Willie Young is an outgoing, affable Lions’ defensive end who has made a believer of most everyone. Still, he is not always in the conversation when talking about the talented defensive line.

Here are three reasons Young is overlooked as he enters his third season in Detroit.

1. He is not a starter. Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch certainly get more notice and deservedly so since at this point they are better than Young.

2. It’s mysterious because Young is not overlooked by the coaches and management. General manager Martin Mayhew said Young was one of three players who had caught his eye during OTAs and minicamp.

3. He was a seventh-round draft choice (North Carolina State). Had he been a first-rounder or even in the top four rounds this would all be different. The night of his draft, he was on a conference call from Florida with Detroit media members and it felt like he might jump out of the phone he was so excited. It’s hard to forget that because he still displays the same kind of excitement.

(Until the start of training camp, the Lowdown lists will appear daily, Monday through Friday. Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Email her at Paula.Pasche@oakpress.com.)