Allen Park — Following the Detroit Lions’ second preseason game, and heading into the finale this week in Carolina, let’s assess how we see the 53-man roster shaping up. As a reminder, teams must establish their initial rosters by Aug. 29 at 4 p.m.
Quarterback (2)
▶ In: Jared Goff, Teddy Bridgewater
▶ Out: Nate Sudfeld, Adrian Martinez
▶ Non-Football Injury: Hendon Hooker
▶ Thoughts: Since our previous projection, the Lions upgraded their backup-QB situation, signing veteran Teddy Bridgewater. Given the late start to his offseason, he’s playing catch-up learning the playbook and system verbiage, but it’s not to the point where the team needs to carry a third quarterback into the regular season.
Bridgewater played most of the first half in Detroit’s second preseason game, completing 5 of 11 passes for 34 yards. He also lost a fumble after his offensive line allowed a defender to instantly penetrate the backfield. That’s obviously an uninspiring stat line, but hardly cause for concern, given the subpar blocking and some receiver drops that prevented the unit from getting anything going in the contest.
Running back (4)
▶ In: David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Craig Reynolds, Jason Cabinda
▶ Out: Jermar Jefferson, Benny Snell, Devine Ozigbo
▶ Thoughts: Detroit has been holding an open audition for running back No. 3 all offseason, and signs point to Reynolds holding on for the role. He’s battled an injury this training camp, and it’s tough to get excited about his eight carries for 13 yards in extending playing time against Jacksonville, but the trust of the coaching staff and special-teams experience should be enough to carry him across the finish line.
As for Cabinda, it’s probably best to not overanalyze the offensive role, instead focusing on his special-teams contributions. If he stays healthy, he could easily give the team between 250-300 high-quality snaps on kickoffs and punts.
Wide receiver (6)
▶ In: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond, Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds, Dylan Drummond, Chase Cota
▶ Out: Antoine Green, Trinity Benson, Maurice Alexander, Avery Davis, Jason Moore
▶ Suspended: Jameson Williams
▶ Thoughts: Maybe the ceiling isn’t as high as it would have been with recently released Denzel Mims, but Cota has played his way onto the roster, giving the Lions a big-bodied receiver with intriguing athleticism at the back of the depth chart. Through steady improvement and preseason contributions, he’s proven worthy of continued development.
Admittedly, it’s possible the Lions carry just five receivers to start the season. St. Brown, Raymond, Reynolds and Jones offer a veteran mix more than capable of shouldering the load during Williams’ six-game suspension. But we just feel like Drummond should be rewarded for his remarkable offseason, which started as a tryout player during rookie minicamp.
Yes, the Eastern Michigan product squandered an opportunity to solidify his case with a couple of drops in the last preseason game, but his preparation and production throughout camp have set him apart as a first-year player. The counter-argument is he hasn’t shown much in the preseason games, which should make it easier to slide him onto the practice squad, compared to Green, the speedy seventh-rounder who might get claimed if waived.
Tight end (3)
▶ In: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, James Mitchell
▶ Out: Darrell Daniels, Daniel Helm
▶ Thoughts: Shane Zylstra’s leg injury, suffered early in camp, provided an unfortunate bit of clarity at the position. The Lions like their young mix at tight end, and all three are likely to have game-day roles, although the expectation is LaPorta will consume a larger piece of the pie as he irons out some natural, first-year inconsistencies.
Offensive line (9)
▶ In: Taylor Decker, Penei Sewell, Jonah Jackson, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, Matt Nelson, Colby Sorsdal, Bobby Hart
▶ Out: Kayode Awosika, Germain Ifedi, Obinna Eze, Darrin Paulo, Ryan Swoboda, Max Pircher, Brad Cecil, Connor Galvin, Alex Mollette
▶ Thoughts: It can admittedly be difficult to evaluate individual offensive linemen when the backups struggle as a collective. Chemistry and continuity are so valuable to line play and it’s close to impossible to establish that during training camp.
Detroit’s top six up front are easy to identify. The only lingering mystery is whether it’s Vaitai or Glasgow who wins the starting job at right guard. And it’s a near certainty that Sorsdal makes the roster, even though the fifth-round pick is in clear need of development before he’s ready to be relied upon as an in-game injury replacement.
