Detroit — Here’s a look at who is trending up and who is trending down after the Detroit Lions’ 21-26 preseason victory over the New York Giants.
▶ Stock down: Nate Sudfeld
If you were following the game through social media, you might have thought Sudfeld had one of the worst quarterbacking performances of all time. But that’s far from reality. There were some good moments from his night, with several well-placed throws, but it wasn’t nearly as consistent as he needed to be.
Of concern with Sudfeld was his occasional lapses in feeling the pass rush, leading to putting the ball in harm’s way multiple times. His second interception, where he attempted to get the ball to Jameson Williams on a post pattern, was both forced and errant. Sudfeld also squandered red zone opportunities with bad ball placement on an end zone throw to Dylan Drummond and later taking a delay of game inside the 20-yard line.
▶ Stock up: Teddy Bridgewater
Sometimes, all you have to do is show up. The veteran quarterback was at the game a day after officially signing with Detroit and he was noticeably caught up in the enthusiasm of Maurice Alexander’s punt return touchdown. That simply highlights the type of teammate he’s going to be.
Where Sudfeld was shaky with his decision making is where Bridgewater should provide a calming presence.
▶ Treading water: Adrian Martinez
Martinez is about to fade into the background with Bridgewater joining the team, but the third-string quarterback put out some decent film that could help his practice squad aspirations, either here or elsewhere. After nearly throwing a panicked pick on his first snap, the dual-threat QB settled down through the closing minutes of the game.
On Detroit’s game-winning drive, Martinez played with poise and picked up a key first-down conversion with his feet in the red zone. That set up his go-ahead plunge from the 1-yard line.
▶ Stock up: Chase Cota
It’s probably time to recognize the job receiver coach Antwaan Randle El has been doing this offseason, turning not one, but two undrafted rookies into contenders for roster spots. Like many first-year players, Cota got off to a slow start during his inaugural offseason. But through the past several practices, you could see the lightbulb coming on and things starting to slow down for the former Oregon standout.
Similar to how things have gone on the practice field, Cota was the preferred target for Detroit’s backup quarterbacks. On Friday, he showed the ability to run a variety of routes on the outside, giving the Lions opportunities to attack all areas of the field with him.
At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Cota offers intriguing size paired with upper-tier athleticism. Coach Dan Campbell said the rookie has earned looks higher up the depth chart and it will be interesting to see if he can respond and push Denzel Mims for the big-bodied “X” receiver role on the roster.
▶ Stock down: Jameson Williams
Williams was arguably the top attraction coming into a contest where most of the starters sat. The former first-round pick had some highs and lows, but given the level of competition, it was fair to expect more consistency and moments of dominance.
Both of Detroit’s interceptions came on passes to Williams. The first was hardly his fault, while the second would have been an extremely difficult catch, but the receiver’s effort on the errant throw was still concerning. Even worse was the dropped pass at the 5-yard line on a great ball from Sudfeld.
It wasn’t all bad as Williams caught a two-point conversion after running a slick route, and he showed plenty of effort when asked to block. Still, as the preseason progresses, it would be good to see fewer bumps in the road and more playmaking from the speedster.
▶ Treading water: Dylan Drummond
Drummond has been one of camp’s biggest surprises, helping him net a start in this contest. But it was a relatively quiet night for the Eastern Michigan product. He finished with two catches on four targets for 12 yards, to go along with a 19-yard return on a late-game kickoff he let bounce before fielding it.
If Sudfeld gives him a better ball in the end zone, maybe our perception of the young receiver’s night flips. But as it is, it wasn’t able to further his case for a roster spot in this one.
▶ Stock up: Lions’ edge depth
After his three-sack outing, Julian Okwara probably deserves his own writeup, but Detroit’s overall pass-rush production off the edges was impressive. Brother Romeo Okwara, playing a massive snap load, also tallied a sack and multiple quarterback pressures, while James Houston, John Cominsky and Josh Paschal all had disruptive reps.
As things currently stand, Aidan Hutchinson and Charles Harris are going to start. But this night showed the impressive amount of depth the Lions have stockpiled at a premium position. How they’ll piece it all together remains to be seen, and it still feels like one of the players could become a trade chip before the start of the season.
▶ Stock down: Will Harris
Given his deep understanding of the scheme and extensive regular season experience, Harris is the type of player who should thrive going up against second- and third-stringers in the preseason, yet the veteran defensive back struggled in this contest, drawing multiple penalties and surrendering a pair of conversions on third downs.
The coaching staff loves Harris for his preparedness and ability to play every spot in the defensive back end, but Friday was a reminder you’d rather not have to test your depth in the secondary. If nothing else, Harris should continue to be a fixture with Detroit’s special teams.
▶ Stock up: Jack Campbell
Honestly, we liked what we saw from all of Detroit’s linebackers who got significant playing time. Malcolm Rodriguez was flying around the field, like always, Derrick Barnes showcased his improved understanding of the defense with solid positioning in limited reps, and Anthony Pittman and Jalen Reeves-Maybin had productive flashes.
That said, Campbell is the team’s future and he didn’t disappoint in his debut, tallying four tackles, coming up with run stuffs in short-yardage situations and even showing promise in coverage by blanketing a Giants running back through the duration of an extended play where QB Tommy DeVito escaped the pocket.
▶ Stock down: Chase Lucas
Lucas, a seventh-round pick from a year ago, is on the bubble and didn’t help his chances by giving up two first-down catches to slot receivers minutes after checking in to the game. There’s a special teams component that will factor into his evaluation, but he’s going to need to stand head and shoulders above others in that area with the Lions having plenty of nickel depth, following the offseason additions of C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Brian Branch.
▶ Stock up: Levi Onwuzurike
We could justify putting Onwuzurike on this list simply for playing and finishing the game after two years of battling a bad back. But he was more than just a warm body out there against the Giants, contributing on a short-yardage stop, netting a tackle for loss and generally showing some of the explosiveness off the snap that had general manager Brad Holmes so excited to add him in the second round of the 2021 draft.
▶ Stock up: Starling Thomas
Thomas, an undrafted rookie out of UAB, has been trending toward a roster spot for weeks and only strengthened his case with quality coverage in his preseason debut. He played 32 snaps and didn’t show up in the box score, which should be viewed as a positive sign for an outside cornerback. In the rare times the ball was thrown his direction, Thomas was all over the receiver.
▶ Stock up: Maurice Alexander
After a handful of pedestrian returns and a dropped pass, Alexander had been tracking toward the “Stock Down” column, but he flipped the script with an electric, double-spin-move punt return he took 95 yards to the house.
Following Justin Jackson’s abrupt retirement, and Kalif Raymond’s early-season role on offense potentially requiring him to dial back his special teams contributions, the Lions could use a returner. The path to a roster spot is there and Alexander bolstered his resume with the touchdown.
▶ Stock down: Parker Romo
There’s limited opportunity for Romo to make up ground in the kicking battle and sending a kickoff out of bounds isn’t going to help his case.
▶ Stock up: James Mitchell
Something of a forgotten man following the addition of Sam LaPorta, Mitchell reminded everyone of the potential the Lions saw when they snagged him in the fifth round a year earlier. Not only did he catch three passes for 53 yards, thriving as the target on designed play-action rollouts, but he also showed some grit as a blocker.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers