Breaking Down Detroit Lions' DE Rotation and Depth Chart

A quick glance at the Detroit Lions' defensive ends sees two returning starters and a reserve unit that's only missing one player. Yet there's something familiar when you look a little deeper.

The picture is blurry—the next few unpredictable months cloud the lens—but the basic features are there.

They're the 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers.

If you got excited, I'm sorry. I mean the medical mess that lost in six to the Golden State Warriors, not the Round 1 powerhouse.

There's a potentially dominant player and a group of head-scratching talents with varying ceilings. You know what you're getting with the top dog, but you wouldn't bet next month's Netflix subscription fee on any member of his supporting cast.

*Players included are based of the author's roster predictions.

Corey Wootton

Paul Connors/Associated Press

Aka Kendrick Perkins

The big man played three total minutes in the final series. The Cavs kept Kendrick Perkins around as an extremely deep injury reserve for his ability to bang with the competition.

It's hard to see Corey Wootton's season going any differently.

Wootton is 6'6" and 270 pounds. He'll survive roster cuts as Jason Jones insurance, and the Lions will use him as a defensive end or tackle based on need. He'll also have value in goal-line situations.

In short, he's a banger. 

Larry Webster

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Aka Tristan Thompson

The more athletic Perkins put up consistent numbers the last three years. Yet nobody noticed the double-doubles with his smooth bulk because his teams were terrible.

That wasn't a problem this year. As teams were eliminated from the playoffs, everyone learned the value of Thompson's game as he pounded the glass in prime time.

Larry Webster isn't Tristan Thompson. The comparison might be a stretch, but it's aided by Webster's recently added weight, 6'7" frame and 4.58 40-yard dash. Darryl Tapp told Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press that Webster "put in a lot of work this offseason" and "looks the part now."

But take head coach Jim Caldwell's praise from last December, per MLive.com's Justin Rogers, with a healthy dose of cynicism. Webster has never taken a regular-season snap.

However, if Caldwell's claim of development rings true and Webster learns quickly as a part of the rotation, maybe he'll make the same jump Thompson did in his second season.

Devin Taylor

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Aka Timofey Mozgov

The league laughed when the Cavs gave up two first-round picks for Mozgov. It's a steep price for a center who had never averaged 6.5 boards or 10 points for an entire season.

Yet he was pouring in points from the post and protecting the rim against Golden State. He even included a 28-point effort in Game 4.

Devin Taylor is in that same mold. He needs to exploit his niche while adding the little things that only show up in film study.

If he can give Detroit an occasional speed rush from the interior, that'll open things up for the other guys on this list.

Taylor knows he has the advantage, per Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News, so it's on him to exploit it: "They pretty much see me and J.J., I guess, as a similar body type, so they just work me inside. Especially being a defensive end you have a little bit maybe of a speed advantage over some of the other tackles because (offensive linemen are) not used to playing people who have that kind of quickness."

No wonder Darryl Tapp refers to this group as the "unknown knowns," per ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein. Taylor knows what he needs to do. We just don't know if he will.

Darryl Tapp

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Aka Matthew Dellavedova

Every team needs a junkyard dog. Pistons fans over 26 fondly recall Jerome Williams diving out of bounds for loose balls and occasionally getting rewarded by throwing down a nasty on the other end.

Matthew Dellavedova was that player late in the playoffs. He was a defensive hound who could get lucky with some funky stuff on offense.

But when those guys land feature roles, they flop harder than James Harden and LeBron James combined.

That sounds an awful lot like Darryl Tapp.

He's a wily veteran as opposed to a unknown youngster, but he's the guy you put in when your guys are gassed. And he'll pick his spots. He registered 17 pressures in 2015 on 123 pass-rushing snaps, giving him a higher pass-rushing productivity rate than DeMarcus Ware and Jason Pierre-Paul.

However, those numbers will not scale well. Tapp is the perfect guy to harass much larger but fatigued offensive tackles. Just don't ask him to do it on a regular basis. 

Jason Jones

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Aka A slightly younger Anderson Varejao

This one might require some imagination. Yet I have enough steely resolve to get you to the other side of the bridge because Anderson Varejao is Matthew Dellavedova mixed with Timofey Mozgov.

Varejao's minutes grew as he slid out late to take late charges or run around a slower big to own the offensive glass Dellavedova-style. Yet he could produce points by a more conventional means a la Mozgov, although his injury history sets him apart from both.

So it's natural for Jason Jones to sympathize with him. While he played every game last season, there were also 30 missed games in the six years prior.

Plus, he held stout in against the run game, earning a solid yet unspectacular 3.6 positive grade from PFF in that particular niche. That's the football equivalent of putting your body in front of a hard-charging Russell Westbrook.

But like Varejao and Dellavedova, you don't run a defense—or an offense—through those types of players. Jones in a starting role means there isn't a consistent pass-rushing threat on the left side. And there's no question offenses will attack his side rather than dealing with Ziggy Ansah.

Jones does, however, have the grit that teams need in the lesser talented positions. And he's capable of making a game-winning play or two.

Ezekiel Ansah

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Aka LeBron James

There's no doubt which player meant the most to his team in the NBA Finals. LeBron James led both teams in points, rebounds and assists. That's insane. 

And it's undoubtedly the level of performance the Lions must get from Ansah.

Jason Jones mustered five sacks playing with Ndamukong Suh and Ansah. George Johnson's six sacks in relief were traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving Devin Taylor and Darryl Tapp's 1.5 combined sacks behind. That's barely a plural word. Not a contribution.

The pressure on Ansah isn't as burdensome when weighed against his immense potential. Few have his physical gifts, and he's shown an incredible amount of growth against the run and in his play recognition.

Plus, his 64 total pressures were more than Mario Williams and one fewer than Cameron Wake.

But James wasn't always an unstoppable force. Everything didn't come together until he developed a post game. Ansah is being held back by his lack of inside moves.

In 2014, Ansah got to the quarterback on 62.5 percent of his pressures using an inside tactic but only used it on 11.1 of his pass-rushing snaps. His effectiveness drops over 20 percentage points when he goes outside. If he can add enough variation to become more confident with this style of attack, a Pro Bowl or All-Pro nod is within reach.

This is the first time Ansah has enjoyed a healthy, full offseason. Now the question is if Ansah had the passion necessary to put in the work to learn some new moves.

"

Ziggy Ansah wants to be the best defensive end in the NFL http://t.co/lBT8MKtm2C

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) June 5, 2015"

We'll see.

All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings 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.