Detroit Lions Rookie Scheme Fits

The 2026 NFL Draft is behind us, and the Lions went with a high-floor strategy, taking players who seem to have set roles in the scheme as soon as they get to Allen Park. This is how (in my humble opinion) the 2026 Detroit Lions rookie class will fit into the Lions' current scheme, with some player comparisons to help you visualise how they will be used, if that is the case. However, I will also speculate about how the defensive selections might point towards a change in defensive philosophy in the front seven, and how our draftees might fit into that new scheme.

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Blake Miller- Starting RT- Taylor Decker:

This is a lay-up for sure, but I'll take the easy points. We've all heard it over and over that Miller has the safest floor of any of the tackles available when we made our pick, and that Freeling, Lomu and Iheanachor all had higher potential ceilings. That should not downplay Miller's potential ceiling, though. He has the athletic tools (9.91 RAS, higher than the latter duo of alternative tackles I mentioned above) and youth (recently turned 22) to be able to grow even more as a player, such as not leaning when climbing to the second level on run plays, even if he is the most experienced of the four tackles available when we picked.

In fact, Miller, by all accounts, is a lot cleaner of a prospect than the man he's "replacing" on the line. According to Lance Zierlein, Decker lacked "the arm length and consistency against edge rushers to play on the left side as a pro" and had the "run-blocking prowess ... to be a long-time starter at right tackle, but may always be a little leakier in pass protection..." . In hindsight, we know that this was off the mark, but it is worth pointing out that Miller's NFL.com draft grade is 0.03 points higher than Decker's, and his NGS grade is 4 points higher. Either way, I expect Miller to be our starting right tackle out of the gate and will hold that position for the whole of his career if circumstances allow.

Derrick Moore- DPR/Backup Rush End- 2024 Za'Darius Smith:

I know, I know, we traded up for Moore to bookend Hutch. I get that, and I believe in time (from next season onwards) he will be the starter opposite of Hutch. However, given the presence of Wonnum on the roster, I think he will be eased into the lineup and used in a similar way to how we used Smith when we acquired him halfway through the 2024 season. This is because while Moore has the chops against the pass (41 pressures last season, according to PFF), his run defence still needs some work (he did earn a 76.3 PFF run grade last season, but most draft reports concur with my assessment).

This area of "weakness" is the strength of Wonnum, so we can use the vet on run downs before subbing Moore in on passing downs. This protects Moore from being exposed early, while we work on his run defence discipline, before unleashing him in Year 2. His skill set also allows him to take some of Hutch's reps as well, keeping him fresher for longer while also allowing him to take advantage of some of the one-on-one opportunities our current scheme designs for the rush end. Even if my suspicions are correct, and we are going to deploy more odd front looks, this pecking order will still exist, as both Hutch and Wonnum have a lot of experience playing in the kinds of alignments that 3-4 OLBs line up in, allowing us to protect our investment and deploy Moore in advantageous situations.

The reason for the Za'Darius comparison is that he was actually used minimally on run downs when he was wearing Honolulu blue. Less than 25% of his snaps came in run defence, with Smith only playing 10 or more run defence snaps in four games, and no more than 15 in any game (once, in the divisional round). On the other hand, Smith created pressure on every 6 snaps against the pass, which is the kind of production Moore could get if he hits the ground running. Therefore, while some might expect more out of Moore (sorry, I couldn't resist), I think our second-round pick best fits as a "backup" early in his career, before taking over as a starter in 2027 when Wonnum has moved on after his one-year deal expires.

Jimmy Rolder- Backup WILL/MIKE- Malcolm Rodriguez:

Rolder seemingly has a seamless role ready for him on the roster. The fourth-round pick has insane run defence and special teams skills, while his coverage and blitzing are works in progress. Does this sound familiar? He could be the new Rodrigo early, inasmuch as he is the primary backup for both the WILL and MIKE spots, with the potential to make the WILL spot his next year when Rodrigo's one-year prove-it deal runs out at the end of this season. This pick also signals a change in our defensive scheme, as if we were to stick with the same style as last year, someone with more proven skills against the pass would have been the pick to fill the Anzalone role at the WILL. Instead, with Rodrigo and Rolder seemingly being the two WILLs on the roster signifies a move to either more odd fronts where only two inside linebackers are deployed and coverage is not as important for the WILL position (though this would also make Barnes the starter with Rodrigo becoming the primary backup), or more nickel sets where a slot cornerback or overhang safety takes the Anzalone role of covering tight ends, slot receivers, and running backs.

