It wasn’t pretty, but the Detroit Lions gritted out a win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. There’s a lot to take away from that game, but for now, let’s take a look at how a few players performed that night.
Here are four guys who boosted their stock against the Rams, and one who didn’t.
Stock up: DT Levi Onwuzurike
The end of Levi Onwuzurike’s career seemed like a foregone conclusion after undergoing back surgery two years ago.
Obviously, the former Washington defensive tackle didn’t get the memo.
Onwuzurike received a surprising amount of hype this offseason, and he’s already living up to it. In his first game of the year, he turned in multiple pressures and half a sack from the interior. It was the kind of performance that Brad Holmes hoped for when he drafted Onwuzurike three years ago, and the defensive tackle is only going to get better.
He’s finally healthy, there are snaps available for him, and he’s cashing in. His story is miraculous, and his performance against the Rams confirms what fans have been hearing all offseason.
He’s not just healthy. He’s breaking out, just as the team is gearing up for a run at the Super Bowl.
Storybook.
Lions DL 91 Levi Onwuzurike with a strong start to the season. Impressive swim move from him here #OnePride pic.twitter.com/L7qwpaLv9Y
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) September 10, 2024
Stock up: LB Alex Anzalone
By this point, Alex Anzalone has already firmly established himself as an anchor of this team. That doesn’t mean he can’t continue to impress fans, though.
The 29-year-old has improved drastically over the last two years, and Anzalone’s latest contest may have been his best outing yet. He recorded ten tackles (three for loss), and the eye test matched the stat sheet.
The linebacker flew around the field. He made big plays, took care of business, and looked every bit like one the best in the league at his position. Fans saw constant flashes of this kind of play throughout 2023, but if Anzalone can truly keep performing at this level, it could be a special season for him.
Stock up: WR Jameson Williams
This offseason, a Jameson Williams breakout was an extremely popular prediction among fans. Everything was coming together for him, and it seemed like the time for his breakout was finally here.
The predictions were correct.
On Sunday, Williams looked every part the superstar receiver that the Lions drafted 12th overall. He turned in well over a hundred yards receiving and a score — a bona fide breakout game. He displayed his game-breaking speed, improved ball skills, and general ability to pick up chunk yardage and make huge gains for the team. The best part? There’s no reason to believe that won’t continue.
It’s only been one game, but everything pointed to a big season from Williams for quite a while now. He’s incredibly talented; it just took some time for things to come to together.
Despite criticism, Detroit was patient with Jameson Williams. The coaching staff worked with him every step of the way and made their continual belief in him known. They never wavered in their belief that he was their franchise WR2, the perfect lightning to Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s thunder.
It’s looking like that’s going to work out pretty well for everyone involved.
Jameson Williams route chart from NFL Next Gen Stats — that’s fun pic.twitter.com/jBtptkvDqE
— Ben Raven (@BenjaminSRaven) September 9, 2024
Stock down: S Brian Branch
Sunday was a rare performance from a player who’s usually one of the most consistent on the roster. Branch, in his first game playing safety, seemed to struggle. Opposing quarterback Matthew Stafford had a great deal of success through the air that night, and the performance of the former Alabama defensive back was one of the reasons why.
Branch was just a half-second too late in coverage, slow making tackles, and unable to secure interceptions. It was an uncharacteristic performance from a usually dependable player.
If the Lions are going to improve their pass defense this year, they have to be able to lean on Branch. That should still be the plan, given all that he’s already proved, but he’ll also need to step up.
Hopefully, the jitters and difficulties of playing a new position will dissipate for him sooner rather than later.
Stock up: DE Marcus Davenport
Davenport is an interesting case. The former top-15 pick is clearly immensely talented, but so far, he’s been hard-pressed to put together a full season of quality play due to injuries and inconsistency. Detroit’s acquisition of him this offseason was clearly an upside play, a gamble on a boom-or-bust type of guy.
It’s too early to draw any real conclusions, but on Sunday, Davenport looked more like the former than the latter. He hit the ground running in his first game as a Lion and racked up an impressive six pressures, two quarterback hits, and half a sack off the edge.
Consistency is going to be the name of the game for his future in Detroit (as it has been everywhere else), but you can’t ask for much more in the first game.
The 6-foot-6 defensive end sought a fresh start with the Lions. So far, the results are promising. Will he keep it up? There’s no way to say for sure at this point, but he’s on his way, at least.
Marcus Davenport in his Lions debut:
🔵 75.5 pass rush grade
⚪ 6 pressures
🔵 0.5 sacks
⚪ 26.7% pass rush win rate pic.twitter.com/d0vpi4ptPk— PFF DET Lions (@PFF_Lions) September 10, 2024
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