The Lions had a very exciting rookie class this year that they are very excited about moving forward.
Note: I will not be including rookies with minimal snaps or rookies that have not played yet.
Round 1, Pick 2 – Aidan Hutchinson
Aidan Hutchinson has had a very interesting start to his career, when the Lions took Hutchinson it was a surprise to nobody and most fans felt like this was the safest pick in the draft while other fans argued that Hutchinson’s ceiling was not worth a top 2 pick. Whatever the case may be Hutchinson has looked fairly good in his first few games. He has tallied three sacks, two tackles for loss, six pressures and two hurries so far in his career.He started off his career with a quiet game against the eagles, he faced the tough task of containing Jalen Hurts which is hard for just about anybody in the league. Hutch only picked up one tackle in that game and was pretty much turned into a non-factor. He made sure his presence was known, tallying 3 sacks and making Carson Wentz life hell in the pocket, he was active all day and forced Wentz to make a few errant throws and helped the Lions seal the win. Week 3 Hutchinson was extremely quiet and battled through an injury for most of the game. Week four was a frustrating one, Hutch had five tackles but it felt like he was getting no pressure on Geno Smith which led to a Seahawks victory.
Round 3, Pick 97 – Kerby Joseph
Kerby Joseph, the third rounder out of Illinois was drafted by the Lions due to his fluidity in the secondary and his potential of developing into a key piece. Joseph played zero defensive snaps up until week four until he was thrust into the starting free safety role with Tracy Walker out for the rest of the season. Joseph was exposed in the secondary most of the game, showing just how raw of a player he really is. He just did not look ready for full time NFL play at all. Maybe this game will be a good wake up call for him to start preparing for these NFL offenses better.
Round 6, Pick 188 – Malcolm Rodriguez
Malcolm Rodriguez quickly became a fan favorite on the HBO reality show Hard Knocks, fans loved his aggressive playstyle and his work ethic, through these first four weeks Rodriguez has certainly carried over that playstyle into the regular season. Rodriguez has been everywhere this season, he leads the team in tackles with 25 and has been one of the only bright spots on such a horrendous defense and has really molded himself into an everyday player. Rodriguez has been an amazing open field tackler and even has shown glimpses of being an effective pass rusher during blitz situations. Rodriguez has been blowing up plays left and right, using his speed and power to simply just move people. He has had an amazing season so far for being a day three pick and I am very excited to see how the rest of this season pans out for him.
