Detroit Lions 2024 Defensive Preview!

it's up to the defense uh to make the big plays and to shut the best teams down come postseason time if everything goes well uh first let's talk about some of the guys here in red because they're all dealing with injuries reader should be back soon right yes uh he could be back week one although it's probably I expect him to be activated and uh he might not play week one but I think week two week three he will be in there uh we saw him uh he got to talk to us a little bit he didn't talk to us he talked to the coaches who related to us but uh he was physically at Camp he looks fine he had a little bit of a setback from his torn quad um he'll be good uh again might not be week one and he might be East in where he's playing 25% of the snaps the first week and then up you know gradually up from that but he's look having covered him in the past I covered him when he was in Houston I I'm I'm so blessed to have this guy we are very very lucky is Detroit Lions to have him in here and just what he's done for the guys around him and and we might have talk about this before but broadrick Martin who is his backup essentially um and and will make this team and he talked about how he had never met DJ reader before and the first time he meets DJ reer reer had gone through all of his college tape even going back to when he was at the University of North Alabama before he was even at Western Kentucky and picked it over and gave him things that he could Point like what he observed from him like wow that's that's what you're getting a DJ reader that's that's special that's rare and that's that that that's why I say we're blessed to have him in Detroit even if he's not a top five nose tackle anymore he kind he was on The Fringe of that last year in Cincinnati and has been for some time if he's top 15 even we're good we're good um Kaminsky so he suffered uh A Late July knee injury yeah how's he coming along he will be on ir and it could be very well that he's out for the entire season but they want to give the potential for him to get back for a playoff push and or the playoffs at the end of the year uh Toren MCL with him he's already had the surgery uh but he won he will be put on IR at the start of the Year okay uh and then Mosley now speaking of acl's so Mosley uh trying to make his way back so how how does he I mean what's the he he's he he's done uh he he's I forget what the exact injury it wasn't his ACL again um so he tore his ACL in 2022 uh in San Francisco came in played two plays in 2023 and tore the other ACL and this time I think it was a peck I think it was a torn Peck when was that um uh not not terribly long ago um the it was the week I want to say it was the week leading into the Giants game which was the first preseason game uh but they he will be on IR um there's I guess there's some limited chance that he could get back but this is a guy you're talking about a guy going again going back to college he's had massive injury issues I I say this as somebody who likes and respects him a lot I really hope he decides that it's time to be done and move on to the next part of his career because he's going to he's going to be a hell of a coach he's going to be hell of a position coach Som okay um hopefully he gets into that sooner than later because he's an asset this is a guy again came in didn't have an offseason last year you was out didn't get activated until end of the year at because he had complications from his ACL in San Francisco was with the team the entire time plays the two plays doesn't go home after he gets hurt again is with the team and is with them on the sideline talking to guys in in huddles while he's on injured reserve after that like these are people he doesn't really know that says a lot about his character too uh so I I would love to have him around this team this year and if he's on IR for the entire season he he he'll still find a way to contribute uh as weird as that sounds all right well then let's talk about uh the the spots there yeah uh that need to be filled so what what about because who would be considered the the backup nickel right now uh so nickel right now is uh am meque Robertson has uh and I say this having ripped him mercilessly for how bad he played in the slot in Las Vegas has look good in the slot and I'm very happy about that uh right now it's Andis rraw getting the second team reps there oh okay and he will also be getting he'll also get second team reps outside he's sort of floating between the two we have seen Kindle vildor in there at times uh but Kindle's better outside so that's sort of where and you will still see Brian Branch slide up there occasionally yeah um especially when the the opposing team let's say they're in you know uh you know 12 Personnel he's at safety and they Flex guy like he's he's going to be the guy that rotates up there so okay you'll still see some of that too now what how how does the secondary look in general because uh as we talked a few months ago uh big transformation and you would hope and it looks for the good so how's it going how's how all the new faces adapting Carl and Davis will be one outside corner Terry and Arnold will be the other outside corner they're both new Arnold is dealing with a chest injury right now he'll be fine week one I have no doubt about that he uh made had The Misfortune of trying to tackle alar St Brown on a practice a couple weeks ago and got the worst of it um happened right in front of me it was it looked a lot worse in real time I was worried that he'd like you know broken a TN a pack or broken a rib or something it's not that serious he could play this weekend if he needed to Carlton Davis has been everything they wanted in an aggressive iny yourface press man outside corner Arnold is the same way Rik straw is the same way um he's a lot quieter than the to but he is a very physical at the line not going to let you get a clean release type of player and that's exactly what Aron Glenn wants if you remember Aaron Glenn as a player he played that way he's never had quarterbacks who can do anything close to what he did