Pittsburgh — Here’s a look at who is trending up and who is trending down coming out of the Detroit Lions’ preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night.
► Stock up: Cornerback A.J. Parker
Parker, who had one of the roughest practices we’ve seen in the early days of training camp, has rapidly developed to the point where he might be the team’s starting nickel back to open the season.
The undrafted rookie out of Kansas State found himself working with the first-team defense against the Steelers and making play after play while the rest of the unit around him struggled to find its footing.
Parker finished the night with a pass breakup, two tackles for loss and eight overall stops as he pushes for more than a spot at the back end of the roster.
► Stock down: Linebacker Jahlani Tavai
While the coaching staff continues to prop up Tavai, praising his intelligence and work ethic after his struggles in the preseason opener, the former second-round pick’s performance was even worse against the Steelers.
Working in a starting role with Jamie Collins and Alex Anzalone held out of action, Tavai routinely found himself out of position in coverage, and when in position, he struggled to make the play, including a missed tackle that turned into a monster gain for running back Najee Harris.
Tavai’s usage on the practice field and the preseason would suggest he’s on the right side of the roster bubble, but coach Dan Campbell noted after the game there will be guys who people expected to make the team who won’t. Tavai seems like a prime candidate to fit that description.
► Treading water: Cornerback Jeff Okudah
There’s little denying Okudah has had an excellent training camp, but a trouble spot from last season, the deep ball, bit him against the Steelers. Okudah found himself badly out of position on a 43-yard reception by Diontae Johnson in the first quarter.
But Okudah settled nicely, sealing an edge on a red zone run that funneled the running back inside when he was dropped after a short gain. And later in the first half, Okudah had a pass breakup in the end zone when he had blanket coverage on JuJu Smith-Schuster.
► Stock up: Linebacker Derrick Barnes
Barnes only got eight snaps a week ago, but somehow managed to make a big impression with his playmaking ability. Against the Steelers, the workload expanded, but that playmaking ability persisted.
Deep in the red zone, Barnes dropped directly into quarterback Mason Rudolph’s passing lane, nearly coming away with an interception. And later in the second half, the rookie linebacker came away with a second pass breakup, in man-on-man coverage, before scoring a sack on a smoothly executed third-down blitz.
The Lions are going to have a difficult time keeping him off the field this season, at this rate.
► Stock down: Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Like Tavai, Reeves-Maybin failed to capitalize on his opportunity to start a preseason game. Most of his glaring struggles came in coverage. He gave up a touchdown to rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth on an out-and-up, and got beat twice by former teammate Eric Ebron for first downs.
Reeves-Maybin also whiffed on a sack. He came through the Steelers line untouched on a blitz, but lowered his head, taking his eyes off his target, running past Rudolph. The quarterback was able to scramble for a short gain, setting up fourth-and-1, which the Steelers converted.
► Treading water: Offensive tackle Penei Sewell
Sewell drew a stiff test, going head-to-head with three-time Pro Bowler Melvin Ingram. The veteran edge rusher generated some pressure, putting the rookie in some awkward positions, but the first-round pick didn’t give up a sack like he did a week earlier.
► Stock up: Quarterback David Blough
Blough came in midway through the third quarter and led the Lions on a trio of touchdown drives. Yeah, he got away with a couple mistakes throwing into coverage, but he ultimately completed 12 of his 17 throws for 143 yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions.
The touchdown appeared to be a broken play, with Blough finding rookie Javon McKinley in the back of the end zone while on the move. Additionally, the quarterback made some uncharacteristically impressive plays with his feet, rushing for a pair of 10-plus-yard gains to keep the first scoring drive alive.
Yes, you have to take the level of competition Blough saw in the second half into account when evaluating his performance, but he’s pushing the Lions to give him more consideration for the top backup job behind starter Jared Goff.
► Stock down: Quarterback Tim Boyle
With Goff put into bubble wrap, Boyle got the start. Admittedly, it wasn’t under the best circumstances. The Lions were without their top receiver, tight end, two running backs, left tackle and center, but the team still expected the young veteran to be more competitive than he was, regardless of the circumstances.
With five possessions, across two and a half quarters, Boyle completed seven of his 15 throws for 44 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. He did have an intentional grounding when he desperately flung the ball to no one to avoid a sack.
Boyle came to Detroit with a reputation for putting up big numbers in the preseason, but that has yet to show up during his time with the Lions, allowing Boyle to linger in their competition.
► Treading water: Running back Craig Reynolds
Fresh off his stellar debut last week, Reynolds didn’t give up any ground, despite being near the bottom of the depth chart. Seeing most of his touches in the fourth quarter, the newcomer found the end zone for the second time in as many weeks, rushing for 29 yards on six carries. He also got a couple opportunities to return kicks.
That extra versatility will keep him in the mix for a practice squad spot.
► Stock up: Wide receiver Tom Kennedy
Just like he did in the preseason opener, Kennedy led the Lions in receiving, while contributing a big fourth-quarter catch that kept the team’s comeback hopes alive.
The former lacrosse standout is proving to be a tough cover for opposing second- and third-string defensive backs. Against the Steelers, he gained 61 yards, catching all four balls thrown his direction. The big gain came late in the fourth quarter, when he took a short slant 31 yards to convert a fourth down.
► Stock down: Safety Will Harris
One of Harris’ primary jobs as a safety in this scheme is to provide support over the top and he twice failed against the Steelers, biting on Freiermuth’s double move that resulted in one of his two touchdowns, while also arriving late when Johnson blew past Okudah in the opening quarter.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @justin_rogers