Everson Griffen excited to join the Detroit Lions; will bolster defensive front

The Detroit Lions have played their way back to an even 3-3 record, prompting general manager Bob Quinn to make a splash before the NFL trade deadline.

It had been a disastrous Detroit Lions defense through the first four games of the 2020 NFL season, but it is a group that’s shown plenty of promise over their last two games.

The Detroit defense couldn’t stop a plastic bag blowing in a breeze, not to mention an NFL running back screaming through the line of scrimmage like a loaded freight train early on in the season.  Aaron Jones went for 168 yards and two scores in Week Two, followed by 73 from Kenyan Drake (not bad) in Week Three.  Then 83 from Alvin Kamara and 64 from Latavius Murray along with three scores in Week Four.

That’s when the Detroit Lions defense started to take defending the run, or lack thereof personal.  The Lions held James Robinson to just 29 yards on 12 carries, followed by 63 from Todd Gurley on a total of 23 tries.

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Now that the defense is starting to shore up their run defense with Danny Shelton, Da’Shawn Hand, and John Penisini, it’s time to address the organizations usually invisible pass-rush.

That is precisely what Bob Quinn decided to do.

Quinn went out and added veteran defensive end, Everson Griffen, from the reeling Dallas Cowboys.  Griffen used to torture the Lions offensive line, usually whoever had been playing right tackle at the time.  Of Griffen’s 79 career sacks, 16 of them came at the hands of the Detroit Lions.

After sending a conditional sixth-round pick to the dysfunctional Cowboys, Griffen is joining the Lions after tormenting them for ten seasons as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

The good news; Griffen seems excited to be joining a .500 team.

The Detroit Lions needed to do something to bolster their defensive front. This move comes just a few days after Romeo Okwara recorded a pair of sacks, one of which forced a fumble that his running mate Trey Flowers would eventually recover.

Not only does the organization lack a consistent pass-rush, but they also lack depth at the position after placing rookie Julian Okwara on the injured reserve list, and Austin Bryant just returned to practice.

I expect Griffen will rotate with Romeo Okwara allowing Matt Patricia to keep fresh legs opposite Flowers and hopefully wreaking havoc on the opponent’s right tackle.  Griffen also serves as an insurance policy to Flowers. If he were to go down with an injury, Detroit would still be left with an established pass-rusher.  Griffen now ranks second on the Lions with 18 total pressures, only behind Romeo Okwara.

Romeo Okwara leads the Lions with four sacks, which is precisely half of Detroit’s total sacks.  Griffen is coming off of a stellar year in Minnesota in 2019, where he earned a 77.6 overall grade, the second-best of his career.  Last season he recorded 66 tackles and nine sacks; there is some juice left, but playing in an atrocious Dallas defense blanketed his success, only maintaining a 56.6 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus.

Griffen recorded 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks playing in 282 total defensive snaps this season with the Cowboys.  Expect better results when he makes his Detroit Lions debut on November 8th against his former Vikings.

Griffen will be held out this weekend due to the leagues’ Covid-19 protocols.  Expect the veteran end also to be extra motivated during that contest after Minnesota cut him this summer.