WATCH: Lions DT Isaiah Buggs’ leadership on display in mic’d up segment vs. Jets

Isaiah Buggs has quietly become one of the biggest vocal leaders on the Detroit Lions defense this year. Once believed to be a minor signing at the very beginning of training camp, Buggs has now developed into a key player and key person in the Lions locker room. Combined with Alim McNeill, the Lions run defense has recently become a force, allowing just 3.8 yards per carry over the past four weeks (sixth-best).

That defense was on display last Sunday against the New York Jets. Buggs and company held Zonovan Knight and Michael Carter to just 38 rushing yards on 17 carries (2.2 YPC).

In addition to that, Buggs was also mic’d up for the game, giving us an insight to the kind of leadership he has both in pregame speeches and on the sidelines during the game. The Lions posted a 13-minute video of the best highlights, radio calls, and mic’d up moments from Buggs in Week 15. Check it out:

Here are the highlights:

• Taylor Decker’s pre-game speech
• Buggs: “It’s only one thing on the menu today, boy, and that’s work.”
• “I smacked his [censored] on the first play, though.”
• “Hell of a [censored] play call, Ben Johnson.”
• “Assignment. Do your job. Don’t be a hero.”

Overall, I think it’s fascinating to see Buggs, a 26-year-old who has only been with the team for five months, clearly take on a leadership role. He’s the first person addressing the team on the sidelines, he’s encouraging players left and right, and he’s clearly emotionally invested in everything.