Travis Swanson Becoming Lone Bright Spot from Lions' 2014 Draft Class

The Detroit Lions are 8-4 and in the thick of the NFC playoff race, but they are doing so without much contribution from the rookie class. The disappointing draft class has done very little thus far, though third-round pick Travis Swanson is emerging as a real potential bright spot. 

Any initial enthusiasm for general manager Martin Mayhew's draft class of 2014 has died and blown away like the leaves on the late autumn trees. Swanson is the only starter, and he's there only out of injury-induced necessity.

Round	Player	Position	College
1	Eric Ebron	TE	North Carolina
2	Kyle Van Noy	OLB	BYU
3	Travis Swanson	C	Arkansas
4	Nevin Lawson	CB	Utah State
4	Larry Webster	DE	Bloomsburg
5	Caraun Reid	DT	Princeton
6	T.J. Jones	WR	Notre Dame
7	Nate Freese	K	Boston College

Eric Ebron continues to frustrate. He's made some good plays, but it's his failures which seem to be more memorable. The tight end flashes dynamic ability with plays like this one from the Thanksgiving win over Chicago...

"

#Lions Eric Ebron hurdles #Bears Fuller. @NFLRT https://t.co/zS6hczqIxU

— Shane Richardson (@ShaneNFL) November 27, 2014"

...but rightly earns public scorn for his drops, lapses in concentration and generally ineffective play:

"

Eric Ebron is having one of the worst games anyone has had at any position all year. Up there with Alex Henery.

— Dean Holden (@Dean_Holden) November 23, 2014"

There is hope Ebron is turning the corner, as he played relatively well vs. Chicago. Still, his Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grade for the season is decidedly in the red at minus-4.3. His longest gain on the season is 17 yards, not exactly living up to his scouting billing from NFL.com as a "highly athletic, highly productive 'F' tight end loaded with upside and mismatch capability. Possesses the speed, movement skills, hands and run-after-catch skills to emerge as a playmaking weapon in the pros."

While Ebron has underwhelmed, Kyle Van Noy has not even had a chance to do that much. The speedy linebacker missed the first eight games recovering from sports hernia surgery over the summer. 

He's seen the field for just 26 defensive snaps in his four games, registering four tackles. Right now he's buried in the rotation behind a player signed off the street in Josh Bynes. Van Noy is making some impact on special teams, but that's not what the Lions envisioned when trading up to secure his services with the 40th overall pick. 

"

Kyle Van Noy is quietly killing it on special teams. Need more than that from him, but at least he's doing work.

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) November 30, 2014"

Better days are in store for those two, but neither has come close to matching expectations. 

Swanson's play has been a bit of a surprise. He struggled mightily in the preseason, as noted by Detroit Lions Draft: 

"

Travis Swanson continues to struggle at center. He botched one exchange and made the QB work extra for a couple others. From my vantage point, it appears he’s not getting the ball up high enough, quick enough. He had three bad ones in Saturday’s practice too.

"

Thrown into action when starting right guard Larry Warford went down with a knee injury, Swanson has acquitted himself nicely considering the circumstances. After all, he's a center by trade and his skills are a better fit at left guard (less power-oriented) than on the right side.

He had his best game against Chicago, showcasing his athleticism and ability to create second-level running opportunities for the backs.

"

Nice work by Travis Swanson in the second level there. Good sign for Raiola's presumptive replacement.

— Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) November 27, 2014"

His effort earned his best PFF grade in his starting guard duty. While his numbers aren't pretty, much of the problem is in his run-blocking work at the line of scrimmage. 

Opp.	Overall	Pass Block	Screen Block	Run Block	QB Hit
Miami	-2.5	-3.4	-0.5	1.2	0
Arizona	-4.2	0.5	0.0	-4.8	1
New England	-2.2	-0.2	0.0	-2.2	1
Chicago	-0.6	-0.6	0.5	-0.7	1

Swanson has big shoes to fill for Warford, PFF's offensive rookie of the year in 2013. His improvement while playing out of position is a pleasant development. Keep in mind this is a player MLive's Kyle Meinke correctly noted wasn't expected to play in 2014. 

Teams have attacked him, testing the rookie. He's had some rough reps, including one against Chicago which generated lots of social media scorn:

"

Travis Swanson just got abused by Will Sutton, loss of 2 for Joique Bell.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) November 27, 2014"

As with Ebron and Van Noy and, really, all rookies, the growing pains are a necessary evil. 

The players have to actually be on the field to experience those growing pains, and that's not something that can be said for the rest of the draft class. Caraun Reid is the only other player who sees the field, and he gets just a handful of defensive tackle snaps per game.

Nevin Lawson played just five quarters before tearing up his foot in Week 2. Larry Webster has been a gameday inactive every week, essentially redshirting his rookie campaign as he makes the jump from the D-II level. TJ Jones spent the first 10 weeks on the PUP list and just resumed practicing. It's unlikely he sees the field until next year. 

Then there's Nate Freese. His name conjures anguished, pained facial contortions among the Detroit faithful for his truly awful kicking performance. The best thing about his Lions career is that it ended quickly; in his three games Freese missed more field goals (four) than he made (three). 

It's not exactly an impressive first year for Mayhew's draft class. Yet recent solid performances by Ebron and especially Swanson show there is hope for better days down the road. The Lions are fortunate they haven't had to rely heavily on rookies as they have in years past.