ALLEN PARK — Perhaps Ndamukong Suh said it best. He feels the Lions hoodwinked the Seattle Seahawks when they got DE Lawrence Jackson in a trade during training camp a year ago.

“Lawrence is one, a good friend to me and a guy I felt we stole from Seattle, we got a major steal from that. I think our front office did a great job with that,’’ Suh said.

Jackson, who was dealt for a draft pick, was injured when he arrived in Detroit a year ago which slowed his development.

“It’s one thing being traded to a team where the philosophy of lifting is so much different, and the preparation for the style of play is so much different. This offseason. it gave me a chance to get more explosive more in-tune with the play style that they like to use here,’’ Jackson said. “I think coming in healthy made a tremendous improvement in my game because I was out there every practice, didn’t miss anything, I was able to improve on things everyday.’’

He became stronger as the 2010 season wore on. He’s not a starter, but will see plenty of playing time when the Lions use a heavy rotation for the D-line.

“He’s a starter, he’s just unfortunately not in a starting role at this particular point. The great thing about our defense is that we rotate at any point in time, all eight of us, like Kyle (Vanden Bosch) said, we’re all starters. It’s just some guys start the game and some guys come in five plays later and play like a starter,’’ Suh said.

“So he’s a starter in my eyes, he’s a guy who’s going to have a big effect, a guy that a lot of teams are going to have to respect, look forward to and game plan for,’’ Suh said.

They weren’t saying those things about Jackson, who played at USC, back in Seattle. He just didn’t fit into their defensive scheme.

“Being on a team like this with players like we have on a D-line and them understanding the type of player that I am and appreciating my talent makes me feel good,’’ Jackson said.

And why wouldn’t it?

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