Lions' Defensive Snap-Count Predictions

After recently publishing the Detroit Lions' offensive snap-count predictions, it’s on to the defensive side of the ball.

Again, with no preseason to gauge what roles each player will play and the true order of the depth chart, projecting how much every individual is going to play in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears is no easy task.

Here are my best guesses as to the percentage of snaps each defender will see when they take the field on Sunday.

Defensive Linemen

1.) Trey Flowers – 70%

2.) Danny Shelton – 60%

3.) Da'Shawn Hand – 50%

4.) Nick Williams – 45%

5.) Romeo Okwara – 45%

6.) John Penisini – 20%

Considering the Lions only kept a total of six defensive linemen on their 53-man roster and head coach Matt Patricia utilizes a heavy rotation up front, I expect them all to at least be active on gameday.

Flowers and the elder Okwara will split some time on the edge, and move inside occasionally -- similar to what they did in 2019.

Hand and Williams will likely do the same.

It will be interesting to see how much faith the coaching staff has in the rookie Penisini behind Shelton.

In heavier formations, Penisini’s run-stuffing ability should be useful.

Linebackers

1.) Jamie Collins Sr. – 90%

2.) Jarrad Davis – 70%

3.) Christian Jones – 50%

4.) Jahlani Tavai – 40%

5.) Julian Okwara – 30%

6.) Reggie Ragland – 15%

7.) Jalen Reeves-Maybin – 5%

8.) Elijah Lee – 0%

For the first time in the three years Patricia has been the head coach, he has a vast group of linebackers that are capable of playing both on the edge and off the ball.

They may have more quantity than quality, though.

I don’t see Collins leaving the field much, and he will line up all over the place.

Meanwhile, Davis should start at MIKE, and Jones looks set to be the new JACK -- at least on early downs.

For the obvious passing situations, it’s the rookie Okwara who could use his best assets to get to the passer.

Important to note, Okwara is listed on the Lions' depth chart as a defensive end, and did recently switch his jersey from No. 45 to No. 99.

Perhaps he sees some snaps with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end as well -- similar to what Austin Bryant did a season ago.

Cornerbacks

1.) Desmond Trufant – 95%

2.) Justin Coleman – 80%

3.) Amani Oruwariye – 60%

4.) Jeff Okudah – 30%

5.) Tony McRae – 10%

6.) Darryl Roberts – 0%

The biggest question many have is how much playing time the third overall pick Jeff Okudah will receive.

It was not often last season that the fourth corner received much action.

Trufant is the veteran starter, Coleman will man the slot and Oruwariye was seeing the most time with the starters throughout training camp.

In saying this, I do think the Lions will find a way to get Okudah on the field at least a little bit.

Even Detroit general manager Bob Quinn expected Okudah to be an immediate contributor at the time of the draft.

Yes, it could be disappointing if Okudah can’t log an abundant amount of playing time. But, it’s not a bad thing, either, if it’s because Oruwariye has developed to a respectable level after his rookie year.

If the Lions ever want to use two slot corners, McRae showed in camp that he can be more than just a special teams contributor.

Safeties

1.) Tracy Walker – 95%

2.) Duron Harmon – 80%

3.) Will Harris – 55%

4.) C.J. Moore – 0%

5.) Miles Killebrew – 0%

The Lions' scheme frequently puts out three safeties on the field.

With the addition of a veteran free safety in Harmon, Harris can move down closer to the line of scrimmage, into more of a box safety role.

It should fit Harris’ skill set better, and will also allow Walker to do what he does best -- play everywhere.

Moore, meanwhile, is presently dealing with a hamstring injury, and hasn't practiced this week.

And Killebrew, who has appeared to move back to the safety group, was largely just a special teams contributor in 2019, and it will probably be more of the same for him this season.

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