6. DE Za'Darius Smith
The Lions of course did not face the Commanders this season, but Smith did when was a member of the Cleveland Browns. He noted that insight he has, which he can pass along to his defensive linemates, in a conversation with John Maakaron of SI.com.
"I played this team when I was in Cleveland, Smit said. "I already know how their o-line operates, everybody on their offense. Just can’t wait, man. Ready, excited.”
Smith has five sacks and 36 quarterback pressures in eight games for the Lions this season. Beyond his own stats, he has had a big impact on the team's pass rush.
Since week 11:
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) January 16, 2025
Lions pressure rate when rushing 4 or fewer: 39.3% (1st)
Lions overall pressure rate: 38.9% (2nd)
per @NextGenStats https://t.co/PHxH2BdrX2
For the duration of this playoff run, however far it goes and regardless of opponent, the Lions will face a quarterback who is mobile, a notable blitz beater from the pocket or both. Smith will be a critical factor in bothering said quarterbacks with fewer rushers.
If the @Lions want to go after Jayden Daniels with four rushers -- a solid idea, because Daniels has been evil against the blitz this season -- Za'Darius Smith could be the key in an obviously depleted defensive line. pic.twitter.com/p44Fxhe32x
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) January 14, 2025
5. CB Terrion Arnold
Arnold has been thrown right into the fire as a rookie this season, and with Carlton Davis (broken jaw) out he is the Lions' No. 1 cornerback from here on out. Pro Football Focus has not been kind to his work overall this season, but he had his best overall grades of the season from them in Week 18 and in pointing to one rookie x-factor for each playoff team PFF's Jim Wyman easily noted Arnold for the Lions with an appropriate punch line.
"The Lions will need to see more of that version (the Week 18 version) of Arnold if they hope to reach the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl."
Arnold has cleaned up the significant penalty issues he had early in the season (just three since the Week 5 bye), in line with noticeably better performance overall. He has the right perspective about the his first NFL playoff game ("just another game"), with experience on big stages from his time at Alabama.