As a baseball player, Jimmy Rolder was a power-hitting third baseman who committed to Illinois his sophomore year of high school.
As a football player, the Detroit Lions’ newest linebacker is pretty good at that, too.
The Lions took Rolder with the 18th pick of the fourth round of Saturday’s NFL draft, No. 118 overall, adding the Michigan standout to a defense includes two other high-profile Wolverines.
The Lions traded up to take Rolder's Michigan teammate, Derrick Moore, in the second round of the draft, and count ex-Wolverines pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson as one of their best players.
Rolder said the Lions' draw to Michigan defenders is obvious.
"I think just the way we play," Rolder said Saturday afternoon. "At Michigan, the way we play defense, we held our hat on playing physical, playing tough, playing with high effort and that’s what you’re going to get out of a Michigan defender like Derrick Moore and like myself."
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A one-year starter at Michigan, Rolder had a career-high 73 tackles and two sacks last season, and should contribute on special teams and compete for a rotational role on the Lions defense this fall.
The Lions return starting linebackers Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes, but lost defensive staple Alex Anzalone in free agency and are thin on the unit.
Malcolm Rodriguez is the favorite to win the No. 3 linebacker job, and the Lions also re-signed Trevor Nowaske and added Damone Clark in free agency.
Rolder said his best attribute as a player is "I just play hard."
And he said his lack of experience is a positive as he heads to the NFL.
"I think I just really started coming into my own and I think I’m really just getting started," he said. "I just had that one year starting and as I was playing I was just playing with more and more confidence each week and I think the ceiling is way, way high now and I’m just excited for the opportunity to take it to the next level."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New Detroit Lions LB Jimmy Rolder sees massive upside in NFL