We’re still sack dab in the middle of Free Agency Detroit Lions fans. Just as things are slowing down, let’s take this time to learn more about a new addition.
On the last entry in the 4 Questions series, we got to learn more about Johnson Bademosi from Dawg Pound Daily. This time we meet the mammoth defensive tackle Stefan Charles who the Lions acquired last week on a one-year deal. We can easily start with what we know. He’s very big at 6′ 5″ and 323 lbs. He hails from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada and played his college ball in Saskatchewan at Regina University.
Charles was not Drafted in the NFL Draft. He was however a second round pick in the CFL Draft. But he never played a down for the Edmonton Eskimos. Now to what we don’t know. To learn that we have to travel to The Nickel City herself. Where the chicken wings are bottomless and it snows like crazy. I’m talking Buffalo. So I got in touch with our pals over at BuffaLowDown to give us the scoop on Stefan Charles. Here’s what they told me.
SLR: What did Stefan Charles bring to the Bills defense?
BLD: “For Buffalo he was mostly a rotational player. He played about 1/3 of the snaps in 2014 and about 23% in 2015. Corbin Bryant and Stefan Charles filled in for Kyle Williams when he was injured. Bryant got the majority of the snaps out of the two. Charles played 238 downs for the Bills last season. He did fine in a reserve role.”
SLR: What should Lions fans be excited about with Charles?
BLD: “He’s very tall at 6’5 which is good for deflecting passes at the line. He is somewhat raw and is still learning the nuances of the game so there is still some upside to him. He is above average run stuffer and a below average pass rusher. He is not a bad depth option to have especially since he is not very expensive.”
SLR: What should concern Lions fans about Charles
BLD: “Charles played with Buffalo for three years and the most playing time he saw was 31% of the snaps in a season. He has never been an every-down player in the NFL. Both Corbin Bryant and Stefan Charles were RFA’s this offseason for the Bills and they only chose to tender Bryant which should indicate how they felt about who performed better in Kyle Williams absence.”
SLR: Was this a good move for the Lions?
BLD: “That really depends on what they paid for him. With only a one year deal it’s hard for it to be a bad move. If the Bills had a better cap situation they would have tried harder to retain Charles. At only 27 years old he still has some upside. As long as the Lions signed him for a reasonable price, he is a decent depth option to have on the defense and not a bad signing at all.”
I hope you learned something new today. I’d like to thank the guys over at BuffaLowDown for their help this week. Tune in next week when we talk Marvin Jones with Stripe Hype.