Josh Katzenstein's final Lions grades

OFFENSE: QB Matthew Stafford: Like many players, Stafford is hard to evaluate because of the Jekyll-and-Hyde season he had. While the coaching and offensive line were partly to blame, Stafford was just bad in the first half of the year. Some of his better performances looked good statistically because of late, meaningless touchdowns. In the second half, Stafford was excellent, so good that it’s easy to overlook the poor defenses the Lions played. But, the Lions would’ve had a shot at the playoffs if he played better soon. Grade: B-minus

RB Ameer Abdullah: The second-round pick was undeniably the Lions’ top rusher as he led all backs in carries (143), yards (597) and yards per carry (4.2). Add in his 29.1 yards per kickoff return, which ranked second in the NFL, and it was a solid first year. Unfortunately, he struggled mightily to break any tackles, had a couple poor routes that led to turnovers and had five fumbles. Grade: C-plus

RB Theo Riddick: With 80 catches for 697 yards, Riddick set new franchise records for running backs, and he did it in style, consistently making defenders miss tackles. He was tied for first among running backs in catches and second in receiving yards. The only issues were his one fumble and 3.1-yard rushing average, but he’s still a top special teams player (five tackles), too. Grade: A-minus

RB Joique Bell: To start the season, Bell was horrendous, gaining just 22 yards on 20 carries the first three games. After sitting out Weeks 4-6, he actually turned in an efficient effort averaging 4.1 yards per carry and 14.4 yards per reception in the final 10 games. Whether due to injury or age, he just never proved he could handle a full workload with just two games with more than eight carries. Grade: C-minus

RB George Winn: Winn appeared in just seven games, but with four tackles, he proved to be a solid contributor on special teams like he was in 2014. He gained just 1 yard on four carries. Grade: C

FB Michael Burton: Burton played about 15 snaps per game, which is good value for a fifth-round pick. He was mostly solid as a blocker, but he didn’t make many splashes on special teams with just two tackles. He gained four first downs on 10 touches, but had a long play of 12 yards.Grade: B

WR Calvin Johnson: With just two games of 100-plus yards, this was a different kind of season than usual for Johnson, but his overall production remained strong. He finished with 88 catches for 1,214 yards — ranking 10th in the league — and nine touchdowns. His impact on defenses even when he’s not making plays can’t be understated, and his total production is impressive considering the lack of downfield passing. He did have a career low in yards per catch at 13.8. Grade: A-minus

WR Golden Tate: Tate was also a victim of the lack of downfield passing as his 9-yard average per catch was the lowest of his career. He had 90 catches for 813 yards and six touchdowns, and he led all receivers by forcing 30 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Grade: B-plus

WR Lance Moore: Considering Moore’s career looked over after just 14 catches in Pittsburgh in 2014, he had a redemptive season for the Lions, finishing with 29 catches for 337 yards and four touchdowns. He became a reliable, savvy option in the pass game even if he had just one big play per game. Grade: B-minus

WR Corey Fuller: His lack of production forced Fuller to the bench the final three games. He had just four catches for 76 yards with most of the production coming in a blowout loss to Arizona. Fuller was ineffective on special teams, too, and had four penalties. Grade: F

WR TJ Jones: Jones played 10 games and had some impressive played. Five of his 10 catches were first downs, and he gained 132 yards and scored a touchdown. He also had a 28-yard punt return and a 34-yard kickoff return. Grade: C-plus

TE Eric Ebron: He showed significant improvement in Year 2 and finished with 47 catches for 537 yards and five touchdowns. He played better when he was the undisputed top tight end available. Ebron’s blocking — and hands — still must improve, but the coaches aren’t utilizing his downfield speed. Grade: C

TE Brandon Pettigrew: Pettigrew was better than last year, but he was still a limited factor in the passing game with seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. He was the best option at his position, but still isn’t a stellar blocker. A torn ACL adds to doubt about his future in Detroit. Grade: C-minus

TE Tim Wright: Considering kicker Kyle Brindza played just four games for Tampa Bay, it’s fair to say the Lions won the trade for Wright, who appeared in nine. He was limited as the third tight end and had just nine catches for 77 yards, but added two touchdowns. He struggled as a blocker. Grade: C-minus

