Detroit — Here’s a look at who is trending up and who is trending down coming out of the Detroit Lions’ preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Friday night.
►Stock up: Cornerbacks A.J. Parker and Corn Elder
A.J. Parker has been trending toward winning the starting nickel job for more than a week and did nothing to blow that opportunity, breaking up a pass in the end zone and making a quality stop in the open field on a third down in the red zone.
But Elder, a veteran who was signed to potentially fill that role this offseason, had an impressive night of his own in his preseason debut with the Lions, netting an interception and breaking up a third-down pass that forced a punt.
►Stock down: Wide receiver Breshad Perriman
Perriman entered the night on the hot seat and proceeded to pour gasoline on his tenuous roster status. After catching a third-down pass to extend a drive early in the game, the speedy veteran dropped two passes.
The first, on a free play caused by the Colts jumping offside, hit Perriman in the hands as he leaped above the cornerback in coverage. The second was a touch low, but bounced off Perriman’s chest when he came open across the middle.
►Treading water: Quarterback David Blough
After Tim Boyle suffered a thumb injury early in the game, Blough got an extended three-quarter look in the competition for the backup job. He did some good things, leading a 14-play touchdown drive, making plays with both his arms and his feet. That included a 9-yard scramble where he broke a tackle to convert a third down in the red zone.
But Blough also let the lead the Lions built in the first half slip away, throwing a brutal interception in his own territory that led to a go-ahead field goal for the Colts in the fourth quarter.
►Stock up: Outside linebackers Austin Bryant and Charles Harris
The Lions entered the night with five edge rushers on the roster and the two guys at the bottom of the rotation offered no reason to cut either one of them. Harris, a former first-round pick, showed impressive burst off the edge, recording multiple pressures, including one that forced an incompletion on third down.
Bryant, who has battled injury for much of his career, also had a quarterback pressure on third down, although he let the passer slip through his grasp and scramble for a first down. What really stands out for the third-year linebacker is his relentless motor, chasing down multiple plays from the backside.
►Stock down: Cornerback Bobby Price
The converted safety continued to struggle with his mid-camp position switch, giving up a couple first down receptions in coverage and drawing a defensive holding penalty on a third-down play where the Lions should have forced a punt.
To Price’s credit, he fought through the struggles and did muster a pass breakup in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.
►Treading water: Kicker Zane Gonzalez
We learned nothing about Gonzalez in this contest, which did him no favors as he tries to edge past Randy Bullock in the competition for Detroit’s kicking job. Gonzalez did nothing wrong, pounding home his two extra points and a 28-yard field goal, but those are relatively easy kicks. It’s not his fault, but it would have been nice to see him attempt something 45 yards or longer.
►Stock up: Running back depth
Rookie Jermar Jefferson got the start and solidified his spot as the third back on the depth chart. The seventh-round pick flashed outstanding vision, weaving his way to a team-high 43 yards on 11 carries. Additionally, he set Ford Field abuzz when he cleanly hurdled a defender in the open field.
Behind him, Godwin Igwebuike and Dedrick Mills both had strong nights. Lions coach Dan Campbell noted Igwebuike, who converted from safety ahead of training camp, was sending a loud and clear message in this final audition. His best run might have been his shortest, when he powered through getting stood up at the goal line to finish off a 1-yard touchdown run.
As for Mills, he gained 21 yards on four carries, while also pacing the Lions with 48 yards receiving.
►Stock down: Backup offensive line depth
Like most NFL teams, the Lions have shaky depth along the offensive line, and that took a further blow against the Colts when both tackle Dan Skipper and guard Logan Stenberg exited with an injury.
Skipper appeared to be the worse off of the two, needing to get carted from the field after suffering an ankle injury.
►Treading water: Safety Jalen Elliott
Elliott was actually having a nice night, particularly on special teams as he chased down the return man a couple of times in coverage. That’s a quick way to catch the eye of the coaching staff when fighting for a roster spot. Unfortunately, the second-year safety’s evening ending on a sour note when Colts running back Deon Jackson ran through Elliott’s tackle attempt in the second level, racing 42 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.
►Stock up: Defensive tackle Kevin Strong
Strong put an exclamation point on his offseason performance living in the backfield in the first half. He gets docked for whiffing on a sack, resulting in a long completion, but he responded with a sack and tackle for loss on the ensuing two plays, limiting the overall damage.
►Stock down: Linebacker Anthony Pittman
Pittman remains in the mix for a roster spot after Jahlani Tavai’s overall struggles this offseason, but the Wayne State product failed to seal the deal, particularly with the way he handled the end the Colts’ 19-play touchdown drive that tied the game in the fourth quarter.
On a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jackson, Pittman found himself well out of position to make a play in coverage. And on the 2-point conversion, Pittman couldn’t shake his blocker, allowing Jackson to plunge into the end zone.
►Stock up: Wide receiver Quintez Cephus
If Cephus was on the bubble, and it felt that way coming in, he probably assured himself a spot on the 53-man roster with three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown on three targets. The only downside of the performance was a holding penalty that squashed a first-half drive.
“I think Cephus did some good stuff,” Campbell said. “We wanted to get him in there with kind of that first group and see where he was at. I think he competed. Other than the hold he got, I thought he did some things. He kind of brings a little bit of different flavor to that room I think. He’s a little more physical, plays a little bigger, so that was encouraging.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers