The most important developmental tasks for Lions' defensive coaching staff

New York Times

5 hours ago

In the National Football League, development is oftentimes secondary to winning. The Lions under GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell, however, have managed to do both.
The Lions have prioritized character and work ethic in the draft, as they've built out their impressive young core. It doesn't mean they haven't taken swings, but rather, they feel better about those swings because of how each player they've selected is wired. They do an extensive amount of research on the human side of things, because the football stuff is common knowledge to the average person with wifi access. And when you pair high-character individuals with a coaching staff that emphasizes development, it can lead to a turnaround like the one we've seen in Detroit.
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With that in mind, this week, we'll be evaluating each assistant coach's most important developmental task at their respective position, starting with the defense.
It's hard to go with anyone but Williams for this one. The Lions surprised many in draft circles when they selected him 28th overall, but he's a strong fit on a number of levels. Holmes likens him to a younger Alim McNeill. He's 328 pounds — starting at 370 when he first arrived at Ohio State prior to shedding bad weight — but doesn't move like it. One of Campbell's nicknames for McNeill is 'Twinkle Toes,' and it would just as easily fit Williams. He's highly instinctual on the field and a film junkie off of it, which translates to his game. He's also just an easy-going personality with a high work ethic. It's easy to see why the Lions took him.
'I do think that he's got a lot of versatility in his game,' Holmes said of Williams. '…He has the physical skillset. He's got the power. He's got the bend and the agility. He's a very nimble athlete, but the thing about it is that he's incredibly instinctive, too. He has a lot of similar traits to Alim McNeill.'
McNeill's development is one of the greatest success stories of this regime. Getting Williams there will be crucial. Not only because the Lions spent a first-round pick on him, but because of their 2026 outlook.
Quite frankly, the Lions were lucky to retain Onwuzurike after the year he just had (45 pressures, 12.5 pass-rush win rate — both top-15 among qualified DTs), for only $4 million. Another strong (and healthy) year and Onwuzurike could easily price himself out of Detroit's budget. DJ Reader is also a free agent in 2026, and with the Lions dishing out big-money extensions to their young core, Reader — an established veteran who makes defensive lines better — could be entering his final season as a Lion.
That's why it made sense to address the position now with Williams. He can provide quality depth as a rookie with McNeill recovering from a torn ACL, learn from the vets around him and position himself for a breakout year in 2026. New defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers has helped mold some very good players in this league, and Campbell believes he's one of the best DL coaches in the NFL. Can he do the same with Williams?
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'This kid's got a lot of upside,' Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew said. 'I don't think he's reached his full potential yet. He's got a chance to be a really, really good player for us. We were excited he was there for us to pick him. Great player. He's got a chance to be a really, really good run player. I think he's underrated as a pass rusher. He's got some things he needs to be taught, and Coach Rodgers, our new D-line coach, will do a great job teaching him. This kid has a chance to be a force in the middle.'
Honorable mention: Brodric Martin. You could argue Martin is a more challenging developmental assignment than Williams, but Williams, to me, is more important. That said, both Campbell and Brad Holmes have discussed wanting to see more from Martin this season. He essentially redshirted as a rookie, and even when he returned from injured reserve in his second season, the Lions were playing DTs they signed off various practice squads over Martin when they needed bodies. Martin has size and length you like out of the nose tackle position, but plays far too high.
If what we saw in 2024 is the new floor for Campbell, he's going to be a good player in this league for a long time. As a rookie in 2023, Campbell spent time at SAM linebacker, playing out of position before settling in at MIKE later in the year and staying there for all of 2024. It led to a breakout season. Campbell recorded 131 tackles, was better in coverage in his second season and was always around the football. If you're into PFF grades, Campbell ranked ninth among qualified LBs in coverage and 10th overall among his peers.
Campbell is well on his way to solidifying himself as a top-10 linebacker, if he hasn't already.
'Jack has grown a lot from Year 1 to Year 2. You see less thinking out there, the game is slowing down for him, and now even going from Year 2 to Year 3, you watch the self-scout and stuff like that, you see him really taking that next step,' Dion Hamilton said. 'Big thing is thinking. Coming from college to the pros, obviously, college, their offenses are a little different. It feels different. Concepts are different. Now he's getting his feet under him. He works extremely hard. Big student of the game. …The questions he's asking. Going to the practice building, you can see things are slowing down tremendously for him.'
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I'm curious to see if the Lions challenge Campbell to become more of an all-around playmaker. We know he's automatic in the run game, but now that he's settled in at MIKE, perhaps the Lions work with him to improve as a blitzer, forcing fumbles and becoming more of a threat in coverage. He's got the tools to do more.