LT Riley Reiff: After some early struggles, along with the rest of the line, Reiff turned in a solid season. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed six sacks for the year, but just one in the final six games. He was also the most consistent run blocker, but he had six penalties. Grade: B-minus

RT Michael Ola: Ola was the primary right tackle the last eight games and started the final seven, and the offensive line played much better with him in that spot. How much that was due to a new blocking scheme is unclear, but he was an obvious upgrade and could be a good depth option next season. Grade: C-plus

OT Cornelius Lucas: He started the first three games, but was a liability as a pass blocker in those games. He was better in Week 17 when he played spot duty and had some bright spots as the sixth lineman in packages. Overall, a big step back from his rookie year. Grade: F

RG Larry Warford: An ankle injury forced Warford to miss three of the first five games, and he struggled at times playing through it. Although he was still effective downfield blocking on screens, his run blocking wasn’t as good as previous years. Grade: C-plus

LG Laken Tomlinson: He undoubtedly improved, and as he got more comfortable, the line played better. The first-round pick allowed four sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He started 14 games and looked good blocking downfield, though he was overpowered at the line sometimes and had six penalties.Grade: C-minus

G/C Manny Ramirez: With how he played compared to other linemen at the start of the year, his benching was a surprise. He started the first five games at the two guard spots and two more late in the year at center, and he was solid when he played. Grade: B

C Travis Swanson: Swanson really struggled in his first year as a starter. He was easily overpowered at times and struggled with the variety of moves against solid defensive tackles. For the most part, there were few snap issues in his 14 starts, which is critically important. Grade: D

DEFENSE: DE Ziggy Ansah: In his third season, Ansah was the team’s most valuable player, ranking third in the NFL with 14.5 sacks. He also had four forced fumbles, two recoveries, 47 tackles and 15 for loss, and his chase down of Adrian Peterson will be a career highlight. Reducing penalties (eight) is the next step for him. Grade: A

DE Jason Jones: Jones had another good but not great year. He had 4.5 sacks and forced one fumble, and when the run defense thrived, he was a reason why. Penalties were a problem for him, too, as he had seven. Grade: B-minus

DE Devin Taylor: Taylor took advantage of the increased opportunities, making people forget about the Lions losing George Johnson. Seven sacks doubled his total from the first two years. He forced a fumble and was second among linemen with 35 tackles and nine for loss. Grade: B-plus

DE Darryl Tapp: The veteran remained solid against the run and had two sacks and eight quarterback hits. He did his job, but fell to fourth in the rotation. Grade: C

DT Haloti Ngata: The former Ravens star struggled early in the season, but his improvement was key for the stellar run defense in the second half. He finished with 2.5 sacks, which are his most since 2012, but he had a career-low 24 tackles. Grade: B-minus

DT Caraun Reid: Reid is strong for his size, but still needs to get stronger to be consistently disruptive. He had seven tackles for loss and two sacks, and after an early ankle injury, he started the final 12 games. Grade: C

DT Gabe Wright: He played seven games and was a non-factor. He had six tackles and one for loss. Although an ankle injury in Week 10, forced him to miss a game, he was a healthy scratch for the final six. The Lions traded a third-round pick in 2016 to take him in the fourth round in 2015. Grade: D

DT Jermelle Cudjo: He played seven games and had seven tackles and one quarterback hit. He was a healthy scratch for nine games. Grade: D

LB Stephen Tulloch: This is actually one of the easiest players to grade. He was good against the run, totaling 107 tackles and nine tackles for loss. He was also bad against the pass, forcing the coaches to take him out on obvious passing downs. Whether the issues were due to injury or age, his $7.3 million cap hit next year could be tough to handle. Grade: C

LB Tahir Whitehead: It was stunning that Whitehead had a reduced role to start the year. Then, when he played more, the defense played better. He was easily the top all-around linebacker and had 47 tackles, seven for loss, one sack, one interception and six passes defensed. Grade: B

