Detroit Lions Week 16 snap counts: Injuries force Jarrad Davis, Tracy Walker into full-time roles

Here’s a look at the Detroit Lions’ Week 16 snap counts against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Offense

Quarterbacks:

Chase Daniel: 34 (54%)
David Blough: 15 (28%)
Matthew Stafford: 4 (8%)

Running backs:

D’Andre Swift: 36 (68%)
Kerryon Johnson: 11 (21%) — 8 special teams snaps (27%)
Adrian Peterson: 6 (11%)
Jason Cabinda: 2 (4%) — 21 (70%)

Tight ends:

T.J. Hockenson: 46 (87%)
Jesse James: 12 (23%) — 9 (30%)
Hunter Bryant: 1 (2%) — 8 (27%)

Wide receivers:

Marvin Jones Jr.: 50 (94%)
Mohamed Sanu: 38 (72%)
Danny Amendola: 31 (58%)
Quintez Cephus: 20 (38%) — 8 (27%)
Jamal Agnew: 12 (23%) — 20 (67%)

Offensive tackles:

Taylor Decker: 53 (100%)
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: 53 (100%) — 1 (3%)
Dan Skipper: 0 (0%) — 9 (30%)
Matt Nelson: 0 (0%) — 1 (3%)

Guards/centers

Jonah Jackson: 53 (100%) — 1 (3%)
Oday Aboushi: 53 (100%) — 1 (3%)
Evan Brown: 28 (53%) — 1 (3%)
Joe Dahl: 25 (47%)

Observations:

• At running back, D’Andre Swift logged the second-highest percentage of snaps for the season. Given that Detroit was in passing mode for the entirety of three quarters, it’s not all that surprising to see Kerryon Johnson—Detroit’s primary pass blocking back—get more playing time than Adrian Peterson.
• The Hunter Bryant hype train is stalled out at the station. Just one snap for him on offense against the Bucs.
• With Joe Dahl’s mid-game injury—and Frank Ragnow’s fractured throat—the Lions were forced to turn to Evan Brown at center. Brown was added to the practice squad the first week in December and was temporarily promoted to the active roster on Friday. This was only Brown’s second career game with significant playing time on offense. Back in 2019, he made his NFL debut with the Dolphins in Week 16 in an almost identical situation.
• Let’s give some props to the offensive line in terms of durability, while also knocking on some wood. Taylor Decker has not missed a single snap this year, and rookie Jonah Jackson hasn’t missed a snap since Week 6.

Defense:

Defensive end:

Romeo Okwara: 41 (53%) — 12 (40%)
Austin Bryant: 35 (45%) — 5 (17%)
Julian Okwara: 20 (26%)

Defensive tackle:

John Penisini: 56 (73%)
Kevin Strong: 47 (61%) — 2 (7%)
Nick Williams: 41 (53%) — 8 (27%)

Linebackers:

Jahlani Tavai: 62 (81%) — 9 (30%)
Jarrad Davis: 39 (51%) — 13 (43%)
Reggie Ragland: 38 (49%)
Christian Jones: 24 (31%) — 18 (60%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 15 (19%) — 29 (97%)

Cornerbacks:

Amani Oruwariye: 77 (100%) — 8 (27%)
Justin Coleman: 52 (68%) — 4 (13%)
Tramaine Brock: 39 (51%) — 1 (3%)
Darryl Roberts: 34 (44%)
Mike Ford: 4 (5%) — 28 (93%)

Safeties:

Tracy Walker: 77 (100%) — 4 (13%)
Duron Harmon: 73 (95%) — 8 (27%)
Will Harris: 35 (45%) — 18 (60%)
C.J. Moore: 4 (5%) — 21 (70%)
Miles Killebrew: 0 (0%) — 29 (97%)

Observations:

• Julian Okwara returned to play with a health 20 snaps. Though he didn’t log a single pressure in the game, he earned a 58.9 PFF grade, which relative to the rest of the defense, wasn’t too bad.
• Injuries to Jamie Collins Sr. and Jayron Kearse forced Jarrad Davis and Tracy Walker into big-time roles like it was 2019. Davis’ 39 snaps was his second highest of the season, but it also resulted in his worst PFF grade of the year (29.3). Walker played in every defensive snap for just the third time this year. His PFF grade was a slightly more tolerable 58.4.
• I suppose you have to give the Lions credit for just trying to mix it up at cornerback. After having to push Alex Myres into a corner position, they added Tramaine Brock this week, and he ended up playing more snaps than Darryl Roberts, who started alongside Oruwariye. Unfortunately, they Lions have yet to find any solutions.

Special teams:

Jack Fox: 11 (37%)
Don Muhlbach: 9 (30%)
Matt Prater: 1 (3%)

Observations:

• Jack Fox was back on kickoff duties, likely due to Prater’s back injury. So the Lions kicker just had one extra point to kick and his day was done.