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Second-year defensive end Larry Webster is vying for a job with the Lions this year.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

DETROIT -- Larry Webster ran the 40-yard dash faster than every defensive lineman except Jadeveon Clowney at the 2014 NFL draft combine.

Clowney went first overall to the Houston Texans.

Webster went in the fourth round to the Detroit Lions and never dressed for a game.

He began his career as a basketball player at Division II Bloomsburg, so his technique was raw. He was a developmental project. A freak athlete. A guy Detroit hoped to bring along.

A year later, he seems to be a few pounds closer to providing a return on that investment.

"I've gained some weight," Webster said last week. "I'm trying to get bigger and stuff like that. And right now, I'm right where I should be."

Webster said he's up to about 270 pounds. He was listed at 262 pounds last year.

He said he's gained the weight working out with his cousin, who is a trainer, back in his hometown of Hagerstown, Md.

"Just trying to get stronger," Webster said. "I figured the weight would come."

Detroit appears to be banking on it.

The club returns starting defensive ends Jason Jones and Ezekiel Ansah, but allowed top reserve George Johnson to walk in restricted free agency.

Johnson was one of the Lions' biggest surprises last season, notching six sacks. But Detroit let him go because it believes some combination of Webster, Devin Taylor and Darryl Tapp will be able to replace that production.

Phillip Hunt and Corey Wootton, acquired in free agency, could also factor into the the mix.

But the staff seems particularly optimistic that Webster has developed his technique enough to emerge from the pack.

"He has made leaps and bounds in terms of strides in his ability to rush the passer," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said late last season. "He's tough. The (coaches) do some extra work with him after practice and they've been raving about what he's been able to accomplish and just watching him kind of grow and develop.

"So at some point in time, he's going to play and play well for us."

Has that time arrived?

"Yeah," Webster said. "I think so."

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