LB Josh Bynes: He was rarely stellar but not a glaring weak spot, and he filled in for DeAndre Levy admirably. He finished with 54 tackles, five for loss, a half sack, a forced fumble and five pass break-ups. Grade: C-plus

LB Travis Lewis: He had a big first half against the Seahawks, but was otherwise unimpressive defensively. He had two tackles for loss and one sack. He also ranked second on the team with eight special teams tackles. Grade: C-minus

LB Brandon Copeland: He played more at the end of the year, but was still hardly a factor on defense. However, he was among the top special teams players with five tackles in the third phase. Grade: C-plus

LB Kyle Van Noy: He remained at the bottom of the depth chart for nearly his entire second season, a disappointing lack of development from a second-round pick. He did have a sack, though, and three special teams tackles. He was a liability in coverage, though. Grade: D

CB Darius Slay: It’s a shame for Slay that his worst game — vs. Denver — was on national TV. Outside of that game, there were really only a couple plays where he lost badly one-on-one. Teams rarely threw at him in the second half, but he still had 13 passes defensed. His 59 tackles are a sign of his good run play. Grade: A-

CB Nevin Lawson: If he can hone his physicality — seven penalties — he could be a reliable option on the outside. He was an upgrade in coverage over Rashean Mathis the second half of the year, and even though he gave up plays due to constant targeting, he made up for them with 47 tackles and seven passes defensed. Grade: C-plus

CB Quandre Diggs: Diggs provided incredible return for a sixth-round rookie, and he showed good instincts and physicality at nickel before a poor game in Week 17. He had 38 tackles, two for loss, six passes defensed, a forced fumble and a recovery. One issue was his five penalties. Grade: B-plus

CB Rashean Mathis: He had a rough start, particularly struggling to close the gap on crossing patterns when playing off coverage. He was still solid in run support in seven games with 31 tackles, three for loss and a forced fumble. He had an interception and four pass breakups, too. Grade: C

CB Josh Wilson: He appeared in eight games before his season ending-knee injury and provided heady, veteran play at nickel. He had 31 tackles, three for loss, a half sack and a fumble recovery. He only broke up one pass, though. Grade: C-minus

CB Crezdon Butler: His only statistical contribution in three tackles in eight games, but he had the key pass break-up on a late two-point conversion against the Packers in Week 10. He played less than 30 snaps. Grade: C

S Glover Quin: Quin wasn’t quite as good as last year when he played at an All-Pro level, but he was still a consistent playmaker with 67 tackles, four interceptions and a forced fumble. He also had to deal with regular lineup changes in front and around him. Grade: B-plus

S Isa Abdul-Quddus: The Lions were 7-1 with him in the starting lineup as his speed helped the defense, and he showed an ability to play the run and pass, though there were occasional issues in coverage. He had 55 tackles, two for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and six passes defensed. Grade: B

S James Ihedigbo: He couldn’t match his Pro Bowl-level performance from last year, but when he was good, he was still a hard hitter. He had 62 tackles, three for loss, one sack, one interception and three forced fumbles. But he too often looked slow in coverage and had five penalties. Grade: C-minus

S Don Carey: He played sparingly on defense, but performed like the captain on special teams, leading all Lions with an impressive 14 tackles on teams. His four penalties were an issue, though. Grade: B

SPECIAL TEAMS: K Matt Prater: He made 22 of 24 field goals, including a franchise-record 59-yarder in Week 17. The biggest issue was his three missed extra points, even though one was blocked. Grade: A-minus

P Sam Martin: Martin improved in his third year, and on 80 punts, he had just three touchbacks. He averaged 42 net yards on his punts, ranking fourth, and the Lions didn’t allow a touchdown with him punting and kicking off. Grade: A-minus

LS Don Muhlbach: He still has the fastball, and there weren’t any notable snap issues. He wants to return and is still playing at a high level. Grade: A

INCOMPLETES: LB DeAndre Levy, DT Tyrunn Walker, QB Dan Orlovsky, RB Zach Zenner, DT Khyri Thornton, OT Corey Robinson, S Isaiah Johnson, TE Bear Pascoe, DT Kerry Hyder, C Gabe Ikard, C Braxston Cave