JAMES HOUSTON

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions were shut out of the compensatory draft picks that were awarded by the league on Thursday afternoon. The NFL has long awarded compensatory draft picks based on which teams lost the most talent in free agency the previous year. The more talent a team loses on the open market, the better it will do with comp picks. But after losing only linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin in free agency last year, Detroit was not awarded an extra pick in the upcoming draft. The 49ers now have two extra picks in the third round, another in the fifth and sixth, plus two more in the seventh round.

The defensive line looks like it needs another body or two for the interior. Hutchinson looks like the blue chipper this defense needed. DVOA rankings had Detroit’s run defense ranked 20th and its pass defense 23rd in Weeks 10 through 18. That’s not great, but it’s better than the 25th (run defense) and 30th (pass defense) rankings they registered in the first nine weeks. Hutchinson looks like the motor that could push this thing to the next level, while Houston, Paschal and McNeill create an intriguing foundation.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions are losing college scouting director Dave Sears to the Arizona Cardinals, where he’ll serve as the new assistant general manager under Monti Ossenfort. This past season was his 16th with the franchise, serving in the college scouting director position since 2019. Sears had previously served as Detroit’s assistant director of college scouting, not to mention seven seasons rising through the player personnel department of the Houston Texans. We’ll email you your Detroit Lions news five days a week. Brian Hudspeth hols the title of assistant director of college scouting for the Lions.

Then James Houston ran onto the field for his first NFL defensive snap against the Bills, and immediately took down Josh Allen on third-and-long. It’s really cool to see.”Houston’s NFL debut turned from cool to historic down the stretch. That gave Houston eight sacks in his first six NFL games, an NFL record. Hutchinson was the only rookie to finish with more sacks than Houston, even though Houston played just 140 defensive snaps all season. At 6 feet 1 and 235 pounds, Houston is undersized for an NFL edge rusher.

ALLEN PARK -- Kerby Joseph began his rookie season expecting to play exclusively on special teams. Joseph managed to do it by the end of his rookie season. Houston didn’t make his NFL debut until Thanksgiving, yet managed to finish second among all rookies in sacks (8.0) -- trailing only Hutchinson. It was that kind of season for the Lions’ draft class, which went on to set the NFL record for most sacks ever. It was the best defensive season by a Lions rookie since Ndamukong Suh, who was named rookie of the year in 2010.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aidan Hutchinson is doing his best to keep this thing close. The defensive rookie of the year candidate is finishing off his first season in high style, racking up two huge sacks in the first half against Green Bay. Both came on third downs inside Detroit’s 25-yard line too, forcing Green Bay to settle for field goals. Hutchinson now has 9.5 sacks on the season, which wrestles the NFL rookie lead away from teammate James Houston (8.0). Lions rookies have accounted for 20.5 sacks overall, an NFL record since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

That’s the only guy left who even knows what it’s like not to be a doormat, much less actually play in a playoff game. Not with a roster that features just 15 players who have ever appeared in a playoff game anywhere. And in his first quarter of his first playoff game, his only completion was a 3-yard screen to Todd Gurley. “The leadup to this game, there’s going more anticipation for it,” Goff said. For a team that has struggled to run the football throughout most of the second half of the season, Goff has kept this team afloat.

ALLEN PARK -- James Houston has eight sacks through his first six games, a new NFL record. And now, the Detroit Lions say the breakout rookie pass rusher is getting more comfortable with the scheme. Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash said Houston flashed in practice, even remembering an instance with Lions left tackle Taylor Decker telling coaches that the rookie might be their best pass-rusher. Understanding, seeing me every week going hard, battling with Taylor (Decker) and Penei (Sewell) every week. And while Wash and the Lions knew Houston had pass-rushing skills on Day 1.

Josh Paschal chipped in two sacks, becoming the Lions’ third rookie with a multi-sack game this season. Amon-Ra St. Brown became the youngest Lions receiver ever with a 100-catch season, just one week after he became the youngest Lions receiver ever with a 1,000-yard season. With that, these remarkable Detroit Lions pounded the Chicago Bears 41-10 for their seventh win in nine games, and will take their improbable playoff chase into a monumental finale against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. That team is screaming toward the finale too, and is guaranteed a playoff spot with a win against Detroit. The Lions have the youngest defense in the whole league, yet just held Justin Fields to 30 passing yards.

