Lions' Rush Defense Key to Transforming Defense in 2020
The Detroit Lions' defense had its fair share of issues in 2019.
Ranking as the No. 31 overall defense in terms of yards allowed, the Lions particularly struggled against the pass.
As a team, they allowed 4,551 yards passing -- most in the NFL.
However, against the run, they were at least a little better.
Not that being the 21st-ranked rush defense can be considered great by any means, but it’s not horrible, either.
Important to note, the Lions faced the seventh-most rush attempts, too.
When looking solely at yards per rush attempt, the Matt Patricia-led defense surrendered a 4.1 yards per rush average. That mark was actually eighth-best in the league.
Diving more into the run defense analytics, Pro Football Focus unearthed a unique category in which the Lions were best in the entire NFL: lowest explosive run percent allowed.
Only 8.8 percent of runs when the Lions were on defense went for over 10 yards.
Could Detroit possibly have a formidable run defense in 2020?
Remember, in Patricia’s first season with the Lions, Detroit's run defense ranked No. 10 in the league.
Patricia emphasizes stopping the run first; hence, the reason for strong, gap-controlling linemen.
Now, there has been plenty of turnover along the Lions' defensive line this offseason.
Damon “Snacks” Harrison, A’Shawn Robinson and Mike Daniels are all gone from last season’s roster.
For whatever reason -- probably mainly due to injuries -- no Lions interior defensive linemen graded above a 67.0 in PFF’s run defense metric.
In 2018, they had four different players above that mark, and both Robinson and Harrison were above a 90.0 grade.
Going into 2020, the Lions have a couple of new additions on the interior to replace those losses: nose tackle Danny Shelton and defensive tackle Nick Williams.
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Neither were notably dominant against the run in 2019.
However, the trade-off is that they are better pass rushers than Harrison and Robinson.
With the return of a healthy Da’Shawn Hand, the Lions are set up to be well-rounded on the interior.
There is more to a run defense than just defensive tackles.
When breaking down the Lions' EDGE and linebacker play, it looks as if the Lions should be a semi-improved unit.
Down defensive end Trey Flowers was tied for the second-highest run-stop percent in the NFL among EDGE defenders a season ago, and the free-agent acquisition of Jamie Collins bolsters the linebacker group as well.
It remains to be seen what type of impact newcomer Reggie Ragland will have with the linebackers, but he graded out as the 23rd-best linebacker against the run with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.
Overall, Patricia has demonstrated that he can produce a top-10 run defense, while the pass defense is a whole other story.
No matter the case, though, the Lions' new talent along the front-seven will need to perform this upcoming season if the Lions are to remain competitive.
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