Detroit Lions' third-round pick Julian Okwara inactive vs. Packers as team needs pass rush

Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read

GREEN BAY, Wis. — One of the Detroit Lions' top draft picks is expected to make his NFL debut Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, while another is a healthy scratch from the lineup.

First-round pick Jeff Okudah is active for the Lions after missing last week's opener against the Chicago Bears with a hamstring injury. Okudah is expected to see significant time at left cornerback, with starter Desmond Trufant out with a hamstring injury.

Third-round pick Julian Okwara, meanwhile, is inactive.

Lions linebacker Julian Okwara
Lions linebacker Julian Okwara

Okwara, who was drafted to help the Lions' sagging pass rush, played just seven defensive snaps in the opener, though Lions coach Matt Patricia insisted last week he had bigger plans for the rookie.

"I would say in last week’s game, probably the role was pretty defined is when we were trying to get him out on the field and maybe all those situations didn’t come up necessarily in its entirety," Patricia said. "He’s working hard, he’s trying to improve, and I think with the shorter camp and the offseason and all that stuff, some of these guys are just trying to bring him along at the right pace to get him out there to help us. Sometimes it’s a little bit of a different timeline than normal right now."

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Along with Okwara and Trufant, right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (foot), wide receiver Kenny Golladay (hamstring), defensive tackle Nick Williams (shoulder), tight end Hunter Bryant (hamstring) and cornerback Chris Jones are inactive for the Lions,

The Lions previously ruled out Golladay, Williams and Bryant, while Vaitai was officially questionable on the injury report. Tyrell Crosby took first-team reps at right tackle with Vaitai out all of last week and will make his second straight start Sunday.

Oday Aboushi is expected to start at left guard in place of Joe Dahl, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions inactives vs. Green Bay Packers: OL Vaitai, DL Okwara