That leaves a pair of depth spots up for grabs, and if we’re being honest, both are coin flips heading into the preseason finale. We’re leaning toward Nelson over Ifedi at tackle, based on familiarity, more than anything. And with the final interior spot, we’re swapping out Awosika for Hart in this projection.
A camp addition, Hart got the start against Jacksonville and largely held his own, playing more than 60 snaps at guard. Bringing extensive starting experience, which includes a lot of work at right tackle, his veteran versatility could be a stabilizing piece off the bench.
Defensive line (10)
▶ In: Aidan Hutchinson, Charles Harris, Romeo Okwara, Josh Paschal, Alim McNeill, Isaiah Buggs, John Cominsky, Benito Jones, Brodric Martin, Levi Onwuzurike
▶ Out: Christian Covington, Cory Durden, Chris Smith
▶ Thoughts: When you factor in a couple of the outside linebackers listed below, the Lions have a surprising amount of quality depth on the edges. Similarly, the defensive interior looks improved from a year ago, but not because of offseason additions. It’s more about the work McNeill has put in to transform his body and Onwuzurike being healthy for the first time in his career.
Onwuzurike’s offseason emergence is important because Martin, a third-round draft pick, doesn’t look as ready to contribute as he might have during the early stages of training camp. He was always supposed to be a developmental project, and he’ll need to continue to focus on conditioning and pad level to maximize his impressive size and strength.
Linebacker (7)
▶ In: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Anthony Pittman, James Houston, Jalen Reeves-Maybin
▶ Out: Julian Okwara, Trevor Nowaske
▶ Thoughts: Speaking of positional improvements, the addition of Campbell has taken Detroit’s linebacking corps up a notch, maybe two. And while he’s the unquestioned future of the franchise in the heart of the defense, he’s likely going to open the season rotating with a much-improved Barnes and the always-reliable and instinctual Rodriguez.
Meanwhile, Pittman and Reeves-Maybin don’t have paths to defensive snaps without an injury elsewhere on the depth chart, but both figure to be part of the lifeblood of Detroit’s special teams.
Finally, Houston rounds out the mix as a blossoming jack-of-all-trades. His calling card remains his pass-rush prowess, while the Lions continue to develop his ability to play off the ball on early downs. He’s also primed for a big special-teams role in his second season, leading the team in kickoff and punt coverage/return snaps against Jacksonville.
Okwara remains the tough cut, even after 3.0 sacks in the preseason opener and a fourth against the Jaguars that was wiped out by a penalty. Given the league-wide premium on pass-rushing talent, the Lions should be exploring what the trade market could bring back for the talented 25-year-old.
Defensive back (9)
▶ In: Cam Sutton, Jerry Jacobs, Will Harris, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Kerby Joseph, Tracy Walker, Brian Branch, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Starling Thomas V
▶ Out: Chase Lucas, Saivion Smith, Khalil Dorsey, Brady Breeze, Steven Gilmore, Brandon Joseph, Colby Richardson, Scott Nelson
▶ PUP: Emmanuel Moseley
▶ Thoughts: If there wasn’t a consistent concern with Melifonwu’s durability, we’d feel much more strongly about putting him on the roster. Not only has he shown obvious growth at safety, but he’s probably Detroit’s best gunner on punt coverage. That said, he’s reportedly dealing with another injury issue, so who really knows where that leaves him?
Obviously, Gilmore is coming off an outstanding preseason showing, and the undrafted rookie has had a solid offseason overall, but we’re having trouble squeezing him onto the roster. Thomas’ sturdier frame and clearer ability to contribute on special teams are separating factors between the two.
Lucas is also a tough cut, but Detroit’s nickel depth with the emergence of Branch and the versatile reliability of Harris, help it make sense.
Specialists (3)
▶ In: Jack Fox, Riley Patterson, Scott Daly
▶ Out: Parker Romo
▶ Thoughts: Daly fended off the challenge of two-time Pro Bowler Jake McQuaid, who was cut earlier in camp. That left Patterson and Romo as the only “battle” among the specialists. It’s long felt like the Lions would side with Patterson’s experience unless Romo bowled them over. Despite having the stronger leg, he just hasn’t been consistent enough to have changed any minds.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers