Lions roster battles created by the new draft class

Arnold enters the depth chart at the top of the cornerback position, though Carlton Davis will have something to say about that. The first-rounder doesn’t create much drama on the depth chart on his own, but when paired with the next pick…

Rakestraw enters into the top of a mix of a cornerback group below projected starters Arnold and Davis that is suddenly crowded. When GM Brad Holmes talked about a “bloodbath” coming in the battle to sort out the CB depth chart, he wasn’t kidding.

Rakestraw and free agent signee Amik Robertson look good for playing time, probably competing with one another for reps at outside CB in 2024. Brian Branch is installed as the slot, though Arnold and perhaps Rakestraw could shift inside too.

The real pressure here is beyond those players. Emmanuel Moseley, Kindle Vildor, Steven Gilmore, Khalil Dorsey, Craig James and any UDFAs the Lions add are all competing for what is likely two (potentially three) spots on the active 53-man roster.

The addition of the behemoth Canadian OL project is difficult to gauge in part because it’s hard to know how NFL-ready — if at all — Manu is as a fourth-round pick.

Presuming Manu stays at tackle, where he played in college, he’s fighting with veteran Dan Skipper and 2023 rookies Connor Galvin and Colby Sorsdal for the two reserve tackle spots the team typically keeps. Both Skipper and Sorsdal fit in at guard as well, and Manu might wind up inside too.

Given that both GM Brad Holmes and Vaki himself have indicated he’ll begin his Lions career playing running back instead of safety as his primary position, we’ll add the fourth-round rookie into the RB room. Wow, is it crowded in there!

Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are as good as any 1-2 RB duo in the league. That much is certain. Beyond the primary backs, things get really complicated, really quickly.

Craig Reynolds is back after spending most of the last two-plus seasons as the No. 3 running back. Zonovan Knight also returns after missing 2023 with injury. Jermar Jefferson, a 2021 seventh-round pick, and Jake Funk are in the mix too. Reynolds, Vaki, Knight and Funk are all the same basic prototypes of runners.

Special teams will be critical here, and that gives Vaki a big leg up to be the No. 3 or No. 4 running back. That’s on the assumption the Lions shift gears and keep four of them on the 53-man roster.

Wingo jumps into the reserve DT mix behind starters Alim McNeill and D.J. Reader with a group that doesn’t really have established roles. At his small size, Wingo won’t be fighting for reserve nose tackle reps with 2023 third-rounder Brodric Martin or Chris Smith, a UDFA from last year’s practice squad.

Wingo most directly challenges Levi Onwuzurike for the top rush-tacke reserve role. However, the Lions also deploy John Cominsky and occasionally Josh Paschal in that role even though they’re both primarily defensive ends. Wingo can also play DE in the Lions’ scheme. For most of the 2023 season, Detroit kept five players at the DT/DE position on the active roster (not counting Paschal in that group). The positional flexibility of so many guys here and the potential for the Lions to roll out more 5-man fronts make this one a very cloudy battle.

Mahogany is a guard-only, and he figures to jump right in as the top reserve at that spot behind starters Graham Glasgow and Kevin Zeitler in 2024. Colby Sorsdal and Kayode Awosika, the primary reserves from 2023, are back too. Both of them can also play tackle in a pinch, while Dan Skipper has proven to be a better guard than tackle in his reserve duties.

The relative ambiguity of fourth-rounder Manu and the addition of veteran guard-only free agent Netani Muti stresses the largely unproven depth chart here. Michael Niese is back too, and he and Glasgow are the only players with any experience playing center, though the Lions have signed three UDFA centers to further crowd the picture at IOL.

Given Skipper’s value as an extra tackle — he’s arguably the NFL’s best at it and the Lions use it often — he seems safe. Manu isn’t getting cut, which means seven of the nine OL roster spots on the 53-man are taken. That leaves just two spots for the rest of the group, including Mahogany.