Lions camp preview: EDGE has many questions but also potential answers

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft just keeps getting better. Now entering his third season, Hutchinson is on the threshold of being one of the best pass rushers and all-around defensive ends in the NFL. His 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and seven passes defended in 2023 are all pretty high bars Hutchinson can clear in the coming season.

Davenport brings a first-round pedigree and experience playing under both head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn from their time together in 2018-2020 with the New Orleans Saints. At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, he fits the size profile the Lions covet on the edge of the defense.

Yet for most of his NFL career, Davenport has been a lot better in theory than in practice. Injuries have been a constant issue; he’s played more than 13 games in a season just once, and that year (2022 in New Orleans) was his worst season. Davenport was a bystander during Detroit’s recent minicamp as he continues to deal with a high ankle sprain that ruined his 2023 season in Minnesota.

If he’s healthy and hasn’t lost too much burst and leg drive from his myriad injuries, Davenport can thrive as a complementary pass rushing bookend to Hutchinson. Big “ifs,” however…

Paschal enters his third season in Detroit with many of the same questions that surrounded him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft still unanswered. The Lions have tried Paschal on the interior and as more of a stand-up edge, befitting his classic tweener size (6-3, 274 at draft time).

Paschal has dropped some weight this offseason, a move that, in conjunction with improved depth inside, will likely keep him more exclusively at EDGE in 2024. Bouncing from 3-tech to 9-tech and everywhere in between has not been fruitful for Paschal in his two years in Detroit.

He’ll need to produce a lot more than he has thus far; three sacks in 22 career games is not nearly enough to guarantee the oft-injured Paschal a place in the rotation, no matter how strong his run defense and positional discipline might be. This is the year Paschal finds his true role in the Lions defense, or it could very well be his last year in Detroit. Staying healthy for more than 12 games will be a big part of that equation.

Barnes was one of Detroit’s most improved players in 2023 as he finally adapted to playing off-ball LB. His role in 2024 appears to be changing back to one more familiar to what Barnes did at Purdue, however.

The emergence, or anticipated emergence, of Jack Campbell as a starting off-ball backer pushes Barnes into more of a SAM role. There are still some off-ball LB duties with that spot, but it’s primarily a pass-rushing gig. During minicamp, Barnes played that SAM role almost exclusively with the first-team defense. It remains to be seen which role Barnes assumes for Detroit in 2024; it could be a hybrid between EDGE and off-ball, perhaps as the top reserve at both spots–and one that sees the field a lot. For that reason, Barnes will be included in both EDGE and LB conversations this summer.

Houston was the darling of the final six weeks of the 2022 season. As a speedy rookie, Houston leapt from the practice squad to a terror for opposing quarterbacks, bagging eight sacks in the final seven games despite playing very limited snaps–33 was the highest snap count for Houston as a sixth-round rookie.

The Lions are hoping the supernova that was Houston in December and January of his rookie season can reignite. His 2023 campaign fizzled even before a major ankle injury wiped out the final 15 games. Houston struggled all summer and in the first two weeks, too easily blocked and one-dimensional with his approach. It mirrored his early rookie season, a year where he failed to make the initial 53-man roster despite his serious speed and potential.

If Houston can recapture some of that late-rookie magic, he’ll be on the field a lot opposite Hutchinson and the Detroit defense will be a lot more dangerous. He’s handily the best speed-rush option on the roster — including Hutchinson. The Houston we’ve seen outside of those special six weeks at the end of 2022, however, might be in danger of failing to make the team once again.

If you’re looking for an unexpected Lions training camp darling to seize the opportunity and make the team, Agude is the best bet on the defensive side of the ball. He was the best pass rusher not named Hutchinson all spring.

After spending his rookie season on the Lions practice squad, Agude is poised to climb the depth chart. His power-to-speed style at around 250 pounds and the two-step closing burst are very impressive. Jolting hands help him in the run game, too.

Agude will need to show it when the pads come on, something he didn’t do last summer in Miami’s training camp or really all that consistently in his vagabond college career, either.

A star sack artist in the CFL, Betts has brought his talents south of the border in hopes of winning a role in Detroit. If OTAs and minicamp–where players are without full pads and full-speed contact is outlawed–is any indication, Betts has a real shot.

Despite being upright and not exceptionally athletic, Betts has shown an uncanny knack for beating blocks and getting to the quarterback. He can win over either shoulder of a tackle, and his hand usage, quick feet and hip flexibility make him very difficult to square up and lock as a blocker.

Betts proved that in Canada as well as the spring season in Detroit. Can it carry into preseason and perhaps beyond? We’ll find out together…

Detroit brings two undrafted rookies into training camp with hopes of at least sticking on the Lions’ practice squad in 2024. Nate Lynn and Isaac Ukwu are probably fighting for the same singular spot on the practice squad.

They’re different enough stylistically that both could conceivably stick with good showings. Ukwu is an athletic standout but technically raw, a developmental project. Lynn is like Paschal, someone capable of lining up in a variety of spots but perhaps lacking a defined identity. He was an accomplished all-around defender in college at William & Mary.