The Detroit Lions will be heading to training camp in less than two weeks. The 2024 season is just about upon us. Before we head into camp and find out what the actual roster is going to look like at the end of August, we're going to make our pre-camp prediction on the roster, depth chart and the practice squad. Here's what we got:
Quarterback (2)
Starter: Jared Goff
Backup: Hendon Hooker
Out: Nate Sudfeld
No surprises here. Goff and Hooker will be the Lions two quarterbacks with Nate Sudfeld sticking with the team to be their practice squad guy.
Running Back (4)
Starters: Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery
Backups: Sione Vaki, Zonovan Knight
Out: Craig Reynolds, Jermar Jefferson, Jake Funk
Vaki is going to be a fun addition to an already really fun backfield. I've gone back and forth on Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight as the fourth guy. It's hard to rule out Knight. He just has so much potential.
Wide receiver (6)
Starters: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Donovan Peoples-Jones
Backups: Kalif Raymond, Maurice Alexander, Antoine Green
Out: Tre'Quan Smith, Jalon Calhoun, Tom Kennedy, Daurice Fountain, Kaden Davis
Still not convinced that this is ultimately what the Lions bring into the season. There's still a chance they bring in more receiver help in next couple weeks or at camp. For now we're going with this group. There's just so many questions that need to be answered here this summer.
Tight ends (3)
Starter: Sam LaPorta
Backups: Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra
Out: Isaac Rex, James Mitchell, Parker Hesse
I once again hated to make the call of letting James Mitchell go. At the end of the day the Lions have to make blocking and special teams a priority when you get to the lower depth. Shane Zylstra has shown that he can be better than Mitchell there and he's been a pretty good pass catcher too.
Offensive line (9)
Starters: Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler, Penei Sewell
Backups: Colby Sorsdal, Giovanni Manu, Christian Mahogany, Kayode Awosika
Out: Dan Skipper, Kingsley Eguakun, Connor Galvin, Michael Niese, Netane Muti, Matt Farniok, Duke Clemmens, Bryan Hudson, Kayode Awosika
Fans aren't going to like it, but Dan Skipper is just one tackle too many at this point. The Lions are likely to redshirt Manu this season and Sorsdal is back at tackle now. The team is likely to want to see where things go with him instead of taking a chance of losing him on the waiver wire.
Defensive line (10)
Starters: Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeil, DJ Reader, Marcus Davenport
Backups: Mehki Wingo, Levi Onwuzrukie, Brodric Martin, Mathieu Betts, Josh Paschal, James Houston
Out: John Cominsky, Isaac Ukwu, Nate Lynn, Chris Smith, Kyle Peko
This was a hard call. I had Onwuzurkie out in the previous installments, but he had a really good OTAs and minicamp. With the Lions moving both him and rookie Mehki Wingo to the outside a little, that made it slightly easier to cut John Cominsky. Even if I really didn't want to do it.
Linebacker (5)
Starters: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes
Backups: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Malcolm Rodriguez
Out: Mitchel Agude, DaRon Gilbert, Ben Niemann
Solid depth here. Ben Niemann has a shot to make the roster and Mitchell Agude does too, but at the end of the day, I had to go with the five guys we know are going to make an impact all year long.
Cornerback (6)
Starters: Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw
Backups: Amik Robertson, Steven Gilmore, Khalil Dorsey
Out: Emmanuel Moseley, Kindle Vildor, Craig James, Morice Norris,
Dorsey had a really good minicamp that saw him pick off multiple passes and get a couple pick sixes as well. That performance was good enough for him to make the roster. He did have an injury on day two of minicamp, but it was minor per Dan Campbell.
Safety (5)
Starters: Brian Branch, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Kerby Joseph
Backups: Brandon Joseph, C.J. Moore
Out: Chelan Garnes, Loren Strickland
Brian Branch is back at safety again and will take one of the starting spots. C.J. Moore is back as well and should get his roster spot back once things get going. Brandon Joseph showed out and played with the ones due to guys being out with injuries during minicamp. He's earning that spot this year.
Special teams (3)
Starters: Jake Bates, Jack Fox, Scott Daly
Out: Michael Badgley, Hogan Hatten
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