Detroit Lions: Zach Zenner running away with roster spot

The Detroit Lions drafted a big time college football back in Ameer Abdullah this year to replace the departed Reggie Bush, but it might be undrafted Zach Zenner who is turning the most heads this preseason.

Zenner, who played his college ball at South Dakota State, has long been a favorite of ours here at NFL Mocks. He’s proving that not only was he dominant against a ‘lower’ level of college athletes, but he can hang with the big boys as well.

In the Lions’ 22-17 victory on Friday night, Zenner touched the ball a total of 8 times, but he made the most of those touches by rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown, including a 3-yard score at the end that won the game for the Lions. It was an impressive display of running for Zenner, perhaps his most impressive thus far as a pro, and thanks to his big performance he might be close to locking up a roster spot with Detroit.

Speaking of Abdullah, he should know a thing or two about Zenner since two years ago, the Jackrabbits came into Blackshirts territory and Zenner put on a show. Nebraska won the game, but that was sort of a big stage coming out party for Zenner, who firmly planted himself on the NFL map in that game and went on to have a phenomenal career. Not many athletes can boast the dominance that Zenner had in college, where he rushed for over 2,000 yards in three straight seasons. Now, even the fantasy football guys are starting to take notice…

Though he wasn’t known for his power in college as much as his ability to just run away from people, Zenner showed incredible strength on his touchdown run last night. Look at him carry a host of Jaguars players into the end zone here:

And here’s a shot of Zenner’s 41-yard run earlier in the game, his longest of the night.

This has been a phenomenal preseason for Zenner, who has all but locked up a spot on the Lions’ final roster. There’s no doubt he would get picked up by another team if the Lions put him on waivers, so the practice squad is out of the question.

I had originally pegged Zenner as a 4th round player in this crop of running backs, but due to the insane number of players that were coming out at that position this year, he sort of got lost in the shuffle. That was clearly a mistake for the rest of the NFL, but the Lions were fortunate enough to convince this guy to come be part of what they are doing, and now they’re reaping the benefits.

It won’t be long before Zenner is doing this in the regular season, either.

Next: Lions vs. Jaguars first half observations