Here’s a look at the Detroit Lions’ Week 3 snap counts against the Arizona Cardinals.
Offense
Quarterbacks:
Matthew Stafford: 67 (100%)
Running backs:
Adrian Peterson: 40 (60%)
Kerryon Johnson: 20 (30%)
Jason Cabinda: 10 (15%) — 16 special teams snaps (59%)
D’Andre Swift: 6 (9%) — 5 (19%)
Tight ends:
T.J. Hockenson: 55 (82%)
Jesse James: 33 (49%) — 11 (41%)
Wide receivers:
Marvin Jones Jr.: 61 (91%)
Kenny Golladay: 49 (73%)
Danny Amendola: 30 (45%) — 1 (4%)
Jamal Agnew: 14 (21%) — 10 (37%)
Quintez Cephus: 10 (15%) — 12 (44%)
Marvin Hall: 6 (9%)
Offensive tackles:
Tyrell Crosby: 67 (100%) — 6 (22%)
Taylor Decker: 67 (100%)
Matt Nelson: 0 (0%) — 6 (27%)
Guards/centers
Frank Ragnow: 67 (100%) — 6 (22%)
Jonah Jackson: 67 (100%) — 6 (22%)
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: 67 (100%)
Kenny Wiggins: 1 (1%) — 6 (22%)
Oday Aboushi: 0 (0%) — 6 (22%)
Observations:
- The running back rotation continues to be quite unpredictable. Take a look at the snap count percentages by week:
Adrian Peterson: 30.8% — 25.4% — 59.7%
Kerryon Johnson: 25.6% — 32.2% — 29.9%
D’Andre Swift: 43.5% — 33.9% — 9.0%
Perhaps the unpredictability works in Detroit’s favor, but it’s still surprising to see a 35-yard-old running back suddenly become a workhorse in the Lions’ talented stable of rushers.
- One extra note on D’Andre Swift: though his offensive workload completely vanished, he did participate on special teams for the first time this year.
- Kenny Golladay didn’t get a full workload, but he came pretty darn close in his return from a hamstring injury. As a result, rookie Quintez Cephus didn’t see the field much and didn’t have a pass thrown his way.
- The Lions tried to get Jamal Agnew more involved this week. He didn’t make too much of an impact, though.
Defense:
Defensive end:
Trey Flowers: 40 (62%) — 4 (15%)
Romeo Okwara: 33 (51%) — 12 (44%)
Defensive tackle:
Danny Shelton: 38 (58%) — 4 (15%)
Nick Williams: 29 (45%)
Da’Shawn Hand: 28 (43%) — 4 (15%)
John Penisini: 19 (29%)
Linebackers:
Jahlani Tavai: 58 (89%) — 5 (19%)
Jamie Collins Sr.: 54 (83%) — 5 (19%)
Christian Jones: 42 (65%) — 9 (33%)
Reggie Ragland: 19 (29%) — 5 (19%)
Jarrad Davis: 15 (23%) — 2 (7%)
Julian Okwara: 8 (12%) — 6 (22%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 0 (0%) — 21 (78%)
Elijah Lee: 0 (0%) — 16 (59%)
Cornerbacks:
Amani Oruwariye: 65 (100%) — 4 (15%)
Jeff Okudah: 59 (91%)
Darryl Roberts: 53 (82%)
Chris Jones: 6 (9%) — 7 (26%)
Tony McRae: 0 (0%) — 16 (59%)
Safeties:
Duron Harmon: 65 (100%) — 8 (30%)
Tracy Walker: 65 (100%) — 7 (26%)
Will Harris: 19 (29%) — 12 (44%)
Miles Killebrew: 0 (0%) — 21 (78%)
Observations:
- Where to start? Let’s go with the linebackers. Jahlani Tavai is officially the team’s starting middle linebacker. For the first time in his career, Jarrad Davis did not start a game he played in. Not only that, his 15 snaps were a career-low by a large margin. Heck, even Reggie Ragland had more snaps.
- With Nick Williams back in the lineup, Da’Shawn Hand saw his playing time scaled back to just 28 snaps, his lowest of the season.
- Amani Oruwariye and Jeff Okudah basically played the entire game. Perhaps most notably, however, is that when Okudah was going through something, the Lions decided to bring in recently added Chris Jones. Previously, they had moved Darryl Roberts outside from the nickel and subbed Tony McRae in the slot.
- Sanity prevails! Tracy Walker didn’t just reassume the starting duties, he played every single snap of Sunday’s game. Meanwhile, Will Harris went from 67 percent of the snaps last week to just 29 percent.
Special teams:
Jack Fox: 16 special teams snaps (59%)
Don Muhlbach: 10 (37%)
Matt Prater: 6 (2%)