Over the last three years under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, I always pay attention to the players they take later in the NFL Draft. In addition to that, it’s important to watch the players they sign as undrafted free agents.
Much of that is due to their ability to identify talent and coach them up. We saw them do this with players such as Malcolm Rodriguez in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL Draft or Jerry Jacobs as a UDFA in the 2021 NFL Draft.
For this season, the two players I kept circling were WR Isaiah Williams from Illinois and DL Nate Lynn from William & Mary. I’ve highlighted Williams already this summer. As for Lynn, well his college tape is scarce and I figured he’d get plenty of chances to prove himself this preseason.
In his first game against the Giants, he did just that. Finishing with two tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack, it was a promising debut for Lynn. Unfortunately, he has suffered a season ending shoulder injury and we won’t see him until next year. That said, let’s dive into some film to see what the Lions will be missing now that Lynn is on the shelf with the injury.
One of the first plays we saw from Lynn (DE #57) was the one highlighted above. In a wide-9 alignment against two tight ends, you’ll see Lynn to the right of the offense. Once the ball is snapped, the offensive line reaches to their right and the quarterback fakes the hand-off to the running back.
Working up field, you’ll see Lynn quickly using his right hand to rip through not one but two block attempts. One block from a tight end and the other from a running back. As he gets clear, he sees the quarterback step up into the pocket and from there, he quickly closes on the quarterback and smacks the ball out of his hand.
While this was marked as an incomplete pass, it’s a heads up play from Lynn. It’s also one that can certainly make a difference when he’s on the field with players such as Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill and D.J. Reader.
Flipping from the right side of the offense to the left side, you’ll see Lynn aligned as a 7-technique. Prior to the snap, you can see Lynn switch his feet and this helps him setup using his inside hand to rush the passer.
Once the ball is snapped, he bursts up field with good speed and due to that he forces the left tackle to turn his body to the outside to stop that speed rush. However, Lynn counters back inside with a beautiful spin move. Closing to the quarterback, Lynn is just about a step late from getting to the quarterback. That said, it does feel like his presence was felt on this rush and it forced the quarterback to rush this throw.
Lastly, I want to focus on the recorded sack from Lynn in this game against the Giants. While much of this sack was due to Brodric Martin getting to the quarterback with a good push-pull move over the center, Lynn gets credit for the sack.
Aligned over the left tackle, you’ll see Lynn get up field and hit the left tackle square. In the process, he tries to execute a rip move and once that gets stopped, he quickly tries to counter with a spin move. As he goes for that spin move, he gets hit by the left guard.
Fortunately, he showcases good balance and keeps his feet while closing to the quarterback. Once the quarterback slips through the hands of Martin, he’s met by Lynn and is taken down for the sack.
It’s unfortunate that Lynn got hurt because it was a strong debut for him in Detroit. He looked like he could compliment the defensive lineman that are established in Detroit. Meanwhile, he could have been a likely candidate to earn some of the lost reps from the injury sustained to John Cominsky.
For now, we’ll have to wait until next season for Nate Lynn and the hope is that he doesn’t lose any of the juice he provided the Lions from the first preseason game.