Honorable mention: Trevor Nowaske. Nowaske spent training camp in 2023 with the Lions, but was poached by the Arizona Cardinals on cutdown day before the team could hide him on the practice squad. The Lions regretted it and re-signed him later in the year. Since then, he's grown into a serviceable depth piece, filling in for Derrick Barnes at SAM last year. He knows all three positions, but figuring out where he fits best is the next step for the coaching staff.
No surprise here. The Lions, after years of searching for the right fit, landed on Arnold to invest in. They traded a 2024 third-round pick and their own first at No. 29 to move up five spots for Arnold, and the hope is he can develop into their next homegrown star.
Arnold had all the qualities the Lions coveted. He's got size and length, short-area burst, man-cover qualities, supreme confidence and a short memory. He also played for a championship program and coach at Alabama. Because of this, the Lions threw him into the fire as a rookie, believing he was better equipped to handle it than most.
There were growing pains, of course. Arnold led all DBs in penalties from Weeks 1-4 with eight. However, he had just three from Weeks 5-18. He grew comfortable as the season progressed. And in case you're wondering, the top-10 most penalized DBs in the league consisted of names like Pat Surtain (11), Sauce Gardner (9), D.J. Reed (9) and Brian Branch (9). Nobody likes penalties, but they come with the territory sometimes.
The encouraging signs: Arnold's passer rating when targeted in man coverage was 75.8, per PFF — good for 30th among qualified corners. For context, Philadelphia's Quinyon Mitchell, a corner selected two spots ahead of Arnold, ranked 105th at 124.5. Arnold's reception percentage in man coverage was 49.1 percent (28/57) — tied for 31st among corners — and those 57 targets in man coverage were the most in the NFL.
Townsend says the biggest area of improvement for Arnold heading into Year 2 is tracking the ball. That was an issue early on for Arnold — his positioning would be strong, but he couldn't locate the ball in the air, leading to penalties. Because the Lions play so much man coverage, corners are often turning and running with receivers downfield, which can make it tough to create turnovers and lead to those penalties. But if Arnold can improve there, he has all the tools to be the long-term answer in Detroit.
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'The only way you can get better is getting a chance to rep,' Townsend said. 'He understands how they're attacking him, and he found out about himself what do I do best. How can I make those strengths stronger, and my weaknesses, what do I do now, this offseason, to make them better? …He is trying to be the best player he can be. That's what it takes. You have to work on your craft. You have to find out how you can get better in the offseason. He's working that.'
Honorable mention: Ennis Rakestraw Jr. The Lions are planning to let their 2024 second-round pick develop on the outside, rather than at nickel. He's expected to be their No. 3 corner behind Reed and Arnold, giving them a physical young corner as high-level depth, or perhaps a long-term nickel if Amik Robertson isn't re-signed next offseason. Both players and coaches like his progress. He'll need to stay healthy, though.
Our options at safety include an All-Pro, a Pro Bowler, a seventh-round pick and some UDFAs. If one of Dan Jackson, Morice Norris, Loren Stickland or Ian Kennelly can emerge as a quality third safety in due time, it could prove beneficial for the team's depth. However, we'll go with Branch — a young player who's still somewhat new to the safety position at this level, and has room to grow.
After spending his rookie season at nickel, the Lions moved Branch to safety — a position where his football IQ and instincts could fully be unleashed. Branch's versatility made him a standout prospect at Alabama, so the fact that he quickly adapted to safety was no surprise. It led to a Pro Bowl season out of the gate. However, Branch's instinctive and aggressive tendencies sometimes hurt.
It was almost as if he was coming downhill so quickly, and reading plays so quickly, he wouldn't gather himself, leading to missed tackles and even hits that led to penalties. It's something worth discussing. Branch and O'Neil have.
'He's not trying to hurt guys out there,' O'Neil said in May. 'A lot of times, as you guys know, those are bang-bang plays. If I'm a DB, I have my aiming point of where I'm about to strike a guy, and then if a guy catches and his aiming point drops, it ends up helmet to helmet or shoulder to helmet or shoulder to neck. That stuff is a lot easier to coach in slow motion than it is at full speed. The answer is you just go lower, but now you're hurting guys. We'll work it. That's a real thing. (Lions head equipment manager) Tim (O'Neil) got that bag for him, so we're going to use it. We'll see if BB can punch a hole in it by the end of the season.'
Even Pro-Bowlers need coaching. If Branch can take these cues, he'll be an All-Pro before it's all said and done.
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Honorable mention: Dan Jackson. The Lions used a seventh-round pick on Jackson, and his ability to contribute on special teams could give him a leg up on others at the position. If there's an injury at safety in 2025, free-agent DB Avonte Maddox, repping at nickel right now, could be called upon. But if Jackson can provide value on special teams while developing behind the scenes, he could certainly stick around long enough to grow into the role. He's mature and detail-oriented, which is how he worked himself from walk-on to starter and captain at a program like Georgia.
(Top photo of Tyleik Williams: Junfu Han / USA Today)