Offensive tackle Taylor Decker earning new contract
This offseason, the Detroit Lions and fifth-year left tackle Taylor Decker inked a contract extension.
The five-year, $59.65 million deal carries a $14.9 million average — currently the eighth-highest in the NFL for an offensive tackle.
For a player who is under contract through 2024, it likelywon’t be long before Decker drops out of the top 10 altogether for the highest-paid tackles annually.
Considering howimportant the blindside protector is in an offense, it made a lot of sense for the Lions to lock up a cornerstone position for the foreseeable future.
Since Detroit general manager Bob Quinn drafted Decker with his first ever draft pick with the Lions in 2016, there have been some good games and some bad ones for the left tackle.
That’s not to say the extension was not met with at least some criticism.
Has Decker played at an elite level? No — at least not for an entire season.
Has Decker gone on some real nice stretches of play? Yes, he has.
So far, the Lions have played some of the best pass rushers in the game: the Chicago Bears’ KhalilMack, the Green Bay Packers’ Preston and Za’Darius Smith and the Arizona Cardinals’ Chandler Jones.
Despite the intimidating run of edge rushers, Decker has yet to allow a sack, according to Pro Football Focus.
However, he has allowed two
quarterback hits and seven total pressures.
For more perspective, his overall PFF grade of 82.6 is the sixth-best in the league for offensive tackles.
Three games is a very small sample size. But, Decker has been performing well, even dating back to last season.
Oddly enough, Decker graded out as the sixthbest tackle from Week 8 through Week 17 in the
2019 season.
The year is still in its early stages.
But, Decker is performing like one of the better tackles in football.
If this season and the last half of 2019 are examples of the type of play the Lions are going to get from Decker throughout his contract, the Lions have gotten a great deal.