Brown and Williams played 100% of 11 and 12 personnel snaps. The two only lost time in 13 personnel, giving both wide receivers over a 90% snap rate over the first two weeks. Isaac TeSlaa was the only other Lions wide receiver to see a snap over the first two weeks, consistently playing in 11 personnel and taking some snaps in 13 personnel. This week, TeSlaa received snaps in 12 personnel for the first time this season, and Tay Martin garnered his first offensive snaps of the season. Detroit tight end Tyler Conklin was a healthy inactive after suiting up the last two weeks. This left Jackson Meeks as the Lions third tight end. Meeks is a hybrid wide receiver, so there were plays with Meeks as part of 13 personnel where he could be used like a receiver. This left both wide receivers at an 80. 6% route participation rate. St. Brown was at 95. 3% heading into the week, and Williams 91. 8%.
Several years later, the Lions are attempting to chart a similar path with Jackson Meeks, who permanently shifted from receiver to tight end this offseason. And it’s easy for Campbell to draw parallels. “I think that's the vision (for Meeks),” Campbell said. “When you see what the guy is, just kind of the skill set, the makeup — because not everybody can make that move. Everybody's dying to find those, and every year it's, ‘Hey, man, this guy, he's played basketball, or he's been a receiver here, we're just going to move him.’ There's a lot more that goes into it than just that. “We felt like Meeks has those qualities, man,” Campbell continued. “He's got the wiring for it. He's tough, he's competitive, he's smart. And obviously, his skill set, to be able to work the middle of the field, it's intriguing, and that's why we wanted to move him.”
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