We’re still talking pajam party, but I like what I’m hearing about this guy. He takes the game serious and is working his butt off. By year 2 he may be our starting WLB.
Allen Park — With less information to decipher, given the run game is grounded during seven-on-seven reps, Detroit Lions rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder was able to lock onto veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s movements while dropping into a middle field zone.
After taking the snap, Bridgewater first looked left, but his initial read was taken away by the coverage. Rolder watched as the quarterback patted the ball, understanding the progression would have to take Bridgewater to his right.
With urgency, Rolder drifted deeper, and as Bridgewater attempted to connect on a post pattern, the first-year defender found himself in position to make a play. Rolder leaped, fully extended and plucked the ball from the air before it reached its intended target.
In the moment, it’s an exhilarating exhibition of Rolder’s high-end athleticism and playmaking potential. However, there needs to be emphasis on the word “moment.” This was a small block in a foundation that’s in the earliest stages of being laid.
“We’re still here in our pajama party as (coach) Dan (Campbell) likes to call it,” outside linebackers coach David Corrao said. “So what we want to see from him is the recognition, running the huddle, lining the defense up, putting his eyes in the right place. And then when he does that, you see the fruits of it in those reps where he’s gotten those interceptions. We just want to see him stay on that trajectory and keep developing as a young player.”
Interceptions. Plural.
This was the first one Rolder had snagged in a practice open to the media, but he had at least one more earlier this offseason. That’s encouraging for a defender, like most young linebackers, who is better coming downhill and making plays with what’s happening in front of him than behind him.
And we can’t dismiss the fact that Rolder is still inexperienced, even more than the traditional rookie linebacker. He started just one season and logged fewer than 1,000 defensive snaps during his four years at Michigan.
But the thing about playing at Michigan, under defensive coordinators Jesse Minter and Wink Martindale, is Rolder has been exposed to NFL-caliber schematics since he stepped on campus.
“My scheme in college was pretty intense,” Rolder said. “Then, coming here, I’ve just been studying my butt off, honestly. Like, that’s pretty much all I do. I’m just trying to learn this playbook as fast as I can. This scheme, it’s complicated, a lot of details, a lot of moving parts, but I’m just going to stay in my book right now, watch film, and do what I can out there.”
Rolder’s experience and approach, even though he hasn’t banked the volume of reps someone like teammate Jack Campbell had coming out of Iowa, means he isn’t arriving in Detroit overwhelmed of what’s being asked of him.
In fact, another veteran in the linebacker room, Derrick Barnes, sees similarities with how quickly Campbell and Rolder process the game.
“Jimmy, he sort of reminds me of Jack,” Barnes said. “I say that because the guy is smart. He knows what he’s doing. You get in the meeting room and he can tell you the front to back of what we’re doing. …I’ve been in it for six years, so it comes easy to me. But for a guy like that, man, he just keeps showing progress each and every day. Very impressed by him, his movement skills, just by how big he is.”
It would be foolish to suggest the interception off Bridgewater doesn’t build Rolder’s confidence. Regardless, minutes later, the rookie is already committed to turning the page to the next practice.
“If you make a good play like that, it feels good,” Rolder said. “But with where I’m at right now, I’ve just got to flush it and move on to the next play. I can’t get too high on the highs or low with the lows. I’m just going to try to stay steady.”
Up next is training camp. That’s when the pads come on and the cream rises. Like any good linebacker, Rolder craves the contact on the horizon.
“Physicality is definitely my game,” he said. “I’m ready for training camp, so I can really put all my skill set on display.”
Detroit’s coaches are ready, too. They’ve been pleased with Rolder’s early progress and development.
“He’s been good,” linebacker coach Shaun Dion Hamilton said. “Still has a lot of room for growth, but I’m pretty good with where he is now. I just continue to challenge him day in and day out, where it’s always a learning curve for rookies coming from college football to the pros. I’m excited to work with him and it’s gonna be a lot of meat on the bone and a lot of things that he can grow (from) coming into training camp.
“…I can’t wait to see when training camp comes,” Hamilton said. “Now, we’re in OTAs and things like that. We can’t get too nitty-gritty, just out of protection of the players. I think that you’ll really see the instincts because it’s not just a seven-on-seven league. You’ll get to see in the run game and the pass game, see how those are tied together.”
Rolder, a fourth-round pick, is expected to begin his career as a reserve, backing up veteran Malcolm Rodriguez on the weakside. The Lions will also expect Rolder to log significant reps on a multiple special teams units.
Still, if his playmaking in coverage carries over to training camp, Rolder could push his way into a defensive role sooner than initially anticipated.