Healthy after rough rookie season, Detroit Lions DL Josh Paschal ready to make an impact

Josh Paschal’s freshman season at Kentucky was less than a month old when he blocked a game-changing punt in a win over Eastern Michigan. Paschal recorded his first college sack in the same game, and by the time he finished his freshman season, he was starting in the Wildcats’ bowl game.

Things came easy so quickly for Paschal in college that it was jarring last season when his rookie year did not follow suit.

Sidelined by a sports hernia most of the summer, he missed the first five games of the season, struggled to make an impact once he debuted, and lost his starting job after he missed more time with a knee injury in mid-November.

Paschal closed the season with a flourish, sacking Justin Fields twice in a 41-10 dismantling of the Chicago Bears in Week 17, and reflecting on his rookie year after practice this week, the second-year Detroit Lions defensive lineman said he gained a greater appreciation for just how important training camp is.

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“I knew I needed camp, but I didn’t know how much I needed it,” Paschal told the Free Press. “I definitely missed that last year. But I’m excited. I’m healthy this year, I’m going through camp and I feel like I’m making some decent plays. But each and every day I just got to get better and better, cause there’s a lot to work on still, so each and every day I got to get better and better.”

Eleven days into camp, Paschal has been a pleasant surprise for a Lions team that seems blessed with depth up front.

Aidan Hutchinson, John Cominsky, Alim McNeill and one of Isaiah Buggs or Brodric Martin have taken most first-team reps on the defensive line, with Charles Harris at the pass-rushing outside linebacker spot, but Paschal flashes daily as a run defender or pass rusher and seems assured of at least a rotational role this fall.

“That’s one player that I’m very excited for, for the simple fact of what you just said that he really didn’t get a chance to go through training camp last year,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “He really didn’t get a chance to go through an offseason program last year and he’s been able to do that, so I think we’re starting to see the fruits of that show up.”

At 6 feet 3 and 274 pounds, Paschal appears stronger and quicker after being healthy enough to participate in the Lions’ offseason program.

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He said he expects to play a similar role this fall to the one he played in 10 games as a rookie, “just more focused on stopping that run.” Last year, Paschal debuted as an every-down player, playing more than 80% of the Lions’ defensive snaps in his first three games. After returning from his knee injury, he played more than 16 snaps just once, when he had four solo tackles and two sacks against the Bears.

“He’s a powerful, physical man,” Glenn said. “And again, that’s why we drafted him in the second round. We expected those things from him. And he’s going to be a good player, he’s going to be a really good player, and I’m excited to see what he’s going to give us in the season.”

Paschal said he’s excited to see what the fall holds for him, too.

The Lions’ depth up front has made for more competitive practices, he said. Along with Paschal and the starting unit, Benito Jones, Levi Onwuzurike, Romeo Okwara and James Houston give the Lions two full platoons in their pass-rushing group.

And his strong finish to last season could serve as the springboard for a breakout 2023.

“It’s just more about the more reps you get, the more comfortable you are and I feel like right now I’m getting a lot of reps and I’m getting way more comfortable than I was before,” Paschal said. “And it was the same thing last year. The more reps I got during the games and stuff, cause I got put in midseason. That’s when I got off the PUP list, so to be able to have some reps and get more comfortable I feel like that’s what helped.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.