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Detroit Lions at the halfway mark: Positional report cards

By Jeremy Friedrichs

DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 15: Detroit Lions Head Football Coach Matt Patricia watches the action during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Ford Field on September 15, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 15: Detroit Lions Head Football Coach Matt Patricia watches the action during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Ford Field on September 15, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Special Teams

The Lions have an excellent and reliable placekicker in Matt Prater, who is likely the envy of many NFL teams. Prater’s range is as strong as ever; he has hit five of his six attempts from 50-plus yards this year.

Only three other kickers have made at least three from that distance. He has missed just three of his 18 kicks overall and has the full trust of the coaching staff. He was brilliant in the Lions’ loss to the Packers, nearly winning the game by himself with five field goal makes.

Punter Sam Martin is in the middle of an average season. He ranks near the bottom of the NFL with just 12 punts downed inside the 20-yard line and in the middle with a net punting average of 42.5 yards. He has forced three touchbacks.

According to Sportrac, Martin has a dead cap number of just $500,000 in 2020, so we may be seeing the last stretch of games for him as a Lion barring a significant turnaround.

Credit coordinator John Bonamego with correcting the Lions’ penalty issues on special teams after a dreadful start. They accumulated nine such infractions over the first two games, but have committed just four on special teams since.

One of those four was incredibly costly, however, awarding the Packers a first down and an eventual touchdown instead of forcing a field goal attempt when the Lions had too many men on the field.

Jamal Agnew seems to have solved the ball security issues that led to his benching early in the season. He is one of just six players to return a kick or punt for a touchdown this year after his 100-yard kickoff return score against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Overall, he ranks fifth in the NFL with an average of 28.2 yards per kickoff return. He ranks seventh from the bottom though in punt returns, with an average of just 2.7 yards.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention long snapper Don Muhlbach. He has already broken into the top 100 in all-time in games played in the NFL this season and will move into the top 60 if he plays in the final eight contests.

Grade: B+

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