ALLEN PARK -- Under former coach Jim Schwartz, the Detroit Lions' defense was designed to be interchangeable, favoring left and right designations for the safeties, linebackers and defensive ends, instead of traditional positions such as weakside linebacker and free safety. The idea was each player should be versatile enough to handle all the potential responsibilities of their position.

The Lions will continue to value defenders with well-rounded skill sets, but new coordinator Teryl Austin intends to bring back the traditional positions. The team added veteran James Ihedigbo via free agency to serve as the strong safety, moving Glover Quin into the free safety role.

While it's still up for debate, it's expected second-round draft pick Kyle Van Noy will handle strongside linebacker responsibilities because of his extensive pass-rushing success at BYU, while DeAndre Levy, coming off a six-interception campaign, will slide into the weakside spot.

Following the conclusion of the 2014 NFL draft, general manager Martin Mayhew also explained that the Lions will have two defensive end designations, sharing how he envisioned the team's current players fitting into those roles.

"We're going to play a closed end and open end this year," Mayhew said. "We'll have an end on the tight end side. He'll be on the closed side. He'll be a bigger, more-physical, Jason Jones-type of guy. Then on the open side, we'll have Ziggy (Ansah) over there, and we think Larry (Webster) has an opportunity to compete over there as well.

Webster, the team's fourth-round draft choice, recorded impressive measurables at the scouting combine, most notably his 4.58-second 40-yard dash, the second-fastest time recorded at his position.

The open side of the formation will be where Detroit can continue to incorporate the Wide-9 alignment. That positioning will allow Ansah and Webster to test opposing tackles with their speed and length in one-on-one situations.

It remains unclear where the Lions envision playing Devin Taylor, the roster's other big, rangy end. Like Ansah, Taylor has both exceptional speed for his size and the bulk and strength to excel against the run on the closed side of the formation.

We can also expect to see the Lions run more five-man fronts this year, with a linebacker, likely Van Noy, in a two-point stance at the line of scrimmage, next to the closed end to the strongside of the formation.

-- Download the Detroit Lions MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Follow Justin Rogers on Twitter

-- Like MLive's Detroit Lions Facebook page