listed nickel as their base defense in 2017. The format was a bit of a shock.
There are also some interesting player designations on the defensive line. Cornelius Washington is listed as a second-string defensive tackle. Washington played on the interior of Chicago’s defensive line before joining the Lions and moving to end. He did not look very good coming off the edge in 2017, and this move makes sense.
The two defensive ends in the other category are somewhat surprising when combined with that news, however. Jeremiah Ledbetter and Da’Shawn Hand are listed as the team’s fourth-string defensive ends. There is not a world in which it makes any sense for Ansah and Hand to be playing the same position, so take that with a grain of salt.
The team could very well just be trolling us here. We have heard from the start that players will be moving around the front, that the team will situationally be using them in very different ways. The defensive line groupings are going to be the thing I pay the closest attention to in game one of the preseason.