There will be a lot of heated training camp battles in Detroit later this summer. One of the primary ones earned notice from Pro Football Focus as the biggest one at the position around the entire NFL.
The Lions have a crowd of talent at the EDGE/defensive end position. Adding No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson and second-rounder Josh Paschal to the mix that also includes the team’s sack champs from 2021 (Charles Harris) and 2020 (Romeo Okwara) means coordinator Aaron Glenn has some serious conflict for places on the pecking order on his hands.
PFF agrees. In naming the Lions’ EDGE battle as the biggest one in the league, the commentary notes that it’s a good and healthy problem for Glenn and the Lions,
the Lions have a very interesting group in the midst of their rebuilding project on defense. Their top pick, Hutchinson, will have the inside track to a starting role, but Harris was brought back in the offseason after a breakout 2021 campaign. A former first-round pick in his own right (albeit 22nd overall, not second overall), Harris recorded 52 pressures for Detroit last season — 18 more than his previous career high. His 78.7 PFF pass-rushing grade was a career-best by more than 10 grading points. Harris will be firmly in the mix for a lot of snaps to see if he can back that performance up.
Before Harris and Hutchinson, Okwara had been the biggest hope for pressure, as he posted 66 pressures in 2020 before playing just four games last year.
Okwara’s brother, Julian, also gets some mention in the competition. As does Paschal, who was a pass-rushing monster at Kentucky in 2021. While he’s not mentioned here, veteran LB Jarrad Davis could factor in as well; Davis took reps in minicamp as a stand-up EDGE and looked quick.
It’s been more than a little while since the Lions had useful depth at pass rush. If the rookies are ready to roll — Hutchinson sure looked that way in minicamp — head coach Dan Campbell will have some very interesting decisions to make at EDGE.
