Two years ago when Ziggy Ansah was drafted by the Lions, it was considered somewhat of a risky pick.

Ansah had only played football for two full seasons at BYU. 

Safe to say now that drafting Ansah was an excellent move.

He’s been a standout in his first two seasons.

“I think he can be even better. I think he’s a good solid player right now, I think this guy can be a phenomenal player, a great player if he keeps coming the way he’s coming,’’ GM Martin Mayhew said. “He’s just been a guy who’s consistently improved at every stage, every step along the way.

“He’s continued to become a better pass rusher, he’s been working on that pretty hard. The guy is so athletic, so big so physical, he’s a dominant run defender, so this guy brings a lot to the table,’’ Mayhew said.

Ansah started all 16 games in 2014 and missed just two games in his rookie season. He had 7.5 sacks in 2014, second only to Ndamukong Suh (8.5) and eight sacks in 2013.

At the end of last season, coach Jim Caldwell said he thinks Ansah is just scratching the surface.

No doubt there’s still room for improvement.

“This is a really big offseason for him as far as coming back and continuing to build on what he started building,’’ Mayhew said.

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)