Lions' Week 4 Rookie Report Card
The Lions had a mixed bag of results from their rookie class in Week 4 vs. the Seattle Seahawks.
Malcolm Rodriguez and Aidan Hutchinson each started for the fourth time in as many weeks, while Kerby Joseph received his first career NFL start. Rodriguez, by far, produced the best performance of the three, while Joseph experienced his fair share of struggles in both defending the pass and stopping the run.
Chase Lucas and James Mitchell also logged snaps in the Week 4 tilt, while Josh Paschal, Demetrius Taylor and Jameson Williams were all inactive.
Here are the grades now for each Lions rookie that played on Sunday against the Seahawks.
Kirthmon F. Dozier, USA TODAY NETWORK
EDGE Aidan Hutchinson: C
The 2022 No. 2 overall pick was basically MIA in the Lions' Week 4 loss to the Seahawks. While the Michigan product finished with five total tackles, he failed to produced a sack and a single tackle for loss for a second consecutive week.
The EDGE rusher has been consistently pressuring the passer and did so again Sunday against Seattle's Geno Smith. Hutchinson, in fact, amassed two QB hits against Smith.
However, he's ultimately being paid to bring the opposing quarterback to the ground, and failed to do so in the Week 4 tilt. He needs to start finishing and wrapping up signal-callers. Until he does so, he'll continue to receive a grade similar to the one he earned this week.
S Kerby Joseph: D
It was a rough day for Joseph Sunday, as he received his first career NFL start in the place of the injured Tracy Walker.
The Illinois product struggled in pass coverage all game long, including on Smith's game-opening TD pass to tight end Will Dissly.
Joseph and his defensive back counterparts also struggled all throughout the game at stopping the run. They showed little-to-no resistance on multiple big-yardage runs by Seahawks back Rashaad Penny.
It was a performance to forget for the third-round pick.
CB Chase Lucas: D
Lucas suited up for his second game of the 2022 campaign on Sunday, but did not log a single snap on defense. He logged a career-high 16 special teams snaps, equating to 48 percent of Detroit's special teams snaps in Week 4.
Lucas, a seventh-round pick of the Lions in 2022, didn't record a single tackle. So, it's hard to give him a grade any higher than the one he got here.
TE James Mitchell: D+
Mitchell suited up in his first career NFL game Sunday, and wasn't heavily utilized by Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
The fifth-rounder was used as a blocker on the goal line, including on Jamaal Williams' rushing touchdown to end the first half.
However, he wasn't targeted by Lions signal-caller Jared Goff once, and only amassed five offensive snaps in the contest. The rest of his 19 snaps came on special teams.
He received a 47.8 mark for his NFL debut, the third-worst grade among Detroit's offensive performers in Week 4.
It'll be interesting to see if Johnson decides to get him involved in the passing game in Week 5 against the New England Patriots.
LB Malcolm Rodriguez: A
"Rodrigo", as Rodriguez is affectionately known, has quickly become a fan favorite. He tied safety DeShon Elliott for a team-high 11 tackles in Detroit's Week 4 contest with the Seahawks.
The Oklahoma State product continues to both look like the best linebacker on the Lions' roster, as well as exceed expectations based on where he was drafted (No. 188 overall in the sixth round).
For his efforts Sunday, he received an overall grade of 83.8 from Pro Football Focus, which led all Detroit defenders this past week. It was also good for the third-best mark among all Lions players for the week.
He also receives a high mark from All Lions as a result of his solid Week 4 performance.
