Detroit Lions Week 4 snap count observations: Defense gets speedy vs. Chiefs

Here’s a look at the Detroit Lions’ Week 4 snap counts against the Kansas City Chiefs and some observations about them.

Note: These snap counts do not appear to be fully accurate. For example, Tom Kennedy is not listed with any snaps, but PFF has him with eight snaps. I tried to catch all of the discrepancies using PFF’s data as backup.

Offense:

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford: 77 (100%)

Running backs

Kerryon Johnson: 54 (70%)
J.D. McKissic: 27 (35%) — 13 (39%) special team snaps
Ty Johnson: 11 (14%) — 9 (27%)
Nick Bawden: 10 (13%) — 19 (58%)

Tight ends

T.J. Hockenson: 42 (55%)
Jesse James: 37 (48%) — 7 (21%)
Logan Thomas: 24 (31%) — 17 (52%)

Wide receivers

Marvin Jones Jr.: 74 (96%)
Kenny Golladay: 69 (90%)
Marvin Hall: 29 (38%)
Tom Kennedy: 8 (10%)

Offensive tackles

Rick Wagner: 77 (100%) — 7 (21%)
Taylor Decker: 77 (100%)
Tyrell Crosby: 0 (0%) — 7 (21%)

Guards/centers

Frank Ragnow: 77 (100%) — 7 (21%)
Joe Dahl: 66 (86%) — 7 (21%)
Graham Glasgow: 64 (83%) — 7 (21%)
Kenny Wiggins: 24 (31%) — 14 (42%)

Observations:

• J.D. McKissic saw a huge bump in playing time this week. Prior to Sunday’s game, he had only played in 15 total offensive snaps for Detroit. This week, he nearly doubled that number. He’s very clearly taken over the Theo Riddick role on this team, and he rewarded Detroit with another long run. McKissic now has the Lions’ two longest runs of the season with 44 and 26 yards.
• The guard rotation doesn’t show any sign of stopping, despite solid play from both Joe Dahl and Graham Glasgow this season.
• Mildly interesting to me: Taylor Decker is still not in on special teams. Usually players that are held out of special teams are still dealing with an injury, so his back may not be 100 percent.
• Marvin Hall pretty much took on Danny Amendola’s role completely, but Kennedy carved out a small role, too.

Defense:

Defensive end

Trey Flowers: 51 (73%)
Romeo Okwara: 34 (49%) — 7 (21%)

Defensive tackle

A’Shawn Robinson: 47 (67%)
Damon Harrison Sr.: 25 (36%)
Kevin Strong: 16 (23%) — 7 (21%)

Linebackers

Jarrad Davis: 68 (97%) — 7 (21%)
Devon Kennard: 68 (97%) — 7 (21%)
Christian Jones: 51 (73%) — 10 (30%)
Jahlani Tavai: 14 (20%) — 10 (30%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 6 (9%) — 19 (58%)
Miles Killebrew: 0 (0%) — 19 (58%)

Cornerbacks

Rashaan Melvin: 70 (100%)
Justin Coleman: 70 (100%)
Mike Ford: 51 (73%) — 3 (9%)
Dee Virgin: 0 (0%) — 26 (79%)
Amani Oruwariye: 0 (0%) — 23 (70%)
Jamal Agnew: 0 (0%) — 16 (48%)

Safety

Tracy Walker: 66 (94%)
Tavon Wilson: 66 (94%) — 5 (15%)
Will Harris: 52 (74%) — 23 (70%)
Quandre Diggs: 14 (20%)
C.J. Moore: 2 (3%) — 26 (79%)

Observations:

• Unsurprisingly, the Lions opted for speed over strength on defense. Just two defensive linemen played more than 50 percent of the snaps (A’Shawn Robinson, Trey Flowers) while six defensive backs were in on at least 70 percent of snaps.
• Christian Jones also saw a significant bump in playing time, as the Lions went with three linebackers quite often against the Chiefs.
• Tavon Wilson obviously saw a lot of playing time after Quandre Diggs’ injury, but with a percent in the 90s, it’s clear he was going to have an increased role regardless of Diggs’ injury. Matt Patricia confirmed this during his Monday press conference.
• It was likely Will Harris that saw a huge bump in playing time because of Diggs’ injury.
• Amani Oruwariye made his NFL debut on Sunday but was limited to just special teams.

Special teams

Sam Martin: 17 (52%)
Don Muhlbach: 10 (30%)
Matt Prater: 7 (21%)