The defensive line has been a weak spot for the Detroit Lions for quite some time now, and Bob Quinn has always seemed to make a priority out of drafting interior linemen.
The fixation on building depth at defensive tackle was good news for Utah nose tackle John Penisini, who was selected in the sixth round in 2020.
Towering over the defense at a massive 6-foot-2 and 333 pounds, Penisini was only expected to be the backup for recent free agent signing Danny Shelton.
What wasn’t expected for the sixth-round pick was his contributions to the defense throughout the entire 2020 season.
For the first two games of the season, the rookie defensive lineman was active but never saw his name show up in the box scores. Starting nose tackles aren’t known for their eye-popping stats, so the backups really are not expected to put up any big numbers.
John Penisini has been quite the find for the Lions. pic.twitter.com/Sc0rwdqRFz
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) November 22, 2020
Penisini saw his snap counts increase steadily from week to week. In Week 1, he only took 14 percent of defensive snaps. By Week 9, he saw that number go up to 67-percent.
His increased role didn’t change with the firing of Matt Patricia, which could also be attributed to Shelton’s placement on injured reserve in December.
Despite Detroit’s defense being ranked one of the worst against the run in 2020, Penisini performed quite well. The rookie racked up 35 tackles, four of which went for a loss of yardage. He also had one sack and a fumble recovery.
What was most impressive were his mechanics. Penisini was able to win many of his reps against notable offensive linemen in some physical matchups without drawing any penalties. The pairing of him and Shelton for 12 games this season helped create a wall in the interior of the defensive line which did well to defend against inside runs.
This rep from John Penisini vs. Ryan Kelly is fantastic. Great hand placement and just raw power. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/MtqXtMtR5s
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) November 1, 2020
Both Penisini and Shelton will return to Detroit in 2021, but don’t be surprised to see the duo share their reps once again. Right now, it looks like the Lions found a gem in the rough with Penisini, who could be the starting nose tackle for the foreseeable future.
