The Detroit Lions have had few bright spots in 2019, but one has been linebacker Jahlani Tavai. The rookie from Hawaii has made some big plays, and made another as the Lions were taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Early in the game, Detroit got Tampa Bay backed up after some penalties and Jameis Winston fired an ill-advised pass right over the middle of the field to Tavai. The linebacker gobbled it up and secured his first career interception in Detroit.
Here’s a look at the great play:
This is far from the first impact play Tavai has made this season. Detroit’s young linebacker has been everywhere and done everything and has been a tackling machine for Detroit. The former second round pick didn’t have a whole lot of folks knowing who he was, but with this being his first start given the absence of Jarrad Davis, the chance was there for the Lions’ youngster to announce himself.
Consider that done with this nice play. The Lions didn’t score on the subsequent drive, but the nice play for Tavai was just as notable in the end for Detroit.
Jahlani Tavai Lions Stats
So far this season, Tavai has done a bit of everything for the Lions. He’s collected 50 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 fumble recovery coming into this game. Known for his hair, Tavai has made a ton of big plays for Detroit this season and has been a quality player for their defense.
As Tavai gets more time and sees more starts, the expectation would be that he can continue to make big plays like this and pile up more big time plays for Detroit.
Jahlani Tavai Lions Top Defensive Rookie
While the Lions are beginning to get solid snaps from Harris at safety, Detroit has quietly seen the majority of their impact plays come from Tavai at linebacker. He already forced one vital fumble this season, and has put up 22 tackles and 1 sack thus far this year.
Tavai is going to be a bright spot at the position, and early on, he has not looked overmatched on the field in the NFL. That’s huge given his smaller school stature and the expectations Lions fans had for him coming out of college into the draft. As Tavai continues to work in Matt Patricia’s defense, the expectation is he will get even better and be able to play even more of a consistent role for the team.
With the snaps all of Detroit’s rookies have gathered so far, they could be setting themselves up for a very bright future. Classically, playing rookies extended minutes in the NFL is indicative of a bad team, but the Lions are bucking that trend and staying competitive with them in the mix.
Tavai had his first ever interception and it came at a very opportune time for the Lions.
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Lions’ Jahlani Tavai Grabs First Career Interception [WATCH]