Who Will Win Detroit Lions' Outside Linebacker Battle

Is Tahir Whitehead out of a job? Because there unequivocally won't be a battle for the middle linebacker gig, according to head coach Jim Caldwell (h/t Kyle Meinke of Mlive.com):

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Coach Jim Caldwell confirmed this week that Tulloch will maintain his hold on the middle linebacker job for a fifth straight year.

"I would anticipate it," Caldwell said Wednesday during the final day of deliberations at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. "He's highly experienced and highly productive. And he's a great leader."

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Caldwell did, however, intimate that Whitehead's duties won't be limited to backing up the Lions' defensive captain:

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That's the great thing about it. We have some flexibility there (with Whitehead). That's the nice thing. We can move those guys around a bit, particularly because of the fact he played so well at a number of spots we put him in. That's going to allow us to slide him where we need him to be.

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That's where things get interesting. If you'll recall, Whitehead was originally the strong-side starter last season and slid over after Tulloch went down with an ACL injury. Now he has his sights set on reclaiming his old gig, but 2014 second-round pick Kyle Van Noy has his own designs on the job.

Let's take a look at how these two candidates measure up at outside linebacker.

Tahir Whitehead

The fulcrum of Detroit's defensive success was its ability to stop the run. Tulloch was absolutely amazing in this respect, notching 14 defensive stops (plays that constitute an offensive failure) in just 140 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. There was a legitimate fear that Whitehead's move to the middle would severely weaken the unit.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

And it appeared that would be the case at first. The New York Jets rolled up 132 rushing yards on a 4.9-yard average the next week, 52 of which came on the first drive. But Whitehead and the defense ultimately settled down and held the Buffalo Bills to just 2.2 yards per carry in the next game.

While Whitehead didn't match his predecessor's torrid pace, he still finished as the fourth-most productive Lion in terms of stops (30). Plus, he was a better pass defender. Tulloch allowed opponents to complete all seven of the passes attempted against him. Whitehead only allowed 72.3 percent of targeted passes to be completed to his man, and he notched two pass defenses and a couple interceptions.

Whitehead isn't a better middle linebacker than Tulloch, but he is stronger against the air game. That strength will come into play later, but let's break down the other man vying for the OLB starting spot. 

Kyle Van Noy

While Whitehead has blossomed into a known quantity, Van Noy is the biggest wild card entering the 2015 season.

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

He's still the same guy that Detroit traded up for in the second round. He's rangy and quick, but not a crazy athlete by today's standards. His 4.71 40-yard dash and 32" vertical, per NFL.com, didn't make him an early Day 2 prospect, although the speed is decent enough. Rather, it was his football intelligence and ability to create an outside pass rush.

However, the former is where he failed the most in 2014.

Van Noy often looked hesitant and lost on the field. It was as if he was thinking through the move instead of playing the game, which led to him missing opportunities. Another offseason of practice should help alleviate the problem that was likely created by spending the first half of the season the PUP list.

Regardless, when he was given a shot, the report was almost always the same:

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Kyle Van Noy playing a bit more than usual early today, but other than flushing Bridgewater on that play, hasn't made much impact.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) December 14, 2014"

He finished the season with just one stop in 54 snaps. We outlined above that Whitehead wasn't on Tulloch's level when it came to the run game, but Whitehead was much more effective than Van Noy. 

Early Verdict

This is one of those "good" problems. The Lions have two young linebackers who might deserve playing time and will have to craft a solution that best benefits the team.

And that's exactly what defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will do.

He'll shuffle Tulloch, Whitehead and Van Noy in to fit their strengths, assuming Van Noy starts to feel comfortable with more practice and in-game reps. Therefore, the base linebacking group will likely be Tulloch, Whitehead and DeAndre Levy, with Van Noy finding some run as a third-down specialist because of his pass-rushing potential.

When Van Noy comes in, it's likely Whitehead would either come off the field or take Tulloch's spot. Whitehead only logged one sack, two quarterback hits and four hurries as a pass-rusher. It isn't his forte. Van Noy's ability to create stress on the edges of an offense will help him carve out a role in this defense. 

So who will win the job? Whitehead. And if he builds on the foundation he laid last season, the competition will be over quickly. But Van Noy will be given a chance to add his talents to the mix, giving opponents even more variables to prepare for.

All combine statistics are sourced from NFL.com. All advanced stats, rankings and grades are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.