Today marks Day 14 of Detroit Lions training camp, and while two weeks is hardly enough time to say anything declarative on the Lions’ biggest roster battles, it’s plenty enough time to check in and see how things have changed.
The Lions have had 10 practices so far, including a jog-through after their first two days of pads. They had a walk-through Friday with no media access, are off Sunday and have another walk-through Monday before starting joint practices with the New York Giants next week.
Here are some thoughts on what we’ve seen the first two weeks of camp:
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Running back
This was always going to be a time share between free agent addition David Montgomery and first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs, and nothing that’s happened since the start of camp would make anyone think anything different.
Montgomery and Gibbs have not been on the field together much, but they’ve both looked like capable backs who could be in for big seasons behind the Lions’ offensive line. Gibbs has had a concentration drop or two, but he can fly and he’s going to be dangerous as a runner. Montgomery has better hands than I realized, and we haven’t seen his tackle-breaking ability yet due to the nature of camp. Invest in both in your fantasy leagues, and enjoy both if you’re a Lions fan.
As for the backup job, Justin Jackson has the inside track on the No. 3 job based on his special teams ability. Along with handling kick returns, he’s playing as the Lions’ top personal protector right now. Craig Reynolds still runs hard and could make the roster if the Lions decide to keep four backs or go without a fullback.
Inside linebacker
Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone opened camp as the Lions’ starting linebackers, but when you draft an off-ball linebacker in Round 1, it stands to reason he’s going to move into the starting lineup eventually and that’s exactly what Jack Campbell has done over the last week.
Campbell has rare traits for the position. He’s big and long and covers ground like no other linebackers on the Lions roster. Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard has said the best players will play, but it’d be an upset if Campbell doesn’t open the season alongside Anzalone in the Lions’ base defense.
Both Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez have taken first-team reps in nickel packages. As young players with starting experience, there’s a good chance the Lions will want to reward them with situational roles early in the season. Barnes had a strong spring, while Rodriguez was nursing a bone bruise in his ankle, but both have shown up at times this summer.
Ultimately, I think the Lions will keep six inside linebackers as both Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Anthony Pittman offer good value on special teams. Pittman did open last season on practice squad, though, playing early in the year as a game day elevation before being added to the 53-man roster.
Safety/slot cornerback
The Lions are blessed with good depth at safety, and as with the linebacker position, seem poised to give their top four players a role on defense no matter who exits training camp as starters.
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Kerby Joseph and Tracy Walker have played primarily as safeties in camp, C.J. Gardner-Johnson has split his time between the safety and slot cornerback positions, and rookie second-round pick Brian Branch has gotten most of his reps inside in the nickel package.
Gardner-Johnson is a force multiplier in the back end and needs to be on the field. He’s excellent in the slot, but the Lions might be best served keeping him at safety to get Branch on the field as a nickel defender. Joseph is best deployed as a free safety, while Walker’s strength is his know-how as a box defender. He’s returning from a torn Achilles and spent the last few days of practice playing with the twos.
Will Harris can play just about anywhere in the secondary and should make the roster as a jack-of-all-trades. If the Lions have room for one more safety, it’ll come down to Saivion Smith and Ifeatu Melifonwu. The injury-prone Melifonwu hasn’t practiced in a few days because of a knee injury, and Smith has looked good repping with the second team.
Edge linebacker
It’s easy to forget about Charles Harris after he missed a large chunk of last season with a groin injury, but Harris has taken the vast majority of first-team reps at outside linebacker and is in line to play a significant role on Aaron Glenn’s defense this fall.
Harris essentially gives the Lions an extra pass rusher in their base defense, along with Aidan Hutchinson, John Cominsky, Alim McNeill and Isaiah Buggs up front, and can stay on the field in sub packages. James Houston showed his pass rush ability with eight sacks in a seven-game cameo last season. He’s not refined enough yet to be a three-down player, but he’s too talented to keep off the field.
Julian Okwara could be the odd man out at outside linebacker as a player on an expiring contract with a long injury history who was a draft pick of a previous regime and is down the depth chart. Okwara has natural pass rush ability, but might need a strong preseason to keep a job.
Backup WRs
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond are the Lions’ two best receivers, so they’re exempt from this discussion, and Jameson Williams will be in the playing group once he returns from his six-game suspension. But the Lions have a handful of other receivers — Josh Reynolds, Marvin Jones and Denzel Mims, most prominently — vying for playing time in a unit desperate for another dependable option to emerge.
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Reynolds has had a quiet camp, but he’s played mostly with the first-team offense and got off to a good start last year before injuries made him a non-factor. Jones, who missed the start of camp with a back injury, is a proven vet but on the back side of his career. And Mims is dripping with tools but has never had the production to match.
Undrafted rookie Dylan Drummond is a wild card in the receiver mix. He’s outperformed Reynolds, Jones and Mims so far, but it’s early and there’s security in the veterans’ track records. I’d put all of Reynolds, Jones and Mims on the roster if I was doing a 53-man prediction right now, but if none of that trio pops in preseason games I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Lions look elsewhere for receiver help somewhere down the road.
Kicker
This one’s a coin flip. Dan Campbell said as much the other day. Riley Patterson and Parker Romo have traded makes and misses all camp, and have almost identical stats in the kicking they’ve done for public consumption.
“There’s nothing that would necessarily tip you one way or another right now,” Campbell said. “We’re letting them compete.”
Patterson made 13 of 14 field goals in his first go-round with the Lions in 2021, and I thought it was telling that Campbell said he’s improved significantly on his kickoffs since last summer. Romo, the XFL Kicker of the Year, has one of the strongest legs in the league but needs to improve on his accuracy.
How both players perform in preseason games will go a long way towards determining the Lions’ kicker this fall.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.