The final offseason depth chart is now out for the Detroit Lions. This week’s unofficial edition of the Lions roster and how it stacks up was prepped for the final preseason game, Saturday’s home date with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Ford Field.
The starters are pretty well-established on both sides of the ball, and it’s almost certain none of them will see the field against Pittsburgh. Behind that first line, there are a few interesting placements.
It starts at wide receiver, where Donovan Peoples-Jones is listed on the third team offense. Tom Kennedy, Daurice Fountain and Maurice Alexander are all on the second unit ahead of Peoples-Jones, who was expected to earn the No. 4 WR job at the start of training camp.
Kaden Davis, who scored an impressive touchdown in the exhibition win over the Chiefs, is behind Peoples-Jones on the fourth line. Undrafted rookies Isaiah Williams and Jalon Calhoun are listed ahead of Davis, though practice reps throughout the week would place Davis over the entire second-team line at wide receiver. The same is true for Williams, who saw some first-team reps in Tuesday’s session.
Injuries have really shaken up the practice participation for the offensive line lately, with starting RG Kevin Zeitler and reserve tackles Dan Skipper and Giovanni Manu missing practices, plus rookie guard Christian Mahogany still inactive on the non-football illness list. Seeing Skipper listed as the second-team left tackle over Jamarco Jones could be an indication the team still sees Skipper that highly. That’s one to watch in the Steelers game.
Defensively, the depth chart here looks very representative of what we’ve seen in practice when the Lions are in a base nickel package. When they go three LBs, it’s Amik Robertson (or Ennis Rakestraw) in the slot who comes off and Derrick Barnes playing the SAM role. Mitchell Agude has quickly ascended to the second line at SAM while also getting reps that are consistent with Isaac Ukwu and James Houston at end.
One point of contention comes on special teams, specifically the return specialists. Kalif Raymond is the first-team punt returner, but I’ve not seen Peoples-Jones even queue up for reps at punt returner behind him. It’s Isaiah Williams and Maurice Alexander, in that order.
Kick returner also features Williams, Alexander and rookie RB Sione Vaki all getting substantially more reps than either Craig Reynolds or Khalil Dorsey. That’s one of the biggest remaining battles–seeing who earns the jobs (there are two full-time now) as the kick returners.
