Kelvin Sheppard on Derrick Moore: "We're not just playing you more because you're a draft pick"

For a rookie drafted in the second round, Derrick Moore's snap count is headed in the wrong direction a month into the season. He was on the field for just nine defensive plays in the Lions' Week 3 win over the Jets, two of which came in Detroit's Hail Mary defense at the end of the first half.

So call it seven, down from 17 in Week 2 and 18 in Week 1.

The Lions are picking their spots with Moore, deploying him mostly on clear passing downs. He was always going to have a smaller role at the start of the season behind edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson and DJ Wonnum. The Lions' hope, as the year unfolds, is that Moore can form a dynamic duo with Wonnum across from Hutchinson and eventually take some snaps off Hutchinson's shoulders.

But he'll have to be better than this. And right now, Detroit's pass rush looks fine without him. The Lions are second in the NFL with 12 sacks, and have generated solid pressure with four-man fronts featuring Hutchinson and Wonnum on the edges and the trio of Alim McNeill, rookie Skyler Gill-Howard and Tyleik Williams on the interior.

"We're trying to find more ways to get him going more," defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said Thursday. "Obviously his rep count isn't high right now and things like that, but who are you pulling off the field?"

Moore didn't do much with his opportunities in Week 3. On his first snap, with the Jets facing 3rd and 6 in the second quarter, Moore was washed out around the edge by the right tackle while Geno Smith hit running back Breece Hall for a first down. On 1st and 10 later that drive, Moore was unblocked into the backfield and whiffed on Hall on what should have been a tackle for loss. Linebacker Derrick Barnes came in to clean it up.

Moore got some more looks in the fourth quarter with the Lions trying put away the game. He rushed from a standup position from linebacker depth on third and seven, ran a stunt with blitzing Jack Campbell and got held up by the center while Smith hit Isaiah Williams for a 21-yard gain.

His best rush came on the Jets' next drive on 3rd and 2 in the red zone. In a three-point stance on the left edge, Moore bull-rushed the right tackle into Smith's lap as Hutchinson collapsed the other end. Smith was forced to a dump off a pass to Braelon Allen who got blown up for Christian Izien for a loss of four.

He had another solid rush against the right tackle on the next play, this time from a two-point stance, but Smith dropped back and hit Garrett Wilson for a 22-yard touchdown on a highlight-reel grab by the receiver.

Moore's last rush of the game -- on the play before Chuck Clark's game-sealing strip-sack -- looked a lot like his first: He rushed from an upright stance on the left edge and ran himself past the quarterback with the help of the right tackle.

Asked Wednesday whether he prefers rushing from a two-point or three-point stance, Moore offered a general answer on the merits of either one: some edge rushers like to stand up so they can see everything behind the line, others use a 3-point or-4 point stance for more explosion off the ball.

"It just depends on what type of rusher you are," he said.

Moore thinks of himself as both.

Sheppard said Thursday that he's had "honest conversations" with Moore about his path to more playing time.

"There has to be merit to why we're playing you more. We're not just playing you more because you're a draft pick. We don't do that here. We never have. There has to be validation and merit. There has to be evidence. There have to be reasons why we're giving you more reps," said Sheppard. "But listen, the Derrick Moore thing I told him, 'Listen, it's coming. It's coming. It's just a matter of when and where, but it's coming.'"

When Moore was asked what he needs to do to get more opportunities on Sundays, he said, "Just keep my head down, stay disciplined and that’s it. Just let it all come to me."