The fullback position isn’t what it used to be.

By the end of the 2018 season, only 19 teams carried a fullback on their active roster. With the recent hire of Darell Bevell at offensive coordinator, Detroit is likely to be utilizing the position more often.

In Seattle, Bevell’s offense had a heavy focus on the run game, something that’s easy to do with a running back like Marshawn Lynch in his arsenal. On a team that usually carried four or five running backs, Bevell liked to utilize his fullbacks as well.

Bevell used fullbacks in his offense heavily from 2012 to 2015, which correlates directly with Seattle’s powerful ground game over those seasons. For three of those four seasons, a fullback was on the field for over a quarter of all offensive snaps.

The dropoff in the position’s usage after the 2015 season coincides with Lynch’s departure from Seattle and the team’s inability to find a solid starter at the running back position since then. Without a viable run game, the team relied more on Russell Wilson’s arm and scrambling ability to move their offense, which meant less need for a fullback.

Now compare those numbers to Detroit’s offenses over the years.

After barely being used in Linehan’s offense, the fullback position resurfaced in Detroit under Joe Lombardi’s new system. Lombardi brought over Jed Collins, his fullback from New Orleans, and used him in over 22 percent of offensive snaps.

The next season, the Lions drafted fullback Michael Burton and used him almost as much as they used Collins. Burton played well for Detroit in his first season, but a change in offensive coordinators also brought a change to the position.

The position was essentially phased out in Jim Bob Cooter’s offense. Burton was rarely used in the 2016 season and was released shortly after. Linebacker-turned-fullback Nick Bellore and defensive end Alex Barrett combined for a total of 16 snaps in the fullback role in 2017. The team struggled running the ball for years and removing a position that could benefit the run game didn’t help at all.

When Matt Patricia was brought in as head coach in 2018, the fullback role came back as well.

The team drafted Nick Bawden out of San Diego State in the seventh round that year and expected him to compete with Bellore for the starting role. Unfortunately, Bawden suffered a knee injury during minicamp, ending his rookie year before it began.

Because of this, Detroit was forced to rely on Bellore to take on run blocking duties, along with reserve offensive lineman Joe Dahl and tight end Luke Willson. Despite not having a true fullback on the roster, the position’s usage went up exactly 14-percent from the previous season.

In the 2018 season, the Lions’ rushing attack was revitalized thanks to rookie running back Kerryon Johnson, so it’s no surprise that the team relied on the fullback role more than they had before.

So how will this help Bawden going into the 2019 season?

First off, he’ll be the only fullback under contract in Detroit with Bellore set to become an unrestricted free agent. As long as no other competition is brought in, he should find his place in the starting lineup.

He’s also the exact type of player that Bevell used in his offense in Seattle.

While at San Diego State, Bawden lead the way for the FBS rushing yard leaders two seasons in a row. Both Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny rushed for over 2,000 yards with their fullback providing key blocks for them along the way.

Nick Bawden is the terminator man pic.twitter.com/roDYqMRl0h — Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) February 12, 2018

His stat sheet in college wasn’t much to show off, with only one rush and 30 receptions along with one touchdown. The lack of stats won’t bother Bevell too much though, as most of his fullbacks in Seattle were on the field only for blocking situations, which is where Bawden excelled in college.

Now paired with Johnson in Detroit and assisted by a young and healthy offensive line, the Lions’ new fullback will have plenty of opportunities to thrive in his new offensive coordinator’s system.

With a year to recover from his knee injury, Bawden should be ready to go by training camp.