Who will be the next great Lions defensive lineman?
By Matt Urben
First it was Ndamukong Suh, then it was Ziggy Ansah. Who will be the next great defensive lineman on Detroit’s roster?
Ezekiel Ansah was a good player for the Lions during his first two seasons, but became a great one in 2015. Star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh left for the Dolphins in free agency and Ansah became the cornerstone of the defensive line. He finished last season with a team-high 14.5 sacks. Fans in Detroit knew Ansah was talented, but not many knew he could become one of the best defensive lineman in football. A year later, offenses will be game-planning to stop Ziggy and someone else will have to step up. Let’s examine three current Lions defensive lineman who could be the next to breakout.
1. Defensive End: Devin Taylor
Taylor is the most obvious candidate to follow in Ziggy and Suh’s footsteps. A fourth-round pick in the 2013 draft, Taylor has slowly progressed into a starting caliber defensive lineman. He served as a backup to Jason Jones for his first three seasons, but with Jones leaving to join Suh in Miami, Taylor is going to be expected to do more this season. If we examine his 2015 production, Taylor had a career year. He finished last season with a 7 sacks in rotational role. In comparison, Ansah had just 7.5 sacks in 2014, just a half sack more than Taylor had last season. It makes sense that Taylor could hit that double-digit sack number with the added attention that opposing offenses will no doubt be paying to Ansah. It will be on Taylor to capitalize on the double-teams on Ansah’s side of the line. Taylor, like Ziggy, is a physical freak. He stands at 6-foot-7, 275 lbs. He also ran a 4.72 40-yard-dash, showing elite speed for a man of his size. All of these reasons lead me to believe Taylor is the most likely of this group to become that next star.
2. Defensive Tackle: A’Shawn Robinson
A’Shawn certainly has the pedigree to develop into a great starting defensive tackle. He led Alabama to a National Championship last season, playing for the great Nick Saban. Saban demands a lot from his players and it’s one of the reasons the Crimson Tide have been the best team in college football over the past ten years. Fans of the Lions would have been happy getting Robinson in the 1st-round, but due to the depth of defensive tackles in this past draft, Robinson fell to the 2nd-round. The Lions smartly grabbed the 6-foot-4, 312 lb behemoth, with hopes of rebuilding the interior of the defensive line. Robinson is stout against the run, but needs to improve as a pass-rusher. He has flashed his physical dominance in the first two Preseason games but still needs to polish his raw skill if he wants to become a great player. Robinson may not have a great rookie season, since he’s not likely to start, but his future is very bright.
3. Defensive Tackle: Tyrunn Walker
Walker is the unsexy pick to breakout since he came to the team with little fanfare. The reason fans haven’t expected much from Walker is because he was replacing two first-round picks in Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. He wasn’t a known commodity and only played in 4 games last year before he was lost with an injury. The reason I have him on this list is because Walker has great pass-rush ability, which is important in the Lions’ 4-3, hybrid defense. The coaching staff likes him and another year in the Lions’ system should further his development as a young player. Walker, at just 26-years-old, has a great chance to breakout assuming he is the starter next to Haloti Ngata (who I left off of this list because of his age). Walker has a very different skill-set than Ngata, who’s more of a run-stuffing tackle. He could thrive playing between Ngata and Ansah, which is why I believe he could surprise some people this year. I like Robinson more long-term, but unless there’s an injury to Walker or Ngata, he won’t get the reps to be a difference-maker next season.