Lions 53-man roster projection after Detroit’s 1st preseason game

Starter: Jared Goff

Reserve: Hendon Hooker

Bubble: Nate Sudfeld

No change from the last prediction.

The pecking order isn’t really in question, even with Sudfeld performing much better than he did last summer–and that includes his fairly disastrous performance in New York. Is it enough to convince the Lions to keep a third QB behind Pro Bowler Goff and promising but inexperienced backup Hooker?

At this point, I still don’t think the Lions keep a third QB, not even with the game-day roster benefit it provides. The door is still open for the Lions to keep three, in part because Hooker hasn’t shown he can stay healthy or reliable as the No. 2 just yet.

Starters: David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs

Reserves: Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki

Change: Moved Reynolds onto the 53-man roster

In the last incarnation, I had Reynolds being waived and then brought back. Between Reynolds looking great in all phases of practices, including special teams, and Vaki looking more and more like a project as a runner than an instant contributor, I now believe Reynolds is firmly on the 53 without any roster gymnastics.

The real battle here now is between Zonovan Knight and Jermar Jefferson for the “next in line” spot on the practice squad. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Lions efforted to keep both of them.

Starters: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams

Reserves: Kalif Raymond, Daurice Fountain, Isaiah Williams

Bubble: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tre’Quan Smith, Maurice Alexander, Antoine Green

Change: Added Fountain, dropped Donovan Peoples-Jones and Antoine Green

The first three are no-brainers. Fountain has emerged as WR4/WR5 with a strong summer that has seen him take more first-team reps than anyone else competing for those roles. He’s also been solid on punt and kick coverage units, notably better than anyone else in the running who doesn’t return kicks.

That final spot is still very much up for grabs. Williams gets the slight edge now, thanks in part to his strong play in the first preseason game. Green is right there, too. Smith has stepped up as camp has progressed and can’t be discounted. Maurice Alexander needs to make it as a returner, so his poor Thursday night might’ve been a death blow to his chances. Peoples-Jones is a candidate to be cut early so he can try to latch on with a different team; it just hasn’t happened for him this summer, not at all.

Starter: Sam LaPorta

Reserves: Brock Wright, Parker Hesse, James Mitchell

Bubble: Shane Zylstra, Sean McKeon

No change

I extensively broke down the battle for the spots behind LaPorta and Wright earlier in the week. The tl;dr:

It’s all about what OC Ben Johnson and TE coach Steve Heiden want from their reserve TEs as much as it is about the performances of the players. All four have real chances and offer divergent abilities. Mitchell helped himself in New York, both in practices and the game. Zylstra’s blocking woes against the Giants were a big problem for the offense, one that’s very difficult to ignore.

Starters (L-R): Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler, Penei Sewell

Reserves: Colby Sorsdal, Kayode Awosika, Michael Niese, Giovanni Manu

Changes: Added Michael Niese, dropped Netane Muti (IR) and Christian Mahogany (non-football illness list) and keeping just nine instead of 10.

Bubble: Ike Boettger, Dan Skipper, Kingsley Eguakun, Jake Burton

The starting five is the best in the league, though neither veteran guard has yet to truly play well in training camp just yet. Beyond that impressive quintet of starters, alas, might be the weakest part of the entire Lions roster.

Colby Sorsdal has grown into the No. 3 tackle role after an abortive attempt to turn him into a guard as a rookie in 2023. He’s played tackle exclusively all offseason and has shown more positives than negatives, though Sorsdal has his struggles with quickness off the snap. He’s the only other OL I feel truly comfortable about projecting to make the initial 53.

Niese had a quietly impressive week in the padded practices, playing center and guard with the second team, mostly at center. His lack of sand in the pants really showed against the Giatns, however. Glasgow is the top backup center behind Ragnow, but Niese can offer the ability to keep four of the five starters in their top positions instead of shuffling. That’s something I have been led to believe the Lions do find more appealing than at this time last year.

Awosika is a veteran with two full years of experience in OL coach Hank Fraley’s gap-based system. It’s difficult to see the Lions cutting Awosika, but he’s struggled all summer in pass protection before missing a few practices with an undisclosed injury. The door is open for someone to seize that spot, be it UDFA Kingsley Eguakun or recently acquired vets Ike Boettger and Jake Burton, both of whom can swing between guard and tackle.

Boettger handled himself capably on the second-team offense while working at right tackle late in the practice week. He’s got legit starting experience with the Bills and appears fully recovered from a torn Achilles that wiped out his 2023 campaign with the Colts. I consider Boettger player No. 54 as the Lions enter the week of the second preseason game. He’s a more ready option than Giovanni Manu, a developmental project as a fourth-round rookie who figures to be a healthy scratch his entire first year in American football.

Skipper is a well-deserved fan favorite and the best extra OL in the league. He can also play both guard and tackle, and brings a sruliness the team appreciates more than his actual blocking acumen. The Lions cut him at the roster deadline last year with the explicit intent of bringing him back and I believe that’s what will happen in 2024, too.

