The Lions use an extra OL often but how effective is it?

The Detroit Lions have one of the NFL’s best starting offensive tackle tandems in LT Taylor Decker and RT Penei Sewell. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and head coach Dan Campbell like to augment the strong tackles by often adding a third tackle to the mix.

Matt Nelson plays an unusual amount for a reserve tackle that isn’t pressed into injury-relief duty. The Lions have used an extra tackle on 38 plays through the first five games. Only the Cleveland Browns, another run-heavy offense, have deployed a sixth OL more often (54) than the Lions in total plays. The Las Vegas Raiders creep just ahead of the Lions in the percentage of plays using six linemen, where Detroit ranks third at 11.4 percent.

The heavy volume of the heavier offensive package seems smart on the surface for a team that lacks a true blocking tight end. T.J. Hockenson and Brock Wright are receiving-oriented TEs, so bringing in the bruising Nelson to block instead of Hockenson or Wright appears to make sense. But is the extra tackle gambit paying off for Detroit?

Week 1

Using the sixth lineman sure worked well in Week 1. Nelson was the extra blocker for five plays. Four of the five were short-yardage or goal-line scenarios. On those plays, the Lions scored three touchdowns and the one that failed was immediately turned into a success with a TD on the following play.

The one standard down (1st-and-10) where Nelson was the sixth lineman against the Eagles resulted in a four-yard run by Jamaal Williams, a run to the other side of the formation from where Nelson was blocking.

Running success

The Lions only used an extra lineman once in the Week 5 shutout loss to the Patriots, and it was Dan Skipper instead of Nelson. On a 4th-and-1, Jamaal Williams got stuffed on an interior run. It was an unusual failure for a short-yardage run play with an extra lineman for Detroit’s offense.

The Lions have run the ball eight times this season with an extra lineman in short-yardage (4 yards or less to gain). Five of those have produced the desired result, either a first down or a touchdown. One of the fails was in Week 1 and the Lions scored on the next play, so the failure didn’t hurt.

Passing fancy

Detroit has thrown the ball 10 times with the heavy package on the field. It’s been a mixed bag of results, one where the catastrophic negatives ultimately outweigh the positives.

There have been some successes. In Week 2 against Washington, Jared Goff hit Hockenson off play-action for a nice…