A Look At The Detroit Lions Claiming Of Offensive Lineman Adam Bisnowaty Off Waivers
The Detroit Lions 2018 off-season has been largely about adding talent, competition, and depth to the trenches on both sides of the football. The Lions added Frank Ragnow and Tyrell Crosby through the draft, Kenny Wiggins and Wesley Johnson in free agency, as well as multiple UDFAs to the offensive line. Lions general manager Bob Quinn chose to increase that competition by claiming offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty off waivers following his release from the New York Giants on Monday.
The Giants cutting Bisnowaty is a slight surprise considering he was a 6th round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. One of his biggest attributions coming out of the draft was mental and physical strength. Similarly to teammate Frank Ragnow, his mentality was to put the opposing player into the ground on every play. However, he is no where near the athlete Ragnow is.
The addition of Bisnowaty to the Lions fits perfectly into Quinn’s overt preference for height, size, and length out of his offensive lineman. The Lions are likely to start week one with three offensive lineman 6’6″ and over that were all added to this team under Quinn. Even the depth lineman, UDFAs, and camp body offensive lineman nearly all possess upper tier size for the NFL.
His hand usage and length worth well together in pass protection. Extends well to keep defenders at a distance and can maul with power straight on. However, lateral quickness was an issue for him in college, even before his injury history started building. This shows up big in the running game when he was asked to block in space. Now, this is not typically as big of a deal with tackles. However, if the Lions continue to feature a zone heavy run scheme, this inability may really hurt his ability to earn a roster spot in Detroit.
Ultimately, is lack of athletic ability does limit his ceiling, but with his technique and tenacity, Bisnowaty has the potential to compete for the Lions final offensive line spot. It may depend on the new blocking scheme in Detroit, however he is still young enough to be put on the practice squad as well, in the event Detroit chooses not to use one of their final 53-man roster designations on him.
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