The trio of undrafted rookies has sorted itself a bit after a week in pads and a preseason game. Kingsley Eguakun has stepped ahead of Bryan Hudson and Duke Clemens, all of whom play both guard and center.

Starters: Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport

Reserves: Josh Paschal, James Houston, Mitchell Agude, Nate Lynn

Changes: Added Nate Lynn, dropped Mathieu Betts

Bubble: Mathieu Betts, Isaac Ukwu, Pat O’Connor

It’s not a popular take to have Paschal so entrenched, but his not playing in New York is a clear sign the coaches feel strongly about him. Houston appears safer now than in the last projection, but he’s still in dark pencil instead of ink. Agude’s power-to-speed style is a nice contrast with Houston’s all-or-nothing speed approach, and I can envision DL coach Terrell Williams wanting both at the ready based on matchups.

Lynn was already trending quite well before his very impressive preseason debut. His inside spin move has beaten Taylor Decker in practice a couple of times. That has to be respected by the Lions coaches. O’Connor flashed more in a few days of practices since being signed than CFL star Betts has all summer, particularly since the pads came on. The athletically freaky Ukwu played his way into certain practice squad status in the Giants game in my opinion.

Starters: Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike

Reserves: Kyle Peko, Mekhi Wingo, Brodric Martin

Asterisk: DJ Reader

Changes: Added Levi Onwuzurike and Kyle Peko, removed John Cominsky (injured)

First, the Reader asterisk. The veteran probably won’t be ready for Week 1, but he might be a week or two later. That necessitates carrying him on the active roster.

Peko is the primary beneficiary. The former Titan has gotten better each practice and played well in New York, enough that it’s very hard to see the Lions parting ways.

With John Cominsky’s injury, it effectively eliminates any real drama for the other spots. Martin has stepped up in his second year and was arguably Detroit’s best defensive player against the Giants. Wingo can play heavy end or 3-tech and offers pass rush that Peko and Martin don’t.

Starters: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell

Reserves: Derrick Barnes, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Malcolm Rodriguez

Bubble: Ben Niemann, DaRon Gilbert, Malik Jefferson

No changes. It’s eminently possible the Lions keep one of the bubble boys (likely Jefferson) for special teams purposes, but right now there just isn’t room on the 53. Gilbert, a Detroit native and undrafted rookie, has practice squad written all over him for 2024.

Starters: Terrion Arnold, Carlton Davis

Reserves: Amik Robertson, Ennis Rakestraw, Kindle Vildor

Bubble: Khalil Dorsey, Steven Gilmore

No changes to the five who made it from the last projections. However, Vildor, Dorsey and Gilmore are in what appears to be a dead heat for the last spot. Vildor’s speed and special teams work gets him the almost imperceptible nod. It’s entirely possible the Lions keep six CBs and drop an EDGE or tight end to do so. This No. 5 CB spot is the most up for grabs on the entire roster, with the possible exception of WR5, entering the second preseason week.

Starters: Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, Ifeatu Melifonwu

Reserves: CJ Moore

Bubble: Brandon Joseph, Morice Norris

Changes: Dropped Joseph

With Branch moving to safety as his primary position, thanks in no small part to the Lions loading up on cornerbacks who can play his old role in the slot, it makes picking the foursome here pretty easy. I still maintain that Moore returning after his gambling suspension is a very strong indicator of how the Lions value him, even if Joseph has been better in coverage all summer (not to mention his INT in the Giants game).

Joseph is a tough cut, but the undrafted rookie Norris might be even harder to risk on the waiver wire. He’s outplayed Joseph, Moore and (in coverage) Melinfonwu in nearly every practice all summer. That Giants game was a golden opportunity for No. 39, but Norris had maybe the worst performance of any Lions player not named Nate Sudfeld after also instigating one of the many fights in joint practices.

Going a little deeper, it’s hard to see the Lions keeping both Loren Strickland and Chelen Garnes as rookie UDFAs on the practice squad. There’s a reason to watch the fourth quarter of the next couple of preseason games, for the diehards.

Kicker: Jake Bates

Punter: Jack Fox

Long snapper: Scott Daly

Bubble: Hogan Hatten (long snapper)

Changes: Dropped Michael Badgley (injured reserve) and Hogan Hatten

Fox is a lock. Until the Lions bring in competition for Bates, he is too despite an extremely uninspiring string of practices where he barely made 60 percent of his FG attempts over a five-day period. The “mis-hit” (per Dan Campbell) kickoff following his field goal in the Giants game is a cardinal sin for Bates in the eyes of special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, however. Stay tuned.

I moved Daly up over Hatten only because he’s been first in the pecking order in practices. Hatten racing down and making a tackle on Detroit’s first punt in New York, plus playing LB on defense late in the game, makes him a must-keep practice squadder as an undrafted rookie.