This Detroit Lions’ roster has come a long way since 2021 — the start of everything under this regime. Last season was the breakthrough, with five Pro Bowlers, a strong collection of young talent and a core that reached the NFC Championship. The majority of that group is set to return for another run in 2024.
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But even with all that going for them, it’s not a roster without questions.
Many of them will be answered in training camp when the pads come on and there’s money to be made. But based on the offseason moves and spring workouts, we have a pretty good idea of the key position battles and the top contenders duking it out.
Let’s discuss.
WR3
With Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams locked in as Detroit’s top two wide receivers, the battle for WR3 should play out in training camp. There are a few in-house options that could be ready for an increased workload.
Antoine Green, a 2023 seventh-round pick, spent quite a bit of time with the first-team offense this spring. The Lions liked how he developed last year, even if consistent targets weren’t coming his way. Campbell spoke highly of him during minicamp.
“I would say AG was another guy that by the end of the year, we felt improvement,” Campbell said. “There was a noticeable difference from the time he walked in here to the end of the season, just what he was doing on scout teams for us. He played a little bit at the end of the year, but those targets were going other places. But we saw significant growth. We saw speed. We saw speed on the releases. He’s a smart football player, knew the offense. Really having high hopes came in early this camp.”
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In addition to Green, Donovan Peoples-Jones remains in the picture. After trading for him at the deadline, the Lions re-signed Peoples-Jones this offseason. He has the athletic profile and body type of an X receiver and also has an 800-yard season under his belt in the NFL. He split first-team reps as the No. 3 receiver with Green this spring. And while he’s probably better in a reserve role, Kalif Raymond has been a productive player when called upon and could see more targets this season.
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One thing worth noting: The Lions have some cap space at their disposal. If a notable receiver is on the verge of being cut in training camp, the Lions could have the resources to make a move or outbid another team.
There’s an opportunity with Josh Reynolds off to Denver. Who’s going to seize it?
“Something we’ve talked about with the skill group, those opportunities go elsewhere now and we need guys to step up and rise to the occasion just like he did,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said of Josh Reynolds. “It might be someone who didn’t have as much production last year — say an Antoine Green or a Peoples-Jones — or some of the guys we had on the scout team. That could be it. Or it could be some of the other guys. …That’s what we’re trying to figure out this springtime and in training camp, is not just who the guys are we’ll hang our hats on, but also how we distribute those carries and targets as the season goes.”
Defensive end (opposite Aidan Hutchinson)
Not of ton of drama here, but I do think it’s worth discussing the battle between Josh Paschal and Marcus Davenport. Paschal is entering his third year. Right now, he hasn’t proven to be much of a pass-rush threat, with just 10 pressures and a 5.8 percent win rate last season. The latter ranked 75th among 78 edge rushers with at least 250 pass-rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Still, Holmes believes in the power of a third-year breakout, and you have to think the Lions would love nothing more than for Paschal to emerge in Year 3. He was getting all the first-team reps this spring with Davenport shelved.
At the same time, a healthy Davenport can be a difference-maker. He’s not too far removed from a really strong 2021 campaign (nine sacks; 18.3 win rate in 11 games). If you’re on the more optimistic side of things, perhaps the Lions can get a healthy, productive Davenport for double-digit games. That might be asking a lot, though. He’ll have to prove he’s still that guy, and he’s already missed time this spring.
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I think the early edge goes to Davenport given his upside as a pass-rusher who can also defend the run, but Paschal — and really, Davenport’s body — could have something to say about it.
TE3
This is starting to feel like a make-or-break year for James Mitchell. He’s been nothing more than TE3 for the Lions since he arrived. As a fifth-rounder, you can deal with that — especially considering there’s an All-Pro in Sam LaPorta and a trusted presence like Brock Wright in front of him. But there is pressure mounting. Shane Zylstra, injured all of last season, looked very good in OTAs. Campbell said he picked up where he left off before the injury, when he was repping over Mitchell at the end of the 2022 season. I would not be surprised if Zylstra beats out Mitchell. He’s got work to do.
