3 big winners from Detroit Lions' trade for Za'Darius Smith

No. 1: Aaron Glenn

Glenn has orchestrated a Lions' defense that has been quite good without Aidan Hutchinson, other than a lack of sacks and overall pass rush juice that has become a concern since the early favorite for Defensive Player of the Year went down. Smith's skill set and versatility makes re-igniting pressure on the quarterback multiple steps easier going forward, not to mention creating better matchups for others along the defensive front.

Dan Campbell was clearly asked for his input about acquiring Smith when general manager Brad Holmes was honing in on potential trade options, and it would not have been done without his stamp of approval. But Glenn was surely also involved in that process, so perhaps he was scheming up ways to use Smith before the deal was done.

As Glenn bolsters his resume for what is sure to be another round of head coaching interviews after this season, having Smith in the fold from here on out is great news for the Lions' defensive coordinator.

2: Josh Pashal

It's fair to say, rooted in injuries, Paschal has had an underwhelming start to his NFL career. Hopefully he'll back from a two-week absence due to an illness in Week 10, and ready to make a big impact down the stretch this season. He is obviously in line to be aided by Smith's presence on the field, but Smith's career track is also something Paschal can look to.

Smith totaled 10 sacks over his his first three NFL seasons. In his fourth year (2018), he had 8.5 sacks and hasn't looked back since. If not for a back injury that cost him most of the 2021 season, the numbers below would be even better.

Paschal is of course in his third season, with less than 900 defensive snaps under his belt entering Week 10.

No one is writing Paschal off right now, or at least no one should be writing him off. But the addition of Smith should benefit him all the way around, as he looks to take a notable step in his still-young career over the rest of this season.