Lions DE Trey Flowers Only Played 47 Percent of Defensive Snaps against the Vikings

Defensive end Trey Flowers, the Lions' top-paid defender, wasn't on the field for a majority of the defensive snaps Sunday against Minnesota

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The Lions utilized some different players in Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings. Some increased playing time was due to injuries and situational circumstances, while others saw a decrease in snaps for reasons unknown. 

Here is a breakdown of each player's total snaps: 

OFFENSE (76 total snaps)

Quarterback:

Matthew Stafford - 76 (100 percent)

Running backs:

Ty Johnson - 49 (64 percent)

J.D. McKissic - 19 (25 percent)

Kerryon Johnson - 11 (14 percent)

FB Nick Bawden - 7 (9 percent)

Wide receivers:

Marvin Jones - 73 (96 percent)

Kenny Golladay - 62 (82 percent)

Danny Amendola - 54 (71 percent)

Marvin Hall - 14 (18 percent)

Tight ends:

T.J. Hockenson - 51 (67 percent)

Jesse James - 28 (37 percent)

Logan Thomas - 12 (16 percent)

Offensive linemen:

LT Taylor Decker - 76 (100 percent)

C Frank Ragnow - 76 (100 percent)

RT Rick Wagner - 76 (100 percent)

G Joe Dahl - 61 (80 percent)

G Graham Glasgow - 58 (76 percent)

G Kenny Wiggins - 33 (43 percent)

Observations

After Kerryon Johnson departed with a knee injury, it was rookie Ty Johnson who took over as the team's main back. McKissic remained in his gadget-back role. Despite Ty not seeing the field much in recent weeks, it's obvious that he is the true backup to Kerryon. With Kerryon now expected to miss some time, we will see if the rookie continues to carry a majority of the workload.

The Lions deployed plenty of 11-personnel -- one back and one tight end. 

Bawden only saw seven snaps, after playing 37 percent of the snaps just a week ago. 

Another player who lost out on snaps and due to more wide receiver-heavy formations was James. Hockenson almost doubled James' playing time.

Per usual, the Lions continue to rotate guards, and I will continue to question as to why. It doesn't look like the guard-carousel will stop anytime soon.

DEFENSE (73 total snaps)

Defensive linemen:

DT A’Shawn Robinson - 50 (68 percent)

DE Romeo Okwara - 45 (62 percent) 

DT Kevin Strong - 44 (60 percent)

DT John Atkins - 41 (56 percent)

DE Trey Flowers - 34 (47 percent)

DT Snacks Harrison - 31 (42 percent)

Linebackers:

Jarrad Davis - 71 (97 percent)

Devon Kennard - 69 (95 percent)

Jahlani Tavai - 60 (82 percent)

Christian Jones - 56 (77 percent)

Jalen Reeves-Maybin - 2 (3 percent)

Cornerbacks:

Justin Coleman - 65 (89 percent)

Rashaan Melvin - 55 (75 percent)

Darius Slay - 18 (25 percent)

Mike Ford - 4 (5 percent)

Safeties:

Tracy Walker - 62 (85 percent)

Quandre Diggs - 55 (75 percent)

Will Harris - 23 (32 percent)

Tavon Wilson - 18 (25 percent)

Observations

The biggest head-scratcher is the usage of the Lions' $90 million man Trey Flowers. 

Making an average of $18 million annually, Flowers didn't even see 50 percent of the defensive snaps. There was no ailment reported on the weekly injury report, and he didn't appear to sustain any injury of significance during Sunday's game. 

It's difficult to fathom how the Lions' top-paid defender is being out-snapped by the likes of Okwara, Strong, Atkins, and Kennard. 

Yes, a few of those aforementioned players play different positions, but one of Flowers' biggest strengths was position versatility. 

It begs the question of why the Lions feel the need to pay a player top dollar when he isn't going to play a majority of the snaps. Maybe the Lions wanted to place a heavy emphasis on stopping the run. 

However, that still doesn't explain why their best run-defender -- by a large margin, per Pro Football Focus -- leaves the field as often as Flowers does.

Another one of the Lions' key defensive players Damon "Snacks" Harrison went down with a groin injury. 

He did return, but he still logged the fewest reps of any of Detroit's defensive linemen. 

Combine the limited usage of Flowers and Harrison, and it's more than fair to say the Lions are not getting their money's worth.

For the second consecutive week, Tavai saw the second-most snaps of all of Detroit's off-ball linebackers. 

The 60 defensive snaps for Tavai are the most he has seen since Davis returned from injury.

Lastly, even with Slay leaving the game early, it was the safeties that took on the majority of snaps that were vacated by the veteran corner. 

Ford, a reserve corner, only played a total of four defensive snaps.

SPECIAL TEAMS
LB Miles Killebrew - 25 (83 percent)

CB Dee Virgin - 25 (83 percent)

Harris - 22 (73 percent)

Ford - 22 (73 percent)

Reeves-Maybin - 18 (60 percent)

S C.J. Moore - 18 (60 percent)

Bawden - 17 (57 percent)

Thomas - 16 (53 percent)

KR Jamal Agnew - 15 (50 percent)

P Sam Martin - 14 (47 percent)

Wiggins - 12 (40 percent)

Christian Jones - 11 (37 percent)

Wilson - 9 (30 percent)

Tavai - 9 (30 percent)

McKissic - 9 (30 percent)

Ty Johnson - 9 (30 percent)

LS Don Muhlbach - 8 (27 percent)

Okwara - 8 (27 percent)

Davis - 7 (23 percent)

Flowers - 6 (20 percent)

Robinson - 6 (20 percent)

Coleman - 6 (20 percent)

K Matt Prater - 5 (17 percent)

OL Tyrell Crosby - 5 (17 percent)

James - 5 (17 percent)

Glasgow - 5 (17 percent)

Dahl - 5 (17 percent)

Ragnow - 5 (17 percent)

Decker - 5 (17 percent)

Kennard - 1 (3 percent)

Strong - 1 (3 percent)

More: Matt Patricia Reveals Plan to Address the Defense