The start of an interesting and unprecedented NFL free agency period is off and running, even if it’s not officially open until 4 p.m. ET Wednesday. The Lions have made some roster tweaks, but still need plenty of help in a number of areas.
We’ll get there.
Today, let’s take a look at some game tape and analyze a few of Detroit’s latest additions.
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Offensive line moves
Halapoulivaati Vaitai landed a five-year deal worth a reported $45 million from the Lions just days after they released right tackle Rick Wagner — and around the same time Graham Glasgow got $44 million over four years in Denver. Vaitai — who will be 27 in June — is the definition of a run-first swing tackle with an ability to slide inside to guard if needed.
In many ways, he’s a younger version of Wagner with some better power in the run game and some familiar issues in pass protection. At 6-feet-6, 320 pounds, Vaitai’s skill metrics indicate average speed for a player at his position, above-average burst and below-average agility. We can’t really look at this as a Vaitai instead of Glasgow move; instead, it’s a Vaitai over Wagner decision. If Vaitai sticks at right tackle, then the Lions got younger and cheaper there. But let’s look at the tape.
In terms of the here and now, Vaitai’s probably an upgrade over Wagner on the ground. His technique is fairly clean and you can tell he’s typically doing all he can to not overextend himself so he can keep balance at all times. He understands angles well, he does a nice job of delivering an initial punch before climbing to the second level, when needed, in zone run schemes. The Lions want to be a physical offense at the point of attack. That’s Matt Patricia’s preference. With that in mind, adding a piece like Vaitai — even if it comes with a sizable price tag for a guy who has minimal starting experience in the NFL — makes some sense.
Here’s a pretty standard split zone play from Vaitai’s first start of 2019, at Washington in December. Vaitai (No. 72) is going to step, seal and turn the EMLOS (end man on the line of scrimmage) defender outside to help create a crease for the back. There’s not much wasted movement, his feet are under control, he’s able to get his hands inside his man’s chest and turn him in the direction he needs.
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As you can see, the result is a terrific seal and lane for an 11-yard gain. Washington could’ve fit this play better, of course, but it does highlight a bit of the reason why Philadelphia was comfortable moving Vaitai all over the place.
I watched every clip of that start as well as his wild-card start against Seattle. Against Washington, the old book on Vaitai held up: I graded him out well on the ground, not so well in pass protection. For the basis of this exercise, he got a plus grade for doing something that went above and beyond, a minus grade for getting beat and an even grade for doing his job on any given play. Overall, I had him plus-six on the ground, minus-seven in pass protection for a grade of minus-one overall. Against Seattle, it was plus-five on the ground, minus-four in pass protection.
On film, he’s very much a get-the-job-done-and-keep-it-moving lineman. He’s not flashy, but his mechanics are consistent. Some of his pass protection issues in the Washington game, at least earlier, might have been communication-related — perhaps a result of it being his first start. He doesn’t get knocked off his base often, but if he’s dealing with someone on the edge who has speed and power — he can get wobbly. This type of stuff tends to show up in some run blocking situations, too. He’ll fire off the line with a great initial punch, only to fall off the block of an athletic defender. He gave up pressures in both games I watched simply because the defender he was working against kept playing longer than he did. Ideally, you’d like to pair him at right tackle next to a steady hand at guard who is capable of helping him handle stunts and pressures off the edge.
Vaitai has had an interesting career, to say the least. A fifth-round pick of the Eagles in 2016, he struggled early on, started a Super Bowl at left tackle and served as a swing backup for both tackle and guard spots. The Lions, at this point, are betting on Vaitai’s potential above all else — even if there’s little evidence to suggest he’s capable of being a top-flight starting tackle in the NFL. It’s also certainly possible he winds up kicking inside to offensive guard, as the Lions still could make a substantial draft investment in a tackle. Whether he’s at guard or tackle, though, the book’s going to remain the same: He can be an asset in the ground game but, even with a fairly team-friendly contract structure, his pass blocking has to even out.