Secondary
We had to categorize this one as “secondary” because it’s truly that wide open. There are also a ton of moving parts.
At corner, we know Carlton Davis III is locked in on the outside. The Lions traded a third-round pick for just one year of his services guaranteed. He’s a Week 1 starter. Elsewhere, though, the position is far from settled. Amik Robertson could play on the outside. Emmanuel Moseley, expected back for training camp after tearing his ACL last October, was a talented outside option before the injury, and Brad Holmes essentially told us not to forget about him. And then there are the rookies — Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. If the season started today, my best guess would be Davis and Arnold as your outside starters.
As for the nickel spot, this is where things get interesting. The Lions have hinted at the possibility of Brian Branch moving from nickel to safety. Now, that could just be a situational or part-time thing. At the same time, I think the staff will try to get their best five DBs on the field together. We know Branch is one, and his versatility could help facilitate a starting job for someone else. If Branch moves to safety, we could see someone like Robertson — who was repping at nickel in Branch’s absence this spring — replace him.
What would that mean for the safety spot? The Lions have three starting-caliber safeties in Branch, Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu. Truth be told, Branch and Melifonwu can do a lot of the same things. And while Joseph’s aggressive tendencies get him in trouble sometimes, he has ballhawking skills and range like no one else on the roster. If Branch moves to safety, I think he’d be paired with Joseph, with Melifonwu as a rotational third safety.
“We have so many options right now, so much competitiveness,” Campbell said earlier this month. “…The talent level, the competitiveness, the versatility. Honestly, we have no idea who our starting lineup’s going to be right now and it’s exciting. It’s so good. There’s no telling who’s going to be our outside corners, who’s going to be our nickel, who’s going to be our safeties. This thing is wide open across the board. It’s going to be great to let these guys compete and just go after it and see who goes and is going to be the most reliable guys for us, most dependable. It’s exciting.”
Fascinated to see how this plays out.
RB3
I spent quite a bit of time watching fourth-round pick Sione Vaki during OTAs and minicamp. Talk about a natural football player.
It’s easy to see why the Lions fell in love with him — and why they view him as a running back. As a receiver out of the backfield, he looked like a crisp route runner, which makes sense given his receiving background in high school. He broke a few long runs and ran by the defense when he did. I’m not sure what his upside is and I’m not sure the Lions do, either. But I do think he’s already the third-most talented RB on the roster. Right now, the Lions are working on the intricacies of the position — pass protection, terminology, etc. It might take time, but he has the look of a quick study.
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“The great part of a guy that we get at that age, he’s already very sharp,” Lions RBs coach Scottie Montgomery said of Vaki. “We knew that mentally he was going to be a sharp kid. But now we’re not really having to re-teach. It’s a flat surface for us, this is just foundation. …He’s not having to cancel out two offenses that he had in college or why we’re doing this. He just understands, ‘Okay, here’s what we’re doing here, here’s why we’re doing it, and this is how it fits into the schematic hole for our football club.’ So everything that he learns every day, he has it. He’s been as good as most guys that we see from a rookie standpoint, from a mental error standpoint.”
That doesn’t mean he’ll be handed the job, though. This staff values Craig Reynolds’ toughness, IQ, knowledge of the playbook, and special teams contributions. He’s as resilient as they come. May the best man win.
Kicker
If we’re going off of spring observations, James Turner would be the front-runner for the kicking job. He was generally the more consistent option, with more leg strength than Michael Badgley, though the Lions clearly like Badgley and he’s done it in games, unlike the unproven Turner. However, the latest development here could put an end to the competition. The Lions reportedly will sign UFL standout Jake Bates this week. Have to think he’d be the new favorite, considering the length of the reported deal (two years) and his impressive leg strength. Bates won’t be handed the job, but if he performs like he did this past season in training camp, he should win.
(Top photo of Kerby Joseph: Junfu Han / USA Today)