as a player he's got him now yeah it's gonna be gonna be fun to watch how that develops and I will say there is a lot of pressure on Aaron Glenn to to deliver because he's always had the crutch of like they're starting they're starting week one quarterback last year one of them was Jerry Jacobs um who couldn't get signed this offseason he finally lashed down with the Rams lasted like two weeks in practice now he's out on an injury settlement but like he wouldn't be number seven on this depth chart this year like that's how that's how good it is and and I would give kindall vildor and khil dorsy both a ton of credit they've both played exceptional this summer they are worthy of making this team and it could be the only one of them makes it and uh that's that's a sign of real progress for this team okay and and out of all of those depth guys uh who do you think or what's uh take because Robertson's new Davis is new we know about branch and Arnold and rraw are both the the top rookie guys so everybody else who do you think could take who do you feel confident would take like another step that's tough um so it's safety uh Brandon Joseph has taken a big step up he has kind of taken over the Third role um from fasu malif fanu um who lost his starting job because Brian branch moved back to Safety in that spot um mifan has been injured some this summer which has kind of been a recurring theme for his career he's much more of a in thebox or Edge type safety he did phenomenal at that down the stretch uh but that's that's not as big of a role as it has been in the past uh Brandon Joseph more of a coverage guy so they're going to sort of mix and match on that or at least that's seems to be the plan you know cornerback step Gilmore made this team as an undrafted rookie last year I don't really see any way he makes it this year uh he's a guy that I hope he lashes on somewhere else because he has had his moments this summer but he's clearly number seven right now and uh they're not keeping more than six they might not even keep more than five okay all right uh let's move up to the front seven uh do you expect Jack Campbell to take a big step I hope so uh the team does I'm hopeful that he does too I'm not as sold on Jack Campbell being great as what the team is and what some of my colleagues are I think he's gonna be I think he's gonna be good I think he's gonna be fine but I'm not sure that he is the next coming of Randy gradishar as he's being made out to be um bonus points for anybody who knows who Randy gradishar is oh yeah even though he just played the hall of fame um was was as a kid growing up in Ohio um in the 70s Randy gradishar was the freaking man one of my very first football heroes so I had to had to throw him in there but absolutely Campbell had Campbell has his moments he also has some where he's still flat footed a little bit he's still sometimes over pursues um will choose the wrong hole from time to time and run defense coverage he can be like a tick late to pick up on things he's getting better uh and the team certainly trusts him I'm very ha I'll put it this way I'm very happy that Alex anzelone is still there because he's really smart and really good at what he does and I think that takes some of the pressure off of Jack Campbell and Derek Barnes playing the Sam rooll um has seed that that other off ball linebacker role to Barn to uh Campbell but he's still there he's still helpful and he he looks he's playing the role that he played at Purdue okay and it's baffled me for for years why the Lions haven't used him in that role they finally they finally got him back to doing it and he looks great and one of the functions of that is they are playing more with three linebackers on the field than they ever have under Dan Campbell okay um I I don't know if I had to put a number on it in practices I'd say it's probably over 35 to 40% somewhere in that range and just the 2022 season they had 11 snaps the entire season with three linebackers on the field yeah so they they have been straight base nickel the entire time and that is changing a little bit and some of that is because Barnes is really effective at Rushing the passer and they're looking for that but also Campbell and anzone and coverage have have done enough and Brian Branch moving back to safety solidifies the backend coverage enough that they feel like they can do that and get bigger and and and be more of an attacking defense um which they can't do as much when you're in n okay so it is more of now we have the Personnel this is what we wanted to do or is it well we have the Personnel we might as well do it what do you think it is so that that's a very good question I like the way you phrase that I think it's more of the lad I think it's like we have this Personnel let's let's use it the way we want to okay um but you know Derek Barnes he he improved a lot as an off ball linebacker but there were still times where you're like Jack Campbell should probably have that role and that's what they did so it's good all right so you maybe what you're saying is is uh you haven't seen it yet maybe you will see it with Campbell you just don't think that you've seen it yeah and yeah and it's not consistent um there are times where he's been great uh he played really really well in the joint practices against the Giants uh he's looked very good at times in Camp uh he had a dominant day when was it not this week it was the last practice before Kansas City game um he was all over the field and making plays everywhere uh so it it's there it's it's just one of the things he's he's in his second year he is in a different system than he played in in college and he's he's adapting to it um I I he he will certainly be good I have no doubt that he will be good but if there's some people that are writing some pretty pretty lucrative checks about his impending greatness and I'm not there yet with him okay but but he'll be good no no doubt about that and up front uh Aiden now do you think that he is going to take a really big step this year do you think that he has that type of top three four Edge rushers NFL greatness