Ifeatu Melifonwu experienced two things in his third season this year that he was not able to afford in Years 1 or 2.

After being selected by the Lions in the third round of the NFL Draft that year, Melifonwu only appeared in seven games as a rookie. He went on IR due to a quad injury. He only played in 10 games in 2022 due to an ankle ailment. However, Melifonwu was able to play in all 17 games and escaped injury this past year.

He became a starter the last six games of the season. That’s when the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Syracuse cornerback caught the attention of prospective Lions general manager Brad Holmes. This year marks Melifonwu’s first full season at safety after being switched from corner to the position halfway through the previous campaign.

After the season, Melifonwu remarked, “I feel like my confidence was growing every week because I’m healthy.” “It will continue to evolve as I go back and examine myself throughout the off-season. There are definitely a lot of plays I missed during the entire season, so I know I’ll be kicking myself afterwards.

“But I’m just happy to finish this year healthy and my confidence is going to keep growing.”

Week 14 saw Melifonwu added to the starting lineup, and he went on to have a great season finale. He recorded two passes defended, a sack, and a forced fumble against Denver in Week 15. Against Minnesota in Week 16, Melifonwu recorded 2.0 sacks, had the lead in pass defense, and had the

Week 14 saw Melifonwu added to the starting lineup, and he went on to have a great season finale. He recorded two passes defended, a sack, and a forced fumble against Denver in Week 15. During a Week 16 encounter in Minnesota, Melifonwu recorded 2.0 sacks, intercepted a pair of passes, and concluded the game with the NFC North championship. In Dallas the next week, he recorded his second pick of the year.

Even though Melifonwu only participated in 37% of Detroit’s defensive plays this season, he was one of only three NFL defensive backs to have at least 3.0 sacks and two interceptions.

This week, Holmes said of his third-year safety, “He had his chance, and he did a really nice job to step up.”

Melifonwu claimed he put a lot of effort into making his pass rush and blitzer moves effective, which turned him into a weapon.

“In college, I had one blitz. On my one blitz in college, I had a sack,” he remarked. “I believe it was just my physical stature and size, plus this season I developed my hand-eye coordination.” He would describe the blitzes to me in meetings with (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG, saying things like, “We are showing down here, they got to slide this way, you are going to come free.” I would

Melifonwu claimed that the coaching staff stopped requesting him to blitz when he was a rookie playing nickel corner because it was so awful. Either he was leaving too late and not making it home, or he was tipping off the blitz too early. In the NFL, there’s a skill to being a good blitzer, and Melifonwu has discovered the ideal balance between timing and deception. It also doesn’t hurt to be an extreme athlete.

Melifonwu’s late-season and postseason performances are a testament to his development and the defensive coaching staff’s ability to provide another young player with a chance. Melifonwu may play a significant part in this defense from the very beginning in 2024.

truly trust it if he could explain blitzes to me. After that, all I had to do was coordinate and prepare my disguise.”

The positive: The Detroit Lions football team’s offensive line remains one of its strongest points.

One of the greatest starting five up front in the NFL this season was left tackle Taylor Decker, left guard Jonah Jackson, center Frank Ragnow, right guard Graham Glasgow, and right tackle Penei Sewell.

With 646 dropbacks, the Lions only allowed 31 sacks (4.8 percent), which is the fourth-best rate in the NFL. Only Green Bay (4.6), Buffalo (3.7), and Kansas City (3.9) performed better.

This season, the Lions led the NFL with 16 games with at least 325 total net yards, which matched for the most by any team in NFL history, and they were second in the league with 869 running yards before contact.

Detroit’s 4.62-yard average per rush was sixth best, and their 27 rushing touchdowns tied Miami and San Francisco for the NFL lead.

In only his third season, Sewell is the top right tackle in the NFL and was chosen an All-Pro for the first time in his career. Decker and Jackson were both Pro Bowl alternates, while Ragnow was an All-Pro as well. Glasgow’s 2023 campaign was possibly his greatest as a professional.

Detroit placed among the NFL’s top five teams in both passing and rushing. Without one of the most effective and adaptable offensive lines in football, that would not be possible.

Dan Skipper, Kayode Awosika, Colby Sorsdal, and Matt Nelson have all occasionally entered the lineup this season, demonstrating the Lions’ depth.

The bad: The team struggled with injuries at points this season.

With their starting five of Decker, Jackson, Ragnow, Glasgow, and Sewell beginning fewer than half of the games together (8 games), the Lions started nine different lineups up front.

This season, the Lions were merely 19th in the NFL in goal-to-go scoring opportunities within the five-yard line, and they scored touchdowns in 78.9 percent of those situations. Detroit ranked 19th in terms of 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 conversion rates (66.7%). They were rated 25th on 3rd & 1.

Important fact: Detroit tied for the most points in the NFL with at least 20 points scored in 14 games this season. They had nine occasions where they scored thirty points, second only to Dallas (10).

Ragnow and Sewell could potentially win this one any way, but Ragnow stands out for his preparation and ability to get the line in all the necessary protections up front.

Ragnow stands out for his film prep and wants the game plan early in the week. When you combine it with his incredible skill—one sack and six quarterback hits allowed during the season—and the fact that he overcame ailments to his knee, ankle, back, and toe, it makes sense that Ragnow is regarded as the finest center in the game right now.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff said of Ragnow, “I think when you see all the fun stuff we’re able to do on offense, we’re not able to do it.” “He understands us and identifies the MIKE.”

Working with him throughout the week to discuss how he and I see things, especially pass-protection and how we’re going to approach things, is a lot of fun. Indeed, it adds to the fun.”

Graham Glasgow is the most improved.

This is usually saved for up-and-coming young players, not an eight-year veteran, but Glasgow went from being defeated by Halapoulivaati Vaitai in training camp to being a vital member of this offensive line, starting at all three interior spots before permanently taking over the right guard position. After the season, he even declared that this was likely his best effort to date.

Unrestricted Jackson, unrestricted Glasgow, unrestricted Nelson, unrestricted Skipper, unrestricted Vaitai, and exclusive rights Awosika are examples of free agents.

Those are some well-known names. Last week’s locker clean out day saw Jackson unavailable for comment, but Glasgow was, and he expressed interest in seeing Jackson return in 2024. The Lions will probably have to increase their salary to cover it.

The Lions will have to decide whether to pursue Jackson on the free-agent market, where he may attract interest. Awosika ought to return to contend for a guard position. Detroit might compete by bringing in another veteran.

For the past few years, Nelson and Skipper have been the starting swing tackles, and they work well together in that room.

Draft: The 29th choice in the draft puts the Lions in a unique position because there may be a ton of value there to continue developing the offensive line in the long run.

This week during his end-of-season press conference, Lions general manager Brad Holmes stated that’s a focus for the upcoming summer.

Rather of selecting the fourth or fifth pass rusher or cornerback late in the first round, the 20s are excellent positions for the best interior offensive linemen to emerge. When it comes draft time, Holmes always has faith in those players, so perhaps one of those players ends up high on his board.

Quotable: “Our group consists of that. It’s crucial that we can protect the quarterback and run the football the way we do thanks to our offensive line, Holmes stated this week. Consequently, that will undoubtedly be one that is not to be disregarded. Even though it has worked well in the past, the points you brought up will undoubtedly still be emphasized.”