Notes: Detroit Lions made 2 of the top 100 plays of 2018

In honor of eclipsing the 100 days until the 2019 season opener mark this week, the NFL released their top 100 plays from the 2018 season video on Instagram (Note: The video was first published back in February on YouTube)

The Detroit Lions managed to appear in the video four times. Two were good plays. Two were plays you may want to forget forever.

On the happy side of things, Matt Prater’s awesome fake field goal touchdown against the Packers from Week 17 finds its way onto the list. As does Kenny Golladay’s amazing twisting grab against the Carolina Panthers. We won’t bother telling you which bad plays made the list, but check out the video below to see where the Lions rank.

• When Lions fans heard the name Jahlani Tavai read on Day 2 of the draft, they weren’t happy. But Lions linebacker coach Al Golden was happy that night.

Lions beat writer Mike O’Hara spoke with an excited Golden who said, “When we set out every year, we’re looking for a prototype. He meets those standards for us.”

Golden goes on to praise Tavai’s versatility, size and strength in the piece, as well. This is tiny little peek into what the Lions want to do with Tavai and how they feel that he will be able to fill that role.

• Iowa’s tight end coach back when T.J. Hockenson was a freshman took one look at the Lions’ first-round pick and declared, “This kid’s going to be better than George Kittle.” Dave Birkett has the story on Hockenson’s Iowa days and his reunion with Lions tight end coach

• The Lions welcomed Teams4Taps to their facility yesterday for a tour, meet and greet and lunch. Teams4Taps is a program set up for families of fallen soldiers whose family member had a special connection with a team and/or player.

• Do the Lions really need to find a developmental quarterback to challenge Matthew Stafford? Is that even a realistic possibility? Chris Burke of The Athletic challenges that strategy in an interesting piece (subscription required).

• Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik talked with Stadium about new Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. He explain why Matthew Stafford can thrive in Bevell’s system and how he believes the quarterback will take advantage of the opportunity.