in him 100% And I I said this uh on a radio program I was on earlier today if you are looking for a value investment betting on Aiden hutkins to be the NFL defensive player of the year is a worthy one that I that's a lottery ticket I would absolutely Buy in fact I might have bought one of those he has so I covered miles Garrett I covered JJ Watt towards the end of his Houston Prime Aiden Hutchinson is every bit as good as either of those two that I ever saw from them this Summer he is taken that proverbial Next Step he is nasty he has been consistently beating pan Su and pan is the best right tackle in football and that's not about pan that's about Aiden Hutchinson that's that's the best way I can say it oh he's 11 to one to win the NFL defensive player of the year so he is behind wat Parsons Garrett Crosby and Nick Bosa he belongs he certainly ongs in that conversation with all those guys and by the way there are six guys the top that are considered the top six and he's in them and then there's a drop off from 11 to one to 30 to one when you go to the next group so he's he's hanging with that first group little on the outside but he he's there he's like the best bargain out of that six being 11 to one so that's that's you buy it yeah I like it I I still favor miles Garett I I freaking love miles Garett I'm not gonna but yeah we were talking about because they were we were given uh on that we were doing that show and we were doing predictions on everything and as far as the MV as far as all those Awards and uh they were couple of guys said yeah miles Garett we're gonna say he's gonna win again defensive MVP and then we were looking at the odds for NFL MVP and could I could not believe that Miles Garrett is 200 to one to win the n n FL MVP but it's not because of who he is it's just it's those are the odds yes because it's like they're basically Vegas is just spitting in the face of the NFL and who and who gives these Awards out saying you're not gonna give them the award no matter how good he is so we'll put him at 200 to one that's how that's pretty much an offensive award I I'll say this Aiden Hutchinson probably deserves more love than he's getting in those odds as well for NFL MVP that's a Quarterback Award we know know that I know unfortun I will say if the Lions have the same offense that they did last year and they're their top five for the third year in a row in in yardage and scoring and Aman Ross St Brown sets the league record for receiving receptions and yardage he probably won't get yardage but I I really do think he's going to set the NFL record for receptions in a season this year he probably deserves more love than he's getting in those odds too for MVP let's see where do I see uh St Brown here you probably have to scroll down a little bit let me see who's the first non-quarterback that would be well that's definitely mcaffrey and mcaffry is 40 to one and he's the first non quarterback he's really good yeah and then you got Tyreek as the first receiver but yeah I'm having to go way down here uh past miles Garett it looks like a 200 and and Aman is at 250 yeah that's a good one I like that one because at least he's on offense so that's right if he has like a Jerry Rice type of year then why not I mean if he if he's get it's very realistic for him to get 12 targets per game consistently um and there will be some weeks where he might get a few more than that I don't see him I don't see any game where he plays the entire game where he doesn't get 10 targets and he's going to catch 70% of those 17 games that's a lot of catches that's a lot of opportunity to show off and he is incredible after the catch and Ben Johnson is a wizard at designing plays for him to get yards after the catch I like that I think I have the third or fourth pick in my year-to-year League this year so I know I'm not I wouldn't be able to get him on the with my second pick so I'd have to really be ballsy enough to think about taking but you know what in our league because we have our rules are really about like we have rules that really favor like if you're you're a big play player no matter where you know you're your wide receivers are starting to get drafted early so any any other fantasy fans that are watching this because I would definitely consider rolling the dice and being aggressive and taking your advice and saying hey why not I'll take same PR whatever I have three or four why not so the the caveat with fantasy is he might not get a lot of touchdowns interesting and his yards per catch or he's not going to touch he's not gonna Touch where Tyreek is um but he he's not gonna be Justin Jefferson Jamar that's that's not who he is but he's GNA get you a solid 12 12 and a half um might lead the might lead the league in total Yak I don't know if it'll be per catch but like total yards after the catch yeah that's that's an easy one for me yeah I know the league on men doesn't have that but there are leagues that do have the whole targets and uh reception de of point so that that would definitely favor him more than other leagues okay so um Davenport now this could be another big this this is this is a player that really does need to produce so far so good okay so far so good he's been healthy he looks good he's a great scheme fit with his length and his ability to go speed to power or power to speed he can do both we've seen it he has been very good in Camp just for the love of God stay healthy play more than 12 games play more than two games that's that that would be great because the the one of the biggest questions on this defense and we all have it from fans to Media to the coaching staff itself who's oppos at Hutch who's going to be that second pass rusher guy that's one of the reasons why they're playing Barnes more at Sam because he's very good at that and that brings a different angled Dynamic you can line him and Hutchinson up next to each other good luck blocking that but teams will try so if they do that who's the guy from the backside I really hope it's Marcus Davenport and I say that knowing that Minnesota fans and New Orleans fans are laughing their