How Melvin Ingram Could Aid Detroit Lions' Defense
After being injured and missing 10 games in 2020, Los Angeles Chargers unrestricted free-agent EDGE rusher Melvin Ingram is a real gamble.
Will he return to his playing form from 2017-19 when he made the Pro Bowl three times, or was his knee injury in '20 a sign of things to come?
Could Ingram help Detroit’s defense?
Typically speaking, NFL front offices clamor for “guys they are familiar with,” and that absolutely could put Ingram on a flight to Detroit, considering the fact that former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn just happens to be the Lions’ new offensive coordinator. Nobody knows Ingram better than his former head coach.
Additionally, he is 31 years old, and the Chargers have a new head coach and their fair share of UFAs. This could make him expendable to the new "lightning bolt" regime. And, because of his age and the knee issues, he could really slip under the radar.
He definitely seems to be flying low, according to Pro Football Focus, which has him ranked as the No. 54 unrestricted free agent.
As PFF writes,
“Ingram’s second contract went a lot better than his first in terms of his level of play. Once seen as a first-round disappointment, Ingram blossomed into an extremely effective NFL pass-rusher only enhanced by the arrival of Joey Bosa to the Chargers defensive front.
Ingram racked up three-straight seasons with 70 or more total pressure before injury broke that steak, and 2020 features the best PFF pass rushing grade he has posted since 2017, even if the sacks never materialized.
Ingram is a productive pass-rusher, but he was limited to just 361 snaps this season. And at this point in his career, he isn’t going to be the primary source of pass rush for anything other than a bad pass rushing team. Teams that already have that primary stud up front could dramatically improve their rush with the addition of Ingram as a second threat, however.”
Sounds like a perfect storm to get a guy who is still pretty good and sometimes even looks elite, provided he's healthy.
How do I know that? Because he showed it all throughout the games he played in this past season, all the way up to Week 11 vs. the N.Y. Jets.
I watched all of the plays he was featured in from 2019-20 on NFL Game Pass.
Here is my scouting report.
Joseph Maiorana, USA TODAY Sports
#54 EDGE Melvin Ingram - 6-foot-2, 265 pounds
Grade: B+ (Good player, but not elite; he's good enough to win with, however)
Scouting Report
Three-down and complete, high-motor, dynamic, stand-up EDGE with brute strength, pass-rush moves and instincts. Plays the run well. Can feel his energy. Instinctual. Anticipates snap count, and can sometimes jump offsides, as a result. Right up on it.
The Chargers moved him around along the line often to find just the right matchup. Flexible, and can line up anywhere. Not a hand-in-the-dirt-type of pass-rusher. Average hip flexibility, but good, quick hand usage. Able to lock out, extend and create separation to get into pass-rush lanes. Full arsenal of pass-rush moves. Able to finesse front of back doors on the perimeter against tackles, or can just straight up put his guy on skates and bull-rush. Able to put real heat on quarterbacks. Good close. Wants sacks. Disruptive and opportunistic. Can bat down balls and possibly intercept them.
He is like a clamp off the edge against the run who squeezes down. Good at coming off blocks laterally or clean, while making hard-wrapping tackles. Aware with vision. Reads things. Banger. Chases, and tracks it down like a hunter. Able to drop some into coverage, also.
Overall, an opportunistic play-maker who provides a big-time presence. Looks and plays the part. Only reason he was downgraded was to account for his recent injuries. When healthy, he is a blue-chip player.
He'd be an instant upgrade for the Lions.
I think the thing that impressed me the most was he was balling out on a 5-11 team in 2019.
I feel he would be the perfect value free-agent acquisition, on a one-year-or-two-year deal, which would be a win-win for both sides.
I also feel like the teams that do not know what they are doing will quickly dismiss him, based on recent injuries and age.
Coupled with Trey Flowers, he would be devastating for Detroit.
Sometimes you have to roll the dice, and this guy is worth doing so. Put him on a first-class, one-way plane ticket to the Motor City.
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