The problem with Lions' edge rusher James Houston

In 2013 the Detroit Lions had this rookie sensation come out of nowhere. I'm talking about tight end Joseph Fauria. He went from being this undrafted rookie that nobody really knew to this guy that suddenly made the 53-man roster and then would up scoring seven touchdowns that season. 

The expectations off of that became pretty unrealistic. To the point where people thought he was going to just come out and replicate that in 2024 and that the Lions were set at tight end. He played seven more games in the NFL and never played again. 

In 2022 something similar happened. The Lions drafted James Houston in the sixth round. While Houston did not initially make the roster becasue he struggled at camp, he wound up getting elevated on Thanksgiving day and had a two sack game against the Bills. 

The Lions signed him to the 53-man roster later that week and he picked up six more sacks down the stretch. Because of that, the expectations sky rocketed just like they did with Fauria. So high that everyone completely ignored the issues the Lions had with Houston in 2022 and then completely ignored the issues the team had with him again in 2023. 

That's where the comparison ends. Houston is a responsible player that has the drive to get better while Fauria hurt himself playing volleyball and then made up a story about injuring himself while trying to get his puppy to stop peeing in the house.

This story is purely about expectations and how they can lead to disappointment if you set them to a level that's hard to reach.

The expectation is that he'll jump out there on Week 1 of the 2024 season and be a force on the other side of  Aidan Hutchinson on the Lions defensive line. But the reality is we don't really even know what position this guy plays. Can he be more than a pass rush specialist? 

I think those eight sacks in 2022 really hid the fact that Houston wasn't on the field a ton. The Lions would put him in Nascar packages and give him opportunities to rush the passer, but they didn't use him in a lot of other areas and when they did, he struggled. 

That's why it took so long to bring Houston up in 2022. He was struggling to nail down his role as a linebacker and it looked like he just wasn't ready yet. Even in 2023 the Lions started moving Houston around in camp in order to find a spot for him. They put him at SAM linebacker, but he was Charles Harris' backup in that spot. Lions head coach Dan Campbell talked last July about how Houston had a long way to go. 

“Yeah, I think, look we’re doing a lot with him at SAM linebacker when we’re in base defense and then certainly he’ll play some of that sub D-end or get a chance to on third down. So, we know he has some ability and craft, but we’re trying to really expand his horizons if you will. Man, if he can play some of this SAM backer, (Lions DL) Charles (Harris) is really the starter right now. It takes – man, he has to dive into the playbook. He has to know the calls. He has to understand all the adjustments to formations, things of that nature and that’s where once he grows, if he can get to that point, now he – potentially, he won't come off the field, but he has a long way to go before that happens."

Basically what I'm saying is that the questions we had about Houston in 2022 and 2023 are still very much there. Houston is still a player that is going through development and he should be looked at as such. It seems as though he's been looked at as the missing piece to the Lions pass rush. 

While he can certainly help there in some regard, there were questions last summer about if he had more moves than just his bend. That question made you wonder abotu how developed he was. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Gleen did say that Houston had been working on those moves, but he never really got a chance to show them. 

“Absolutely, he’s very unique when it comes to being a pass rusher. Well, here’s the good thing about Houston this whole offseason, he’s learned different moves other than just being able to just bend around the corner on guys. So, I think we’re all looking forward to seeing the different techniques he has as far as being a pass rusher.”

This is not us taking a dig at Houston. There's talent there and that's why the Lions brought him back this offseason. There's just questions to be answered and he just hasn't had enough playing time to answer them. We'll see what happens in camp this summer. Right now the assumption shouldn't be that he's a lock to be a starter or even have a major impact.