Detroit Lions confident in futures of rookie backups: 'We love those guys'

The Detroit Lions won't be resting their starters for this week's season finale against the Minnesota Vikings, not with an outside shot to still earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

That means they won't get a chance to give their rookies and role players who normally don't see much playing time a game's worth of snaps with an eye on 2024.

The Lions have gotten major contributions from their rookie class this season. Sam LaPorta made the Pro Bowl and ranks second on the team in receptions (81) and receiving yards (860). Jahmyr Gibbs is a Pro Bowl alternate who is 85 yards shy of becoming the Lions' fifth 1,000-yard rusher since Barry Sanders. And Brian Branch and Jack Campbell have been key cogs on the Lions' much-improved defense.

They remain high on the five rookies they've rostered all season who haven't had much playing time, too, with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn comparing the futures of two of those rookies to third-year safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, who languished on the roster for two seasons with injuries before blossoming into one of the team's best defensive players in recent weeks.

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"I mean, Iffy is what, three years and now you’re starting to see the fruits of his labor, starting to show up," Glenn said. "And listen, everybody’s timetable is different. Listen, we all wish that guys can come in as a rookie and they could hit it like LaPorta did, they could hit it like Jack did, but sometimes it takes a while. And listen, we love those guys. We think those guys are going to be good players and we’re going to continue to work with them.”

Here's a look at where the development stands with the five rookies not currently in the Lions' playing rotation:

DT Brodric Martin

A third-round pick out of Western Kentucky, Martin has been active for only three games this season. He's played 28 defensive snaps in those games and combined for three tackles.

That's hardly the role anyone expected coming out of training camp, but Martin said he feels like he's made huge strides this year practicing against the Lions' veteran offensive line, and he pointed to his play against one block in particular — the trap block — as evidence of his growth.

"I play it better than I used to play it," Martin said. "I can like rip off, strike the O-lineman, rip off and in camp it was a little harder to do so. Even like last month it was a little harder to do so, so I base it off that."

Explained Martin, "When the guard ghosts me and when the guard leaves, you’re supposed to be looking for the center. The center don’t come, so you look back, the tackle's not coming and then somebody wrap around and meet you. Yeah, that was a hard block. When I first got that block here, I was like, I was lost. I was like what was going on, head was spinning. But now I can see it. It's like slowed down for me a lot, and so now when he leave I go through my progressions and it’s not spinning."

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Martin remains a work in progress with his pad level and hand usage, but he's a mountainous man at 6 feet 5 and 330 pounds who projects to play a backup role at defensive tackle in 2024.

CB Steven Gilmore

An undrafted rookie out of Marshall, Gilmore made the 53-man roster with a strong training camp when he intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown.

Gilmore has barely seen the field this year — he's been active for three games and played his only two defensive snaps of the season in a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. But the Lions have held onto Gilmore for a reason through all their recent roster shuffling and believe in the cornerback's future.

"The one thing about Gilly, and I think we all saw this here in training camp, he’s a guy that can get the ball back and he’s doing that in practice also," Glenn said. "But, man, there are other guys that we have that are playing. I mean, it’s hard to just play everybody."

Gilmore said he's followed the advice of his brother Stephon, a two-time first-team All-Pro who's now in his 12th NFL season with the Dallas Cowboys, who told him to treat practices like his games while he's waiting for his chance to play.

"I done learned a lot, this being my first year in the league," he said. "I learned so much just sitting back, watching. I'm grateful to be in this situation I’m in right now, being able to learn from the older guys, they’re so helpful. I just feel like when my opportunity is shown I’ll be able to prevail."

QB Hendon Hooker

Hooker spent the first three months of the season on the nonfootball injury list as he rehabbed from the torn ACL he suffered in college. He's been back practicing since early December and has spent the past two games as the team's emergency No. 3 quarterback.

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Veteran Teddy Bridgewater takes most of the backup reps in practice, but Hooker works some with the scout team every week and has attached himself to Bridgewater's hip while learning the offense.

"It’s now all of a sudden taking it from the meeting room to I’m in the huddle, I’m spitting out a play call," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. "The cadence, the motions, just tying it all together. That position’s so unique and difficult beyond just the throwing ability, which he clearly has that the more reps he gets, it’ll only accelerate his progress."

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Under different circumstances, the Lions might look to give Hooker playing time — or even a start — this week, but the third-round pick out of Tennessee likely won't get any game reps this year.

Still, with Bridgewater set to retire after the season, Hooker stands a good chance of being Jared Goff's backup in 2024.

"He got an arm on him I can’t wait to see him play, I can’t wait to play with him," receiver Antoine Green said. "He’s developing his confidence, too. He’s out there getting the scout reps for the defense, so he’s working on his craft and I just can’t wait to see him play."

WR Antoine Green

Green has played in eight games as a backup this season and has one catch for 2 yards. He's primarily served as a perimeter blocker when he's been in the game, though like Martin he said he's seen major growth in his game in practice.

"This offense, it comes with a lot of detail compared to the offense I came from in college, cause we pride ourselves on splits here a lot cause it’s really important and it goes along with the timing stuff, too," he said. "In college, it was just like, 'Oh, you can just go out and line up outside the numbers and be cool.' But here you’ve got like seven different splits that you can line up in so it all falls in (line) with the play calls.

"So being able to line up and just know your assignment, like I said, developing that consistency, that’s what helped me a lot. And being that it’s been this long, like I said, I can actually look at what the defense is doing now, too, because I know my assignment better and I can identify what the defense is."

The Lions will have some decisions to make on their receiving corps this offseason as Josh Reynolds and Donovan Peoples-Jones are pending free agents. How Green slots into the receiving corps will be determined this spring, but he could play a bigger-than-normal role this week with Jameson Williams expected to miss the game with a sprained ankle.

"I just do what I can in practice just to prove myself and that I can help this team out and at the end of the day, when I get the opportunity I’m going to do my best to make the most of it," he said. "So they brought me here for a reason, they trust me and they see what I’m capable of, it’s just a matter of time."

OL Colby Sorsdal

Sorsdal is in a slightly different boat the rest of the group as he's made three fill-in starts at guard and played nearly a quarter of the Lions' offensive plays because of injuries on the offensive line.

A fifth-round pick out of William & Mary, Sorsdal played right tackle in college and moved to guard in the NFL. He's looked more comfortable playing right guard than left guard this season, but has held his own as a fill-in (including seeing some emergency time at right tackle) despite a rough Thanksgiving game against the Green Bay Packers.

The Lions gave Kayode Awosika their most recent fill-in start at guard against the Bears, when center Frank Ragnow was out, and it's possible Sorsdal and Awosika are battling for one starting spot next season as both of the Lions' starting guards, Jonah Jackson and Graham Glasgow, will be free agents in March.

"Coach Campbell has a great plan in place for our team to get ready for each opponent, but also for these young guys to develop on a weekly basis," Johnson said. "We structure practice in such a way that those guys are getting significant reps, they’re getting coached up really well and from the start of the season until now, or even in Hendon's case, just the last few weeks, you see progress each and every day when they’re out there. We take those reps very seriously and we coach them up and they continue to improve, so I think all those young players that haven’t necessarily gotten reps on game day, you see where, hey they’ve got a place in this league."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Checking in on Detroit Lions rookies Hendon Hooker, Brodric Martin