butts off at me for hoping that but so far so good he's go like you said he's got to stay healthy and if he stays healthy then he's still at Prime of his career so he looks good he's a good fit who is the next guy because this is another area I would think of concern depthwise that if anything were to happen to Aiden um I'm not saying for the season just saying yeah that's that's tough yeah Josh Pascal has stepped up some but this is a guy who's missed a lot of time going back into college pretty much every year of his career he has and we actually got to talk to him the last practice uh he has embraced being a power guy um he's back up over 270 last year he played in the 260 range and sort of never really had a fit um you know as a stand-up rusher he's embraced being a power guy and it's wearing it well so I think he's going to play more and more consistently but at Edge then you're then you're looking at James Houston um who's injured right now and missed most of last season with an injury and hasn't done a lot this summer um you go back to his rookie season he ended the year with with eight sacks in seven games it was phenomenal there's there are a lot of he's a very polarizing player there are a lot of fans who are still like oh you're going to roll him back out there and you get 20 sacks this year and there's then there's the reality of the fact that he's repping with the third team defense consistently this summer and hasn't done a lot there um he flashes from time to time but there was a play the other day um in their in their uh practices he lined up in at the right defensive end spot and immediately Nate sudfeld audibled to a um like a delayed handoff and he because he knew that Houston would run up the field and Craig Reynolds would have a hole and sure enough Reynolds took off and and ran 60 yards down the field not getting touched um that's that's the issue with James Houston right now and also the fact that he's not healthy uh I will say that Mitchell agude is pushing him I don't know if he's going to push hard enough to get him off the roster um Isaac uku has been a very pleasant surprise I remember watching this guy at all Miss I'm like man that guy's athletic as heck but you know the the football elevator going to the top floors well it's it's starting to go up he's he's made some plays uh and U it's one of those things where you're wondering now okay maybe Old Miss wasn't a good fit for him maybe maybe he needed to be somewhere else because he's looked good um minimum both of those guys are like massive priority practice squad guys and uh if anybody gets hurt they're they're going to rush right into that and you know with the injury history with Houston and with Pascal and with Davenport you got to have some guys there uh at the ready because uh depending on all three of those guys to play all 17 games is nope not gonna do it yeah that's why there there's got to be concerning that as much as the team wants and in a way could really need in a way maybe needs uh Davenport to step up and deliver yeah they do 100% it's it's asking almost like this is like a player that really hasn't delivered so it's like wow what happens if he doesn't deliver yeah then there's a big problem I don't want to think about that but yeah you're right it's um and that's where you know if Houston can recapture some of his former glory if if AUD can can do what he's done this summer if uku can do what he's done this summer there I don't feel I'm not frightened by it it's it's it would be a bummer but it wouldn't be one of those catastrophic things now if Hutchinson goes down for any length of time that's a problem but oh yeah again existential dread about losing your stars to injury is something that plagues every team oh yeah especially the ones that aren't used to the fan bases that aren't used to the success uh that's like the one thing that always creeps back in your mind is uh some I remember cover I remember covering the Texans team when JJ Watt first got hurt and the the proverbial wind out of the sails just went the opposite direction that was tough but they got through it um they were they were competitive again they did it did yeah all right so give me a uh You' already mentioned a few of these guys uh so yeah have you mentioned the uh the college free agent guys you've mentioned all of them that need to be talked about then pretty much yeah um maai Wingo deserves some love he and Al Ali mcneel um if you're looking for a breakout can Al mcneel alen mcneel is a monster this summer he has been unblockable and he's going against Frank regg now who is arguably the best center in the league and until yesterday was the highest paid Center in the league and worthy of that um Creed Humphrey great player too like okay that's good good for him he eared it alem's been ridiculous uh and he has he has a maturity to him this this is his fourth year and you saw him kind of break out last year there's a different sort of Det termination and attitude with him this year um where he's not as wide-eyed as he has been and uh he's wearing that very well new defensive line coach Terrell Williams is you cannot say enough about how significant of an addition he has been uh for for Williams for brri Martin coming along um for mcneel um bringing Kyle PCO with him Kyle PCO is going to start at no sackle until DJ rer is ready to go and PCO has played very well he is has been better than any other version of Kyle PCO I've ever seen and uh that's nice to see because again everybody who played noack last year is gone Isaiah bugs Bonito Jones Tyson ALU Alo took a flyer on that like that's the past we we're we're much better now and that's important too because if there is an issue on the edge depthwise having that much talent inside that makes up for it oh absolutely um just one one quick thing on the the undrafted guys uh Lauren Strickland uh safety out of Ball State um he is a big time hitter he will land on the practice squad uh they like him a lot uh they got to teach him some discipline and coverage but uh you do not want to be in the way of Lauren Strickland when he's coming at you