Detroit Lions: Five Players that are Tough Roster Choices
By Kent Platte
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Larry Webster
Remember OTAs when coach Jim Caldwell was singing the praises of one Larry Webster? We were told how he had advanced so much after a redshirt rookie season that saw him on the sidelines all year. We were told this was going to fill the gap left by George Johnson‘s departure. We were told Webster was ready.
Why he’s earned a spot
Larry Webster was selected in the 4th round, pick 136, of the 2014 NFL draft.
Why It’s Not So Simple
Teams don’t like to give up on draft picks with athletic potential. Webster was being touted by the media as “As athletic as Jadeveon Clowney“, drawing a false parallel making fans think that there was some kind of similarity between the two players. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Webster was considered a UDFA tight end by most scouting sites and wasn’t even listed on many more. You can forgive overdrafting someone if the pick works out, but year two doesn’t look much better for Webster. As a run defender, he was overmatched but improved from last season, but as a pass rusher he was just wasting our time.
Keeping Webster means letting a player that is ready to play on game days, or who might be in a pinch, go. It means keeping a player because you drafted them and not because they’re doing well. Some will point to the developmental path that Tahir Whitehead took to becoming a starter, but Whitehead set himself up almost immediately as a strong special teams player, fighting his way onto the roster and forcing his name into consideration when there were injuries. Webster is being outplayed by guys like Philip Hunt, who would have to be cut despite playing better. Webster does have that upside, but there needs to be some payoff at least in a rotational sense. We’re not yet seeing that.