DETROIT -- Where are all the haters at now?

The Jahlani Tavai pick was reviled more than any other in Detroit in years. Perhaps more so than even Eric Ebron. Fans hated it because Tavai was widely expected to go no earlier than the fourth round, and then Detroit took him in the second.

GM Bob Quinn warned he didn’t think Tavai was going to last another 15 picks, let alone another two rounds, and prized Tavai’s size and physicality for the Matt Patricia defense. But that did little to sate the angry fans who thought Detroit reached for the tackling machine from Hawaii.

In his debut, Tavai became the first Lions linebacker since 1987 to register a sack in his first game. In his encore performance, he was even better, racking up nine tackles -- just one off the team lead -- and punching out the football at the goal line during a critical second-half stand in a 13-10 win Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Suddenly, all the haters are strangely quiet.

“I think we’ve seen him make some really good plays and be really aware for a young player," coach Matt Patricia said. “He’s got a lot on his plate right now. He’s got a lot of improving to do. I just think there are just those flashes of awareness where he sees something or a play, or a particular tendency.”

Those instincts have shown up early and often, and bode well for Tavai’s future once he has some experience and the game slows down. He’s already become just the 10th rookie linebacker since 1993 to produce at least 10 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in his first two career games. And that has helped the defense carry on despite the loss of middle linebacker Jarrad Davis (ankle), including allowing just a field goal and touchdown to a Chargers team that hung 30 on the Colts last week.

“I mean it’s not just me, you know?" Tavai said. "Everyone is doing their job out there. We tried to collapse the pocket and we were doing a great job of keeping him in until that one play. But other than that, we had guys behind me just making sure that they were covering their go-to guys. It was just a complete team effort, so I am so happy. Like I said, all that matters is (that) we got the win, that’s all that counts.”

True. But without Davis on the field for at least another week, and Detroit’s high-priced defensive line not doing much of anything, there were few players who had a bigger impact than Tavai. The fumble was especially crucial.

The Chargers were already up by four, and a Darius Slay pass interference call in the end zone left them just 1 yard from making it a two-score game. Austin Ekeler ran the ball up the middle on the next play and tried to hurdle the line for the score, but Tavai fought off a bump from Slay coming across the middle and punched the ball out with a big right hook.

Fellow linebacker Devon Kenard recovered the fumble, preserving the 10-6 score.

“You know, it’s one of those in-the-moment-type of situations," Tavai said. "I felt the energy from the defense, and you know it felt great once we recovered the ball.”

The Lions liked Tavai a lot coming out of Hawaii, but hoped to bring him along slowly. The Davis ankle injury sped up those plans -- but Tavai, while imperfect, has never looked overmatched either. He made a big play against the Cardinals, then built on that with an even bigger play and better day against the Chargers.

His role will change and perhaps be diminished whenever Davis returns, which could happen as soon as this week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles -- one of the teams, as it happens, that was reportedly interested in drafting Tavai. But his rapid development certainly bodes well for the depth of that linebacker corps, which serves as the heart of the Matt Patricia defense.