Sorting out the Detroit Lions’ most crowded positional group, with nearly a dozen players fighting for snaps and roster spots moving into 2020.
A frenzy of activity late in the free agency period gives the Detroit Lions a wide range of options at the linebacker position this year. Among the batch of eleven linebackers currently under contract with the Lions, we have a little bit of everything.
Whether an upstart youth movement, veteran leaders looking to re-establish their careers, newcomers entering with a wide range of talent and expectation, and of course those unsung guys who have earned late roster spots over the last few years.
The linebacker positional race promises to be one of the most interesting subplots of the preseason in Allen Park, MI. Here’s an early power ranking of where they stand heading into the starting gates:
1. Jamie Collins
Remember the classic Paul Pierce clutch shot taunt? “That’s why they got me here! That’s why I’m here!” The same could be said for Jamie Collins, as the free agent signing gets used to his new surroundings.
Collins was brought here to be the best linebacker on the Lions, plain and simple. He’s been an NFL starter since midway through his rookie year in 2013, including a Pro Bowl selection in 2015. He led the Patriots top ranked defense in both tackles and sacks a year ago, handpicked by the Quinn/Patricia duo to help a defense in desperate need of a quick revival.
2. Jarrad Davis
The love around Detroit for Jarrad Davis‘s character, leadership, and work ethic is well-documented. They just don’t love how he’s been playing lately. As I got into a little bit last week, this very much looks like a ‘now or never’ type of season for Davis in Detroit.
The subtext of the flurry of linebacker acquisitions in free agency seems to be that Davis specifically is being challenged to improve his play in 2020. Davis remains high on this power ranking list and it’s his job to keep for now. For now.
One suggestion making the rounds on this site recently has been the idea of trying Davis out as an additional edge rusher. The Lions definitely have enough bodies to try a lot of different linebacker combos early on, so experimenting with something like this is a low-risk move that they could potentially strike gold with.
Davis has shown the ability to rack up sacks as a linebacker (six in 2018, when the Lions were blitzing a lot more often) . With this crowded of a positional group, the slight chance that he’s a revelation as a pass rusher, and maybe even an Isaiah Simmons type of hybrid guy that we’ve had in our backyard all along, is more than enough reason to give the idea a try.
3. Christian Jones
Christian Jones doesn’t provide massive tackling stats or eye-popping highlights, but the six-year veteran has been a quiet contributor in Detroit for the past two seasons. He’s been relatively durable and shown versatility, as both a full time starter and special teams mainstay. A similar role in the upcoming season would seem like the most likely scenario for one of the elder statesmen of the Lions’ linebacker corps.