Three reasons Detroit Lions fans should panic, and three reasons they should not.

The middle linebacker

Jarrad Davis has looked good in run defense. When he is moving forward, one could compare the Lions second-year linebacker to an eagle in flight. He single-handedly derailed the Giants first drive on Friday night by spotting his prey and swooping down on them before they could get going.

Davis has not looked good in pass defense though. He has not looked good at all. The most notorious instance of him being beaten was, of course, the touchdown reception by Wayne Gallman. If you look closely at the video of Devon Kennard‘s sack-turned-incomplete pass, you’ll see some eerily similar coverage from Davis, though the coverage around him was completely different.

It is possible that Davis thought he had inside help inside but he is looking more and more like a two-down thumper every week. The NFL is not kind to players that can not hold up in coverage. Davis needs to get his game to another level to keep an NFL starting linebacker job. If the middle linebacker doesn’t understand where the rest of the players are going to be, that’s an even bigger problem.

It is obviously too early to write him off, but Davis is not looking particularly good right now. The Lions are going to have to rely on him a lot in 2018 if they’re not going to bring in a veteran to push him for snaps.

If Jalen Reeves-Maybin is spelling Davis on nickel downs, it will be fuel for the Lions fans that are already lining up to call Davis a bust. It is better for everyone involved if Davis can get his game together.