Detroit Lions' best players: We've reached No. 1, and it is ...
Summer is the one lull in the NFL calendar, and with the Detroit Lions reporting for training camp this week, we decided to spend 20 days counting down the 20 best players on the roster.
This isn’t a look at what players have done in the past, or even how they played last year. This is more of a prediction of how good each player will be — and the role they’ll play in helping the Lions win or lose — this fall.
No. 1: Ziggy Ansah
Position: Defensive end.
Age: 27.
2015 stats: 16 games — 47 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles.
Contract status: The Lions exercised a non-guaranteed option for 2017 on Ansah this spring.
Why he’s No. 1: Ansah emerged as one of the best pass rushers in the National Football League last year in just his third season. He finished third in the league in sacks and fell a half sack shy of Robert Porcher’s team record. Everyone in the Lions organization says Ansah is still scratching the surface of his potential as a player, and while that may seem hard to believe at age 27, remember he’s played six years of organized football. Matthew Stafford may be more important to the Lions’ record this fall given the position he plays, but Ansah is one of the most impactful edge players in the league. He’s improved as a run defender every year, has natural athletic ability that’s difficult for blockers to contain and is tough enough to play through injury.
• Lions place three players on PUP list
2016 projection: As long as Ansah stays healthy, he should start every game at right defensive end and threaten the Lions’ single-season sack record again.
Lions' best players countdown
Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.