Allen Park — Physically and mentally, defensive lineman Josh Paschal was more advanced than a typical rookie when the Detroit Lions drafted him in the second round out of Kentucky last year. Still, the challenge of missing his first offseason program because of a core muscle injury proved to be a developmental hurdle.
After sitting out the first six games last season, Paschal was immediately asked to shoulder a sizeable workload, averaging nearly 60 snaps per game in his first three weeks, in large part due to injuries to guys who started the season ahead of him on the depth chart.