One of the biggest winners from the Detroit Lions’ preseason opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was the performance of rookie UDFA Eric O’Neill. O’Neil’s big-game help positions him to make a run at the 53-man roster, according to John Whiticar of Pride of Detroit.
Whiticar pointed to O’Neil getting on the field early and being able to get a couple of pressures with star quarterback Joe Burrow on the field as a reason to buy his stock after the preseason opener.
“O’Neill was seeing snaps early in the first quarter against Bengals starters and played into the fourth quarter, and he rarely looked gassed,” wrote Whiticar. “He is still off the roster bubble, but he is worth watching going forward.”
O’Neill has not flashed consistently enough in training camp, and the edge rusher room still has some sorting out to do before O’Neill can be deemed a roster option. However, he took a major first step against the Bengals and might have locked himself onto the practice squad.
Detroit Lions Edge Rusher Eric O’Neill Was a Preseason Winner
GettyEric O’Neill #99
O’Neill played 38 snaps in the first preseason game. He had 18 snaps against the run, 19 snaps as a pass rusher, and then one snap in coverage. While PFF grades are not everything, he did post an impressive 72.5, which is above average.
In total, he had two pressures, with one being a quarterback hit. The hit being on Burrow does add a layer of intrigue, as the Bengals starters were on the field.
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The big issue for O’Neill is that the roster crunch is going to be working against him. Aidan Hutchinson, D.J. Wonnum, and Tyler Lacy did not play because they had their jobs locked down. Derrick Moore did not play because he was not quite healthy enough. However, the second-round rookie is going to get a much longer leash to make the roster than the rookie UDFA.
Right there, they have four Lions set to make the 53-man roster over O’Neill. Ahmed Hassanein did play in the first preseason game and was even more impressive than O’Neill. He was a draft pick last year and is now in a position where he should be making the roster.
This leaves Payton Turner, Tyre West, and Anthony Lucas. There is likely one spot, and potentially none, for those three and O’Neill to compete for.
Turner is a former first-round pick but has not been healthy enough to make the roster at this point. West is a seventh-round pick. So, while O’Neill has flashed more, he might just now be catching West for the sixth spot.
Lucas had intrigue as a rookie UDFA, but O’Neill has been the better option so far. Still, O’Neill is sixth or seventh in the pecking order right now. There is still a lot of climbing for him to do to make the roster.
However, a couple more games like his first preseason game will lead to a practice squad lock.
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