The Lions dominated against Chicago. With one week left in the NFL season, Detroit is surging and has a very real shot to make the playoffs.

DETROIT -- The Lions got better in the long run by trading T.J. Hockenson for draft picks at the deadline. Brock Wright caught two more touchdown passes on Sunday to help Detroit build a 24-7 halftime lead in a must-win game against the Chicago Bears. Tight ends have now accounted for 12 touchdown catches this season, breaking a franchise record that had stood since 2011. Shane Zylstra added three more scores the following week in Carolina, giving him four on the season as well. One of those sacks jarred the ball loose, which Aidan Hutchinson recovered -- and then Hutchinson added his third pick of the season to conclude the half.

The Detroit Lions were gashed by the Carolina Panthers to the tune of 320 yards on the ground, losing 37-23 in Week 16 action. And missed tackles doomed Detroit’s defense in this loss, with whiffs on the ground and in the open field against the pass. Pro Football Focus had the Lions missing 13 tackles, with Kerby Joseph leading the way (three), followed by Ifeatu Melifonwu (two), Jeff Okudah (two) and six others with one. “We just didn’t, boy, we just -- you didn’t see the fire that we’ve had,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said when pressed about the missed tackles. PFF didn’t hit him with a turnover-worthy play, giving him a low fumble grade despite Ragnow taking ownership of the mistake.

Detroit Lions prized rookie defender Aidan Hutchinson isn’t slowing down, with his second consecutive game as the team’s highest-graded defender from Pro Football Focus. Hutchinson helped fuel Detroit’s dominant run defense, which held the Jets to only 50 rushing yards on 22 attempts and a long of 6 yards in Week 15. Hutchinson finished with five tackles, including one for loss, while generating two pressures and four PFF run stops (“tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense”). The Lions hit Jets quarterback Zach Wilson 10 times, including six tackles for loss from the front seven. -- Evan Brown was back out there with the rest of the starting offensive line for all 68 snaps.

“I don’t know too much about the history, but that’s a great (honor),” Houston told MLive after the 20-17 win against New York. “I’m honored, I’m grateful. “That’s why I play the game.I’m trying to be a team player, trying to do my job, I’m just trying to execute my job. If my job is to get sacks, I’m going to get sacks.”Houston is already in pretty good company. Dotson, one of the rookies to open his career with a four-game sack streak, went on to make the all-rookie team.

New York called timeout with 1 second left, and had one final look at a 58-yard field goal. Wright did a great job selling the block, before leaking out for a short pass from Goff. Detroit settled for a field goal, a huge difference in a game so close. That set up a field goal that broke a 10-all halftime tie. There’s nothing about that sequence that was good, and the Lions had to settle for a go-ahead field goal that made it 10-7.

The Lions defense was the NFL's worst early this season. It has stepped up in a big way recently and played a huge role in Detroit's win over the Vikings.

These are good days for the Detroit Lions’ long-lost pass rush -- and now they’re getting back their two-time sack leader too. Romeo Okwara has officially been cleared to suit up for the showdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Ford Field. They believed in Okwara, and wanted to build Detroit’s pass rush around him for the long term. Detroit is getting healthy for that push too, although did lose starting slot cornerback Will Harris to a mid-week hip injury. Mike Hughes is expected to replace Harris in the slot, while Jeff Okudah is active on the outside as expected.

ALLEN PARK -- James Houston was the only member of the Detroit Lions’ rookie class not to make the opening-day roster. 2 overall pick, perhaps the best year by any rookie Lions defender since Ndamukong Suh. Joseph was named NFC defensive player of the week for his efforts, becoming the first Lions rookie ever to win that award. Again, it’s just been that kind of year for the Lions’ rookie draft class. But Houston plays so low to the ground that he started giving Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell all kinds of fits in practice.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence won’t practice Wednesday because of a sprained big toe on his left foot.

