All Lions Mailbag: Are the Lions Missing Darius Slay?
The Detroit Lions are coming off of their first win of the season against the Arizona Cardinals, and optimism is flowing -- well, somewhat.
At the very least, the questions in the mailbag are much more positive than a week ago.
*Questions edited for clarity
1.) Are we trying to make any additions at defensive end? There are a couple of free-agent options out there. -- @JustMcGregor
Answer: I think general manager Bob Quinn is aware that they could use some extra help rushing the passer. They did just bring in Jabaal Sheard for a workout, but nothing came to fruition.
Considering that rookie Julian Okwara has been a healthy scratch and/or has played a very limited amount of minutes in the first three games, I'm not sure if the Lions even have extra room to put another body on the edge.
If they were to add another pass rusher, it would only push Okwara further down the depth chart. Looking at just the down defensive end position, the Lions like what they have in Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara.
Even though the Lions’ pass rush is arguably the worst in the league, it sure would appear that head coach Matt Patricia likes the guys he has in place. I know, it doesn’t make much sense.
2.) Help me sort out the linebackers and their roles. Will Jarrad Davis be trade bait? -- @DrHarleymd
A: The Lions' linebackers have moved around quite a bit more than they did last year.
Newcomer Jamie Collins has lined up everywhere, Christian Jones has played plenty on the edge but saw more snaps off the ball against the Cardinals, while Jahlani Tavai has started and stolen plenty of snaps from Jarrad Davis.
Actually, even Reggie Ragland saw more playing time than Davis in Week 3. Much like Jones, Ragland has lined up as a JACK backer and at MIKE and WILL.
This rotation could vary from week to week, but you do bring up an interesting point regarding Davis. Yes, the Lions' coaching staff always speaks very highly of its fourth-year linebacker. But, there might be another team out there that would value Davis more than the Lions. Even though Davis is a team captain, it hasn't stopped Quinn from trading away leaders in the past.
In my opinion, Davis should be firmly on the trade block. I don't think he is a great scheme fit in Detroit’s gap control defense, and would do much better as a weakside linebacker in more of a run-and-chase defense.
Lastly, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Elijah Lee are strictly special teamers at this point.
3.) Three games in, do we miss Darius Slay on defense? -- @wardazr
A: A team will always miss a Pro-Bowl quality player. Do I think the defense would be performing much differently with Slay? No, not really. We saw what the defense was like a season ago when Slay was still on the roster, and things weren’t much better.
What’s interesting is that second-year corner Amani Oruwariye’s numbers this season are very similar to Slay’s production from 2019. Now, Oruwariye isn’t traveling with the opponents' best wideouts, but he has been a solid starter so far.
Last year, Slay had a 56.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade, with an 86.9 passer rating against.
Meanwhile, Oruwariye has a 62.6 grade and 77.4 passer rating allowed in his three-game sample size this year.
Given what the Lions got in draft capital and cap space, the Slay trade isn’t looking all too bad at this point.
4.) Why haven’t the Lions signed receiver Kenny Golladay to an extension yet? -- @Jdubs_44
A: It is a bit concerning that the Lions couldn't agree upon a deal with Golladay before the season.
It’s not often Quinn makes in-season deals, either.
I don’t have any inside information, but it’s likely all about the money. What else could it really be?
Golladay has developed every season, yet is still a fringe top-10 receiver in my mind. He does some things extremely well, and other areas of his game are still a work in progress. If he is asking for top-five money, that’s a tough situation because the salary cap likely isn’t increasing every year like it used to due to the pandemic. I’ve been on record stating I do feel that receivers are overpriced. They make the flashy plays, but teams don’t need to spend an exorbitant amount at the position to win games.
If the Lions can’t strike a deal, they still have the franchise tag they could use on the soon-to-be 27-year-old wideout.
5.) Do you see the defense starting to be more creative in zone usage, or was the Cardinals' gameplan probably an outlier? Is it a personnel match to use more zone with the current roster? -- @TomasJHutchins
A: After using man defense over 80 percent of the time in the first two weeks, Patricia and his defense scaled back their man attack to just 56 percent against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. I do feel that the gameplan was a bit more of an anomaly due to Murray’s scrambling ability. It’s very possible that the Lions' defense reverts back to man-heavy against a pocket quarterback like Drew Brees.
In regard to the personnel and their fit running more zone, the Lions have the players to execute.
In saying that, most of their corners come from man schemes and have the length and quickness to play man. In the NFL, the zone defense can be an art, and requires a ton of communication and continuity. There were times last week where the Lions' secondary appeared to not be on the same page while in zone.
In order to run more zone, I think the Lions would need to practice more -- and that might not be super high on the priority list for Patricia.
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