Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Lions spent two of their first four picks in their vaunted 2013 NFL draft class on pass rushers.

Ziggy Ansah, the fifth pick of that draft, emerged last year as one of the best defensive ends in the NFL. He had a career-high 14.5 sacks, made the Pro Bowl for the first time and will be instrumental in everything the Lions do this fall.

Fourth-round pick Devin Taylor didn’t make quite as big of an impact, but the South Carolina product had a breakout season of his own in 2015.

Taylor doubled his career total with seven sacks while playing as a rotational end, and the Lions are counting on him to replace Jason Jones as a starter this fall.

The Lions showed limited interest in Jones after his contract expired, didn’t pursue a big-name replacement in free agency and held off on drafting a defensive end until Anthony Zettel in the sixth round, in part because they believe that the gains Taylor made last year were real.

A healthy inactive in Week 2 last season, Taylor had 4.5 sacks in the Lions’ final six games and “kept getting better” as the year went on, coach Jim Caldwell said.

“He’s one of those guys that gives you everything he’s got,” Caldwell said last month. “He’s certainly been very, very diligent in making certain he understands his assignments. Things that he’s been doing better is defending the run, and then also, obviously, last year, you could see he made a number of plays for us, not only in the box like you would anticipate a defensive lineman would do, but also out on the flanks, because he can run and he’s got length. And he’s rushing the passer better. Devin’s doing a nice job.”

With the Lions set to open training camp Friday and their first regular-season game just over six weeks away, we decided to put Taylor’s improvements under the microscope with a film review to see whether he’s really ready for the expanded role the Lions are expecting.

After watching all eight of the sacks in which he had a hand last year -- he had two half-sacks that he split with teammates -- and two full games from the second half of the season, Taylor made undeniable improvements in Year 3 in the NFL.

He showed good instincts and discipline on the edge, and while he lacks elite pass-rush moves, he uses his long arms and big frame to his advantage.

Still, with Taylor set to play a different role this fall -- he’s expected to replace Jones as an interior rusher in many nickel situations -- there’s no guarantee that he’ll duplicate his sack production for a Lions team that’s thin at defensive end.

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Analyzing Taylor’s sacks

All seven of Taylor’s sacks came from the left end position, and only the half-sack he shared with Ansah against the Philadelphia Eagles came when the Lions brought an extra blitzer for pressure.

Taylor didn’t have to beat double teams. Only once did he face chip help on his sacks, though he did win with good rush moves at times.

For his first sack of the year, on a first-and-10 play late in the third quarter of a Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos, Taylor ran past tight end Owen Daniels and brushed off a block by running back C.J. Anderson to drop Peyton Manning for an 11-yard loss. Taylor took two steps upfield on the snap, then slipped inside Daniels and ran almost untouched past Anderson to bring down Manning, whose play-action fake put him in Taylor’s crosshairs.

Taylor’s most impressive sack of the year came in a game that was both his most productive and regrettable: the Week 13 Hail Mary loss to the Green Bay Packers, when he was called for a late facemask that gave the Packers one final, untimed play.

Early in that game, on the first series of the second quarter, Taylor beat right tackle Don Barclay with a speed move to the outside. He used his long arms to knock Barclay on his heels and pulled QB Aaron Rodgers down by the collar with just his left hand, forcing Green Bay to settle for a field goal.

Later in the game, Taylor once again overpowered Barclay, faking an outside rush and knocking the offensive tackle off balance. He forced a fumble on the play, though Green Bay recovered.

While Taylor can’t be faulted for taking advantage of a lesser player, it should be noted that Barclay was an injury replacement on a Packers offensive line that was without starters Bryan Bulaga and T.J. Lang (Eastern Michigan).

Another of Taylor’s sacks came in a Week 12 win over the Eagles, when the Lions once again took advantage of an injury-ravaged line. Jason Peters left that game in the first quarter, forcing right tackle Lane Johnson to move to the left side. Taylor and Ansah split a sack on Mark Sanchez on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Taylor ran a stunt behind blitzing linebacker Tahir Whitehead. Backup right tackle Dennis Kelly picked up Whitehead and, with Jones drawing a double-team from the Eagles’ guard and center, Taylor ran untouched toward Sanchez, who had no choice but to take cover.

Taylor’s other sacks were a mix of good coverage (the half-sack he shared with Jones against the Seattle Seahawks), poor play design (he was unblocked by a pulling guard against the San Francisco 49ers, though he deserves credit for recognizing the play) and playing well off of his teammates.

Jones was on the field as a defensive tackle for five of the eight plays on which Taylor was credited with a full or partial sack, and Jones (against the Kansas City Chiefs), Haloti Ngata (Chicago Bears) and Ansah (Seahawks) gift-wrapped sacks for Taylor at times.

What it means

Just 29 players had more than seven sacks last year, so Taylor’s 2015 season is nothing to sniff at.

Throw in the fact that defensive line coach Kris Kocurek does a good job of orchestrating the blitz game and getting the most out of his players, and there’s reason to believe that Taylor will have another productive season this fall.

He wins more with length than strength or a lightning-quick first step, so Taylor might not put up the same sack totals as last year. But if he can cause problems inside on third downs like Jones, another long left end, he should create sacks for Brandon Copeland or Wallace Gilberry, much like Jones did for him.

The Lions have big decisions ahead on Taylor -- like whether to re-sign him after the season -- and how he adapts to an expanded role and more attention this fall no doubt will factor into their choice.

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Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett

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