The Lions running back had been limited by ankle and shoulder injuries, seeing double-digit touches in only two of his nine games this season. He pushed the ball downfield and got into a dangerous rhythm with receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and DJ Chark. -- Jared Goff, DJ Chark and Amon-Ra St. Brown were lethal in Week 13. And St. Brown continues to be the engine that powers this offense. Next Gen Stats reports St. Brown leads the league with his 18.2% third-down conversion rate.

“You have this idea in your head of what you can be (in the NFL), right? “Every week, he’s just gotten better and better. He’s going against some damn good tackles every week, our guys (Penei) Sewell and (Taylor) Decker, and so certainly that helps his confidence. I think what it does, it just tells him, ‘I do, I’ve got the ability to play in this league.’ And I think he’s figured that out soon. He became the first player with two sacks in his NFL debut since Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt in 2017.

Rodriguez played 38 defensive snaps in the loss, the first time the rookie linebacker has seen that much work since suffering an elbow injury. Rodriguez was limited to 19 snaps in Week 9, then was eased back into action with 28 plays last week in New York. The rookie logged at least 46 defensive snaps through his first seven games, so it’ll be interesting to see where the rotation goes. -- James Houston left his mark on this game with only five defensive snaps. -- Benito Jones, while seeing 25 defensive snaps, was the team’s second-highest graded defender.

DETROIT -- It’s been a long time since James Houston rode the bench, and that has made his rookie season a difficult one. On Tuesday, he finally got word that he was going to make his NFL debut on Thanksgiving against the Buffalo Bills. Houston recovered a fumble on the Lions’ first punt return, then took down Josh Allen for a pair of third-down. He’s the first player in team history to record multiple sacks in his NFL debut -- and he did it on his first three plays. Even Josh Paschal, a second-round pick, has made a big impact after finally making his NFL debut in Dallas.

DETROIT -- The Lions launched their winning streak against wounded Green Bay and Chicago. Then they flew back home for a showdown with mighty Buffalo, hoping to show the nation they are for real. Jamaal Williams ran for another touchdown -- his league-leading 13th -- and Amon-Ra St. Brown tacked on another touchdown on fourth-and-goal just before halftime to help send Detroit into the locker room within 17-14 of the Bills. Dan Campbell’s aggression has been a big reason for Detroit hanging tough with one of the league’s best, dialing up three fourth-down tries. He’s completed 10 of 18 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown, plus ran for a game-high 41 yards and another score.

The deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters down to 53 players has passed -- and the Lions just announced their final cuts.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions checked a lot of boxes in the 2022 NFL draft. Detroit drafted Oklahoma State linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez in the sixth round, then grabbed versatile Jackson State defender James Houston in the seventh. Houston is listed as a linebacker and was getting work with that group at Saturday’s rookie minicamp session. He was a state runner-up his sophomore season, then won back-to-back state wrestling championships. He said that transition has felt natural, pointing to Lions linebacker coach Kelvin Sheppard for helping him get there so quickly.

The Detroit Lions signed defensive end Aidan Hutchinson to a $35.7 million, four-year contract with a team option for a fifth season on Friday.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions have signed tight end James Mitchell, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, edge defender James Houston and cornerback Chase Lucas to their rookie contracts. The Lions also announced draftee jersey numbers for edge Aidan Hutchinson (97), receiver Jameson Williams (18), Paschal (93), safety Kerby Joseph (31), Mitchell (82), Rodriguez (44), Houston (59) and Lucas (36). Detroit also announced the addition of 12 undrafted free agents ahead of rookie minicamp. Rookies started arriving in Allen Park and are set to begin minicamp on Friday. Related headlines:Way-too-early Detroit Lions game-by-game predictions for 2022 NFL season9 thoughts on the Detroit Lions’ 2022 scheduleDetroit Lions now have room to sign entire UDFA class after cutting 8 players this weekBreakout WR Amon-Ra St. Brown believes Detroit Lions have complete offense ahead of Year 2

Deion Sanders had two of the four HBCU players who were selected in the NFL Draft on his list of the 16 most draft-ready HBCU prospects.

The Detroit Lions used a late-round pick in another attempt to improve their pass rush. James Houston, an edge rusher from Jackson State, was selected by the Lions with the 39th pick in the sixth round (No. 217 overall) in the 2022 NFL draft on Saturday.