Tyrus Wheat might not be Za'Darius Smith, but he's the edge rusher the Detroit Lions picked to round out their rotation

Allen Park — Each time the Detroit Lions have signed a player to the roster or practice squad the past week — hell, each time they bring in a player for a workout — there’s inevitably someone on social media ready with a sardonic comment about that player not being an edge rusher.

It’s like Tyrus Wheat is invisible.

To some degree, that's understandable. Wheat isn’t a household name. He’s not Jadeveon Clowney, the former No. 1 pick and edge-rushing mercenary looking for his seventh team in the past eight seasons. Wheat is not Matthew Judon, the former Grand Valley State standout and four-time Pro Bowler who recently got scooped up by the Miami Dolphins. And lord knows Wheat isn’t Za’Darius Smith, who helped the Lions salvage their pass rush while Aidan Hutchinson healed up last season and has seemingly been elevated to messianic figure the longer he’s gone unsigned.

However, Wheat is here. He’s in the building. He has a locker. Of the nearly 1,200 players cut or waived by NFL teams last week, he’s the one the Lions liked enough to scoop off the waiver wire. They gave him a spot on the 53-man roster ahead of Isaac Ukwu, Nate Lynn and Mitchell Agude, who had each been with the team at least two full offseasons.

That alone should be a good enough reason to get to know what Wheat is about.

Remember Ronnell Lewis? A fourth-round pick for the Lions in 2012, the former Oklahoma standout who was nicknamed The Hammer. That’s a good comparison for Wheat’s 6-foot-2, 262-pound frame. He’s built like a brick house, with square shoulders and a wide chest.

If you’re in the same room with Wheat, he’s anything but invisible. What’s interesting is he wasn’t even 200 pounds coming out of Amite High School, located just outside Baton Rouge, where he starred on the basketball court and gridiron, playing linebacker and safety.

Some analysts thought Wheat could get selected in the early portion of the draft’s third day in 2023. Instead, he went undrafted, signing with the Cowboys. He didn’t initially make the team’s roster out of training camp as a rookie. However, he got promoted in early October and played a key role on special teams.

In his second season in Dallas, Wheat carved out a rotational role on defense, seeing nearly a third of the snaps in the eight weeks he was active. He even flashed some pass-rush potential, logging seven quarterback hurries on 71 passing snaps. That carried into this year's preseason, with eight more pressures on 70 reps.

Wheat thought he played decently last month, but knows a couple of sacks on top of those pressures might have changed Dallas’ mind about keeping him for a third season.

“I should have capped it off with some sacks, and I could have stopped the run better, too,” Wheat said.

Wheat rode an emotional rollercoaster last week, getting let go by Dallas on Tuesday and claimed by the Lions less than 24 hours later. He got off the ride and hopped on another, a plane to Detroit, where he’s thrown himself into the playbook, trying to catch up as quickly as he can.

There might not be enough time to get ready to play in Sunday’s season-opener against the Green Bay Packers, but Wheat is settling in nicely. He said he loves the scheme, which he called aggressive but with built-in freedom to make plays. He’s also been impressed with coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.

As for his rush style, Wheat said he’s more reactive than proactive, even though his first move is to test how the offensive tackle handles his power. From there, he builds his plan on that response, deciding whether to lean into that element of his skill set or utilize a little more finesse.

His favorite move is going outside in, feigning around the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle before cutting hard between the blocker and guard to that side. He also has a lot of confidence in his cross-chop, which he credited former Cowboys teammate and four-time Pro Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence for helping cultivate.

His tape shows Wheat plays with active hands, making it difficult for the blocker to latch on, offsetting his reach disadvantage. In Detroit, he is looking to add even more to his tool set, working alongside former first-round picks Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport.

“I know they can teach me a bunch that I don't know, so I'm excited,” Wheat said.

Is Wheat the answer to the collective prayers of Detroit’s fans? That’s probably a leap, but there is an intriguing skill set there, at least some proven regular-season production, and little question he fits some of Detroit’s stylistic preferences. He'll fill a void while Josh Paschal continues to work his way back from the non-football injury list, simultaneously auditioning for a longer look.

Maybe you’ll even be forced to learn his name.