The Detroit Lions have slightly diminished the role of first-round draft pick Tyleik Williams.
Against the Washington Commanders, Detroit’s first-round draft pick played only eight defensive snaps.
Alim McNeill and DJ Reader have been a force up front, and the coaching staff is growing more comfortable playing Roy Lopez as well. Detroit’s free agent addition played 12 defensive snaps in a 44-22 road win.
Appearing on 97.1 The Ticket for his weekly interview, Dan Campbell explained why the former Ohio State defensive lineman is not playing as much.
“Tyleik’s just a young guy that is continuing to get better and growing. There’s a little inconsistency at times, but that’s not out of the norm. Correct it, get a little bit better, and move on,” Campbell said. “The hard thing for him, which is a good thing for all of us, is Mac (Alim McNeill) is playing good, (DJ) Readers playing good, (Roy) Lopez is playing good. So like, hey man, you got some good players in front of you right now, and so what you do is elevate his game, and then he’ll be in front of them.”
Why Lions love Roy Lopez
Campbell indicated the team coveted Lopez in free agency due to his aggressiveness and how hard he plays each and every down.
He highlighted the former Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman on Monday afternoon for being stout defensively and showing up on film.
“Lopez has just been, really since he’s gotten here, he’s playing at a high level, man,” said Campbell. “It’s one of the reasons we wanted him here. He’s an outstanding role player for us. When he comes in, we don’t miss a beat, man. He can lift the point of attack, man. He can. He’s one of those guys, man. He plays with leverage. He’s stout, he’s strong, he’s explosive.
“But then, he can also run the line of scrimmage, now. So, you want to run a wide zone on him, he can get a knock back against the run. That was evident the other day. He was in the backfield two or three different times. He’s one of the reasons we had some of these tackles for loss,” Campbell added. “And then, he plays hard, man. He plays snap to whistle. He always does. That’s him. And so, he’s really kind of been doing that anyway. But, I just thought it really showed up, in the nature of that game, and what Washington was trying to do, it was just good to see. I love that room right now. And he’s a big part of that.”
