Are the Lions Wasting Trey Flowers?

Read more on whether the Lions are wasting the talents of defensive end Trey Flowers

Bill Parcells used to have a saying around the building that you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. But, nobody stays the same. 

How, indeed, true.  

This is the risk with these huge contracts. 

In March of 2019, the Detroit Lions broke the bank for defensive end Trey Flowers.

And when I turned on the film last year and evaluated him, he actually looked like a player worthy of a five-year, $90 million contract. 

Flowers played like he was practically possessed in the eight games I evaluated last season. 

He was clearly the best defender on the field. 

He was a blue-chipper, he was a playmaker and he was a difference-maker. He was fun to watch. 

However, in 2020, Flowers so far has not been living up to his contract.

Outside of four legitimate quarterback pressures and one sack I counted on film, I am just not seeing “it." 

And that pains me, because he was one of my favorite players in the league in 2019. 

I loved him last season. 

Part of the problem is Flowers. But, part of the problem is also the new defensive system installed by first-year defensive coordinator Cory Undlin. 

Flowers was playing inspired football last season under Paul Pasqualoni. 

But, this season, under a new defensive coordinator in Undlin, Flowers has been very inconsistent at best, and he looks tentative and lost at times in this new scheme. 

Something is really off. 

DE #90 Trey Flowers - 6-foot-2, 256 pounds 

2019 Grade: A (Blue-chip player; elite) 

Games evaluated: 9/8 vs. AZ, 9/15 vs. LAC, 9/22 vs. PHI, 10/14 vs. GB, 10/27 vs. NYG, 11/3 vs. OAK, 11/10 vs. CHI and 11/17 vs. DAL. 

Scouting Report 

Impressive, productive force-to-be-reckoned-with off the edge, with long arms and pure power. Very active. Can use long arms to extend, lock out and create separation at the point. Long reach. Can bend the edge, and gain pad leverage to win at the back door. Has a strong bull rush. Plays strong at the point. Powerful. Can put offensive tackles on skates into the quarterback. Can absolutely collapse the pocket off the edge. Has full arsenal and array of pass-rushing moves, including being able to effectively swim and spin back. Quick. 

When they line him or he stunts to the inside, he can crash in, and strongly aggress into the gaps. Keeps coming. Battles. Fights. No off switch on this guy. Can get held up on the edge, but it takes a strong effort to keep this guy out. Puts a lot of heat on the quarterback.

Impressive against the run. Solid strength and power. Good technique. Fights to get off and spin off blocks, or shoots in clean, down the line. Squeezes off the edge hard. Spins and fights to get off blocks and get to the back. Makes tackles inside and out. Has range to track things down. Tackled a receiver on the edge that was running a reverse. Solid tackler. Sometimes held up on the edge, but not often. Plays with a real sense of urgency. 

This guy is the real deal. Gets a lot of pressure. Leads the team in sacks. Easily the best player on their defense. Reminds me of Charles Mann.

Fast-forward to 2020. 

Flowers put on nine pounds this offseason, and now weighs 265 pounds. 

In this new defensive scheme, it seems Undlin is trying to get too cute moving Flowers all around, from right defensive end to left DE and even nose tackle.

Heck, in one play in Week 1 against Chicago, he lined up standing upright while covering the slot receiver, and he dropped into coverage. 

He has been ineffective at any other position and while doing anything else but playing right DE. 

He is not a left DE. He is not a nose. He is not a nickel back. He is not a punter. 

Flowers is a natural EDGE defender, or a right DE, in a 4-3 defense. 

All four of his pressures and his one sack this year have come while playing right defensive end. 

He looks, and feels far more comfortable at right DE. 

But, for some unknown reason, Undlin keeps experimenting and sliding him all around, and it is not working. I repeat, it is not working. 

Flowers is an athlete built on instinct that needs to be allowed to get to the ball. 

Another factor is fellow defensive end Romeo Okwara, who has been subbing in more for Flowers at right DE. 

In my self-developed plus/minus grading system, where I grade each and every snap of the game with either a plus or a minus, he graded out as the following:

Week 1 (CHI) - Flowers graded out 44% effective vs. the pass; 11-of-25 total plays graded positively. Flowers graded out 65% effective vs. the run; 11-of-17 total plays graded positively.

Week 2 (GB) - Flowers graded out 40% effective vs. the pass; 10-of-25 total plays graded positively. Flowers graded out 38% effective vs. the run; 5-of-13 total plays graded positively. 

While his effectiveness has been about the same in passing situations, his run defense effectiveness dropped off considerably against the Packers. 

2020 Grade: B (Good player, but not elite; good enough to win with, however)

Scouting Report

Polished pass rusher, with lanky frame and long arms. Shows inconsistent motor and tenacity. Gets swallowed up, and disappears too much. Shows ability to extend and create separation at the point of attack and average bull-rush ability. Able to get some movement, but not enough to make a difference. Shows ability to set up the LT to either gain outside or inside leverage and create pressure. Absolutely best at shooting an inside gap and firing into the pocket to create pressure. Has not shown the ability to win straight up through the back door of the pocket this season. One sack through the first two games. 

Against the run, he still shows excellent long-distance lateral pursuit. Can run, and hunt it down. Best in these situations. Closer into line of scrimmage, he battles, but struggles more to disengage in time. Sometimes dominated by blockers. Often ends up in position, but not in on the actual tackle. Still has the speed and athleticism. Just running lower on batteries. 

This season, he’s been like a camera which flashes sometimes. Flashes burst. It’s still in there. He is just not nearly as aggressive or tenacious as he was last season. Inconsistent effort. Still shows a knack to be a playmaker once in a while. 

While there is a drop-off in his play, I am not killing him as an evaluator.

You can win with Flowers on the field. But, he has to stay on the field, and be unchained from this new scheme. 

Detroit does not have the luxury of giving him long, extended breaks and breathers, especially with the kind of money the team is paying him and with an 0-2 record. 

My professional recommendation to Undlin is to stop trying to be so cute with Flowers. 

Play him exclusively at right DE. 

And whenever he’s in the game, fire, fire, fire him into the inside gaps, where he excels at creating pressure. 

Let him be who he is, opposed to trying to fit him into an egotistical scheme that does not fit him. 

If that is not possible, trade him quickly because he does not fit what I’ve seen of this defense philosophically. 

What you’ve been doing with Flowers in the first two games is not working. 

He looks like he is being shackled. 

If you do not believe me, turn on the film from last season. 

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