In his one year as a starter at Michigan, Rolder scored above 80 in run defence (80.0) and tackling (88.8), while scoring above average (i.e. 60.0+) in special teams in all four years at the college level. Like Rolder, Rodrigo has never scored below 60 in PFF special teams grade as a pro, including a 91.0 grade in his rookie year. Likewise, in his best year in Honolulu blue (2024), Rodrigo scored above 75 in run defence (87.1) and tackling (76.7). It would not be beyond the realm of possibility that Rolder follows Rodrigo's path early, being the first man off the bench in the linebacker rotation, playing all four phases of special teams, while also working on his coverage skills in practice.

Keith Abney II- First CB Off the Bench- Amik Robertson:

Again, I am taking the low-hanging fruit here, but I have no regrets about it. Abney is roughly an inch taller and 5 pounds heavier than Amik, and both are tenacious boundary corners who play bigger and more physical than you would expect for their stature. For the record, I am an inch taller and around 20 pounds lighter than Abney, and I know I would be folded like a deckchair if I tried to press an X WR. The fact that Abney got to face first-round WR Jordyn Tyson every day in practice definitely helped refine these skills, and I expect the same to happen when he faces TeSlaa and Saint every day as well. In my opinion, Abney was the best corner against slant routes in this year's class.

The only other reason Abney fell as far as he did outside of his stature is his lack of long speed, which will mean he will need safety help over the top (or, in other words, teams might target Abney if he's on the field, giving whoever is our single high safety more chances to make plays on the ball). Because of these factors, a lot of reports on Abney have him slotted into the nickel in a zone-match system that also deploys press on receivers at the line of scrimmage (think the old Seattle-3 style systems that Seattle and Minnesota ran for yonks). However, given the proof of concept that Amik gives in this system, just like how Rolder fits seamlessly into Rodrigo's role, so too does Abney in Robertson's. While we have our starting three corners (Arnold and Reed on the outside, McCreary in the slot), Abney should be the first man off the bench at either spot in case of injury, while also learning to potentially take over the nickelback role in 2027.

Kendrick Law- Gadget WR/Kick Returner- 2020 Jamal Agnew:

I'm going for the deep cuts here. Law perhaps was a confusing pick at the time we traded up for him, but with some digging into him and his profile, his role is clear. To paraphrase the sentiment of Jeff Risdon, Law is this year's gift to Dave Fipp. While we brought in Greg Dortch to replace Leaf as WR4 and punt returner, Law was drafted to both give a kick up the ass to last year's seventh-rounder Dominic Lovett and potentially bookend Khalil Dorsey as a starting gunner on return coverage. Dorsey suffered a wrist injury last year that ruled him out from Week 4 to Week 12, and the other gunner spot was a revolving door of characters. Lovett was supposed to be the answer there, but his lack of in-game action perhaps speaks to the lack of trust the team has that he has the ability to fill that role right now. Law's selection further proves this.

So why the Agnew comparison, I hear you ask. As the draft reports on Law say, his role in Kentucky's offence was akin to 2016 Theo Riddick, with most of his targets coming behind the line of scrimmage, with 505 of his 540 yards this past year coming after the catch, on a 3.4-yard ADOT according to PFF. Likewise, in his single season as a pure WR in Detroit, 102 of Agnew's 89 receiving yards came after the catch, according to PFF. Yes, you read that right, Agnew had more YAC than actual receiving yards. While I don't expect that exactly from Law, his usage as a gadgety receiver who also returns kicks (Agnew returned 28 kicks in 2020) is the kind of role I could see for him as the team teaches him a functional route tree. Long-term, given Law's athletic gifts (he earned a 9.66 RAS despite his 5'11" height), he could grow into a Leaf/Dortch style matchup weapon for the team on offence while being an explosive returner.

Skyler Gill-Howard- Rotational 3T/Big End- 2024 Levi Onwuzurike:

Perhaps one of the most celebrated of our Day 3 picks, Gill-Howard comes in to compete with Wingo for the same kind of role we saw Onwuzurike fill in his "breakout" 2024 season if we stick to our current scheme. This rotational role behind McNeill and Wonnum could be subject to a three-man battle between Levi, who is coming off the ACL injury that ruled him out of the 2025 season, Gill-Howard, who is coming off an ankle injury that ended his senior season in Week 8, and Wingo, who has seemingly fallen out of favour after being a sixth-round pick in 2024. That year, Levi split almost equal time in the B-gap (275) and over the tackle (283), while also spending 126 snaps outside the tackle. It is a role Gill-Howard is accustomed to, having played a similar one at Texas Tech, where he played 84 snaps over the tackle and 69 in the B-gap in his 8 games last season.

