Tyleik Williams has been playing less and less on Sundays lately.
The Lions’ first-round rookie, who they selected 28th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft back in April, played just eight defensive snaps in Detroit’s 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
This comes after he saw just 11 snaps in the Lions’ 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 and 22 in their 24-9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. He had averaged 30.5 snaps in Detroit’s first six games, with a high of 39 against Cleveland.
Defensive tackle Alim McNeill’s return from injury against Tampa Bay would definitely explain a general decrease in snaps for the rookie. But to be playing less than a third of his average early-season snap count? There’s got to be more to it than that.
“Tyleik’s just a young guy that is continuing to get better and growing,” Campbell said on his weekly radio appearance on 97.1 The Ticket. “There’s a little inconsistency at times, but that’s not out of the norm. Correct it, get a little bit better, and move on."
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It hasn’t been the most productive season for Williams. He currently has six tackles, one tackle for loss, and three passes defended on the year. Although, admittedly, it’s tough to quantify a defensive lineman’s impact using the box score.
McNeill isn’t the only interior lineman playing over Williams. There’s, of course, veteran run stuffer D.J. Reader, who’s played over half of the Lions’ defensive snaps this season. And Roy Lopez, signed this offseason from Arizona, has out-snapped Williams in the last two games (14 and 12).
Lopez had two tackles for loss against Washington, including half a sack.
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"He's playing at a high level, man," Campbell said about Lopez. "It's one of the reasons we wanted him here. He's an outstanding role player for us. When he comes in, we don't miss a beat, man. He can lift the point of attack, man. He can. He's one of those guys, man. He plays with leverage. He's stout, he's strong, he's explosive.”
The Lions love Lopez for his violent playing style and strength. He’s quietly been one of their best additions, even if it means keeping their first-round pick on the bench to get Lopez more opportunities.
"The hard thing for [Tyleik Williams], which is a good thing for all of us, is [Alim McNeill] is playing good, [DJ] Reader’s playing good, [Roy] Lopez is playing good,” Campbell said. “So like, hey man, you got some good players in front of you right now, and so what you do is elevate his game, and then he’ll be in front of them.”
It’s still very early in Williams’ career, and like Campbell said, Detroit has a good problem to have at defensive tackle. But the Lions have clearly issued a challenge to him to play better and make more of his opportunities. We’ll see if he can get back in Campbell’s good graces.