ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- At first, he was surprised. He walked out onto the Detroit Lions' practice field after being told he was going to actually play some defense -- have an actual role -- and rookie Miles Killebrew didn’t expect it. He didn’t know what to do.

The Lions were languishing a bit, having gotten off to a poor start to the season, and the coaches were searching for ways to pick up the unit. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has a penchant for taking players and sliding them into defined roles to pinpoint their strengths.

And in Killebrew, the Lions clearly saw someone they believed could help on third down. So the fourth-round pick who figured he wouldn’t see much defensive work at all in his rookie season was placed into a specific role in the lineup.

Once he settled in to his role as a hybrid safety/linebacker, Miles Killebrew's production improved. "I had to learn to relax," he said. Scott Grau/Icon Sportswire

“I expected to be playing special teams only this year,” Killebrew told ESPN.com recently. “I didn’t know. I thought that that would be the only way possibly I could contribute early, so when Coach gave me the shot to go out there on defense, I made the most of it.”

It didn’t always go smoothly. The first few games were rough. No tackles in 18 snaps against Philadelphia. Only six snaps against Los Angeles. He was somewhat overplaying, still adjusting to everything after being thrust into a role as a hybrid safety/linebacker on downs where the Lions were trying to end drives. Killebrew said he was “trying to see too much” instead of focusing on his one defined task.

But after Detroit’s idle weekend in Week 10, Killebrew found more comfort. He understood his niche, and he became much more productive. He had five tackles in 12 snaps against Jacksonville, four in seven against Minnesota and two in 19 -- along with an interception -- against New Orleans.

Simply, he had started to calm down.

“I had to learn to relax, man,” Killebrew said. “I get out there and early on my brain was going a mile a minute and I just had to learn how to calm myself down and just do my job. I can’t try to do everyone else’s job. I can’t try to run all over the field. Just got to do my job.”

His job for 2017 is much more of a question.

Rafael Bush is a free agent. Tavon Wilson, Detroit’s current starting strong safety, has one more year left on his deal. But Killebrew could push him for a starting spot next to Glover Quin. He hasn’t been told much about where the Lions view him in the future -- and in reality, it’s too early to know anyway with the draft and free agency still a few months away -- but he showed enough in his rookie season to make himself an intriguing second-year player.

He finished with 20 tackles in 136 snaps while also picking up eight special teams tackles as part of Detroit’s punt coverage unit. It led Killebrew to say he believed he had “a successful season” because he was on the field a little on defense and he learned every week.

Now he’s focusing on his future. While he gave a pretty standard answer of wanting to improve everything, he did specify that he felt like he needed to get better at understanding his run fits -- especially since he was playing closer to the line of scrimmage than he would if he ended up being a true starting safety. Since he was in primarily on passing downs, he knows he needs to refine his run defense skills. That, theoretically, could make him a better candidate to become a starter.

Killebrew called his pass coverage this season “adequate,” but knows there needs to be a jump there too.

Next season should provide some opportunity for Killebrew to make a leap, but how much of one will depend on whether he’s able to break out from the role he filled in 2016.

“I still feel like I have a long ways to go,” Killebrew said. “And I can’t wait.”