However, if the defensive front is switching to more odd fronts, a new role emerges for Gill-Howard. Our incumbent DL coach came from Tampa Bay, where they run an attacking 3-4 that deploys an undersized IDL as the 3T; this, of course, being former draft crush of mine Calijah Kancey. Gill-Howard would fit this role in a Detroit version of this scheme, as he, too, is an undersized (5.61 RAS, weighed down by a very poor size grade) one-gapping IDL who uses his high motor and quick first-step to beat offensive linemen off the snap. Therefore, if this is the case, Levi becomes the starter at 4i with West, Lacy and Wingo backing him up in camp, and Gill-Howard becomes the primary backup to McNeill with Myles Adams behind him.

Tyre West- Rotational 4i/Big End- 2024 Pat O'Connor:

Speaking of West, he is perhaps the biggest unknown of all of our draftees. He has never played more than 290 snaps in a single season, and this past season was the only one he played more than 201. He is yet another victim of the weird systems Tennessee runs, but that does not mean he is just fodder. Despite his lack of consistent snaps, West still logged at least 16 pressures and 10 run stops over each of his last three seasons, splitting his time between the B-gap, over the tackle, and outside the tackle. Given how most of those snaps came with the tackle heads-up over him, he projects best in the big end role that we've seen several veterans like Pat O'Connor and John Cominsky fill behind Josh Paschal. It is perhaps O'Connor's 2024 usage that best defines what I would expect out of West out of the gate; roughly ten or so snaps a game when everyone is healthy on a mix of run- and pass downs to keep the starters fresh.

As hinted at above, if we do switch to more odd-man fronts, West's importance increases as he would become direct competition for Tyler Lacy and Wingo for the backup 4i role behind Onwuzurike. This would allow him to get some single blocks, which, while he does struggle to shed from, his taking on of these blocks could open up opportunities for the edge sitting off his outside shoulder to stunt inside and attack the interior of the offensive line.

Erick Hunter- Coverage Backer/STer- 2023 Jalen Reeves-Maybin:

Yes, this isn't a draftee, but you should all expect ROTL UK to pump up our guy Hunter at every possible opportunity. As those who listened to my latest appearance on Talking Grit will know, signing Hunter was one of the best offseason moves the team has made, as he is the kind of linebacker we need to replace Anzalone if we want to continue to deploy base defence in the same way we have the past couple of seasons. No other linebacker has the coverage nous that Hunter does, even considering his low level of competition. Over his five years in college, Hunter has taken 910 snaps in coverage. That's one more snap than Rolder has in his entire college career. Overall, Hunter has played nearly 2100 snaps on defence and a further 559 on special teams. He is experienced, he is athletic (8.64 RAS, with most of his athletic drills ranking top-10 for all LBs if he were invited to the Combine), and he's a good man, as you've heard time and time again from Ant. The only reason I can see he wasn't drafted was that he was a HBCU prospect, and teams were scared of his level of competition. However, he dominated at that level, earning an 81.4 defensive grade from PFF last year, with only two games grading below average.

Given his UDFA status, I would expect him to start as a subpackage coverage backer while he proves his ability to the coaching staff, playing a similar role to that of Reeves-Maybin in 2023. In that season, JRM only played 121 snaps on defence, coming in mainly on 3rd-downs as a cover player (85 of his snaps were in coverage, and 22 were as a blitzer), while playing 426 on special teams on all four phases. Hunter is well-versed in all aspects of the game, so I think this would suit him to a tee while filling two holes on the roster with the losses of Anzalone and Stuard.

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A snapshot of the current roster with the drafted (darker) and undrafted (lighter) rookies highlighted

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Overall, I think this class of rookies suits the team's scheme really well, even down to the UDFAs they reportedly signed. Both offensive draftees come in with clearly defined roles, while the UDFAs come in to compete for depth spots with some clear advantages to their games (e.g. Altmyer's intelligence and Kitselman's blocking). On the other side of the ball, all five defensive draftees could take snaps on gamedays either on defence or special teams, with paths to starting roles available to all but the last two picks who seem capped at second-string snaps in the future. However, the additions to the front seven all point to a potential scheme change that could make them more "important" to the team than we first suspected.

Do you agree with my assessments of our new rookies? Do you think we could be moving to more odd man fronts this upcoming season? Let me know below or in my replies.

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