ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Devin Taylor had been through almost this exact situation before. During spring workouts last season, the defensive end found himself inside at tackle more and more.

The new Detroit Lions coaching staff was getting a feel for how all the players on its roster could be used. It also turned into a way to make Taylor a more versatile player so that he could get on the field.

It didn’t translate into much playing time in 2014, as the emergence of George Johnson at defensive end and the extremely high usage rate of Ndamukong Suh at tackle ate up potential snaps. Taylor played in every game for the Lions, but averaged 12.7 snaps a game.

He only made 15 tackles. With Suh and Johnson gone, along with a bunch of other defensive tackles, the Lions have a lot of snaps to account for. Taylor could be a player in line for an increased workload. While he worked some with veteran defensive end Darryl Tapp in the offseason, he came in with a similar plan to last season.

Try to get on the field more.

“There was no particular difference or anything,” Taylor said. “I wanted to motivate myself more and a little bit of technique things here and there that basically put me a step above where I was a year ago.”

While it was tough to grasp exactly where Taylor improved during spring workouts since linemen can’t hit or wear pads, he took tips from Tapp and Jason Jones. Both of them had been in the role Taylor could be making for himself with the Lions -- mostly playing end while moving inside during specialized packages and in a pinch.

Like last season, Taylor worked inside at tackle during the spring, especially with Jones missing minicamp due to injury. Taylor said the move inside is not permanent and he still sees himself as an end. But everything moves faster inside.

That could fit Taylor better than playing on the end.

“A lot of it is getting on and getting off and staying low,” Taylor said. “That’s the main thing as far as staying inside like that.

“Everyone is going to be bigger than you, bigger than me, at least, so it’s one of those [things] that I got to use my speed to my advantage.”

If he’s able to, he might be able to find more of a role in the Detroit defensive line rotation this season.