If there’s a critique to be had here, it’s that Bob Quinn is still needing to tinker with and figure out the franchise’s offensive line situation this deep into his tenure. If the Lions believe there’s more value in a tackle investment instead of paying a guard (like Glasgow), then that’s their stance. But Glasgow was a proven, steady starting offensive lineman. He was fond of the area. He, by all accounts, wanted to stay. It isn’t that difficult to understand Bill Belichickian concepts relating to player value. But the Lions aren’t the Patriots. And these moves are tougher to sell in the immediate. I thought The Athletic Detroit colleague Chris Burke outlined this all very well in a recent piece.
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Jamie Collins
When the Lions signed Collins late Monday night, my initial question was whether that signaled the end for Devon Kennard in Detroit. Collins is a versatile linebacker by trade and the Lions weren’t going to pay him $10 million per year to share snaps. A day later, we got our answer: The 28-year-old Kennard was released. Collins, even at 30, doesn’t have to leave the field in Patricia’s system. He can rush off the edge and he can cover. His coverage skills are still better than any linebacker the Lions routinely put on the field last season. And it’s really not close.
My question now is whether the Lions are done retooling their linebacker group. Collins can play on the edge and inside. Will Detroit stick with Jarrad Davis, who had a horrendous year in coverage last season but appears to be well-liked by the staff (Kennard was also well-liked by Patricia and the locker room in general, by the way), or move on to a more modern answer in the middle of the defense? I wouldn’t cross Isaiah Simmons’ name off any draft lists just yet.
Anyway, back to Collins.
A lot of this will come down to little things, a firm understanding of assignment and attention to small details. This is the stuff Patricia is trying to recreate from New England. Collins is well-schooled in all of it. So, this makes sense. On this play above, from a 2019 New England-Kansas City game, Collins helps force a Patrick Mahomes incomplete pass — intended for Sammy Watkins — on third-and-short by using his eyes and maintaining spatial awareness around him.
The Patriots are in a single-high look with just about everyone walked out wide on third-and-2. Collins is going to bluff pressure at the line of scrimmage before dropping back into spy territory. He’s going to read Mahomes’ eyes and let the quarterback tell him where the ball is going. This is tricky, of course, because Mahomes can fit the ball into ridiculous windows in a flinch. So a linebacker in this situation has to be able to react without thinking: Meaning, there can’t be any confusion about what his job is. Even the smallest moments of hesitation can be the difference between a first down and a forced kick.
In this case, Collins keeps his eyes on Mahomes while never losing his depth. The slant route is well covered by the defensive back, but even if that ball finds its way into Watkins’ hands, he’s going to have an incredibly difficult time holding on with Collins completely blanketing the top end of his route. This play resulted in an incompletion. It got New England’s defense off the field. Collins did his job. This, along with position versatility, was likely Collins’ biggest draw for the Lions. The biggest knock on his game was his work against the run, which doesn’t match what he can do from a coverage and rush perspective.
It is cliché and fans might be tired of it by now: But “do your job” is the most sound and basic principle in football. Collins, who still has some speed in his legs and a mind that’s plenty sharp, can give the Lions that in the middle and on the edge. So while this might not be a move that transforms the roster, it’s not difficult to see why Patricia and Quinn made it.
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Collins is a bigger upgrade for what the Lions need than Vaitai likely is right now. The Lions need a lot more defensively. But this move, in theory, makes the Lions better today than they were yesterday and probably by more than a percentage point or two. Collins isn’t the same guy who made the Pro Bowl in Patricia’s New England defense back in 2015. But after an awkward fit in Cleveland, his 2019 season was at least closer to the player Collins was in 2016 when the Patriots surprised some by dealing him toward the end of his rookie deal. We’ll see how much juice is left.
(Top photo of Halapoulivaati Vaitai, No. 72: Eric Hartline / USA Today)
