With the Detroit Lions’ final preseason game on the books, the front office and coaching staff are now tasked with reducing their 91-man roster down to 53 players by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, a challenging task to complete over the next 24 hours.
As is tradition, Jeremy Reisman and I will each publish our own projections of what we think the Lions 53-man roster could look like, so make sure you check his out as well (coming soon). But without further ado, here is how I see things playing out.
Erik’s final Lions 53-man roster prediction
Quarterback (2)
- Jared Goff
- Josh Dobbs
Luke Altmyer
The QB2 battle
was tight until the very end, with both quarterbacks leading the offense to at least one touchdown in the first half of the preseason finale. While I love Altmyer’s upside, I’m not quite sure he’s ready to take on the QB2 role. And when you add in that Lions coaches tend to prefer a veteran in the QB2 role, and with Dobbs showing well in the finale, I’m picking him for the role.
Running back (4)
- Jahmyr Gibbs
- Isiah Pacheco
- Sione Vaki
- Jacob Saylors
Trayveon WilliamsJabari SmallRoydell Williams
The big question for me here is Pacheco’s health. If he ends up on injured reserve, then that opens the door for Trayveon Williams, who had a very strong camp challenging for the RB4 role, but Saylors was simply too consistent and earned the role with his versatility on offense and special teams.
Wide receiver (5)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Jameson Williams
- Isaac TeSlaa
- Greg Dortch
- Tay Martin
Tom KennedyLucky JacksonDominic LovettMalik CunninghamTarik BlackKendrick Law — Season-ending injured reserve
The battle for WR5 came down to Martin vs. Kennedy for me, and I felt like Martin just did a little bit more on offense and special teams, giving him the edge. I also debated keeping a WR6 but ended up sticking with what they’ve done in recent history and used this roster spot elsewhere on defense.
Lucky Jackson surely made things interesting in the preseason finale, and he’s had a consistent, slow climb up the depth chart throughout camp, making him a potential “surprise” player who could make the team. At a minimum, he should be a practice squader.
Tight end (3)
- Sam LaPorta
- Brock Wright
- Tyler Conklin
Jackson MeeksThomas GordonZach Horton
One of my final decisions was whether to keep a fourth tight end—which would have been Jackson Meeks—but I ultimately went with a ninth offensive lineman instead. Meeks has been terrific on offense and special teams through camp and the preseason games, but I think he’ll sneak through waivers, make the practice squad, and could be a game-day elevation early in the season—which could result in his eventual path to the active roster.
Offensive line (9 + 2 injured)
- LT Penei Sewell
- LG Christian Mahogany
- C Juice Scruggs
- RG Tate Ratledge
- RT Blake Miller
- OT Larry Borom
- T/G Miles Frazier
- G Ben Bartch
- C Seth McLaughlin
- C Cade Mays — Injured reserve, eligible to return
- OT Giovanni Manu — Non-football injury (NFI)
RG Mason MillerLT Devin CochranLG Melvin PriestlyRT Colby SorsdalC/G Michael NieseC Gus Hartwig
With Cade Mays likely moving to injured reserve to start the season, the starters are locked in. Borom and Frazier are also easy additions, while Bartch and McLaughlin (OL8 and OL9) have done enough to warrant a spot, but still need to prove themselves. McLaughlin’s injury worries me because of the unknown, but I think he gives the Lions the best option as a temporary reserve center. The main concern with Bartch is durability, but he is a steady veteran who provides great depth.
Interior defensive line (5)
- 3T Alim McNeill
- DT Tyleik Williams
- 3T/5T Levi Onwuzurike
- 3T Skyler Gill-Howard
- DT Chris Smith
3T Mekhi WingoDT Ben StilleDT Myles Adams3T Tyre West
After preseason Game 2, I had a hard time separating Smith, Wingo, and Stille in the DT5 competition, but Smith’s consistency throughout camp and his performance in the finale (starting and repping ahead of his competitors) won me over. Wingo is a tough cut for me because the Lions utilize him in a lot of ways, but his game is similar to Gill-Howard, and I think the rookie locked up a spot with his play this offseason.
EDGE (5)
- EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
- EDGE DJ Wonnum
- Big End Tyler Lacy
- EDGE Derrick Moore
- Big End Ahmed Hassanein
Rush End Anthony LucasRush End Eric O’Neill
The Lions like to deploy two different styles of defensive end opposite Hutchinson, with Wonnum and Lacy filling out those starting roles. Moore and Hassanein locked up reserve rotational roles at each spot early in camp, leaving a difficult path for the UDFA rookies. Both Lucas and O’Neill should be candidates for the practice squad.
Linebacker (6)
- MIKE Jack Campbell
- SAM Derrick Barnes
- WILL Devin White
- WILL Malcolm Rodriguez
- MIKE Jimmy Rolder
- SAM Trevor Nowaske
MIKE Joe BachieMIKE Troy ReederWILL Amen OgbongbenigaWILL Erick Hunter
From a talent perspective, I’m very comfortable with the top six. But with Rolder still not practicing and Nowaske suffering a late-camp injury, this group was a bit harder to predict than originally anticipated. If Rolder isn’t ready to play in Week 1, adding a player like Bachie to the practice squad and elevating him for the first game makes sense. Then again, if Rolder ends up on injured reserve, it could open the door for Bachie to make the roster outright.
Cornerback (7)
- CB D.J. Reed
- CB Rock Ya-Sin
- NB Keith Abney
- CB Nick Whiteside
- CB Ennis Rakestraw
- CB Khalil Dorsey
- CB/NB Roger McCreary
CB Ryan “Bump” CooperCB Ekow Boye-DoeCB Eric Scott
If the Lions end up needing another spot on offense (i.e they want a TE4 and OL9), this group could probably withstand the loss of some depth. Reed and Ya-Sin are locked in on the outside, and Abney is being used inside in some starting packages. Whiteside has been steady throughout camp and is getting cross-trained at safety for depth, while Rakestraw may have erased some concerns with that interception in the preseason finale. Dorsey is far too valuable on special teams, leaving the versatile McCreary as the possible last man in and most vulnerable.
Safety (4 + 2 injured)
- S Avonte Maddox
- S Chuck Clark
- NB/S Christian Izien
- S Thomas Harper
- S Brian Branch — Active/PUP
- S Kerby Joseph — Active/PUP
DB Aamaris BrownS Dan JacksonDB Jason Taylor II
I am projecting Branch and Joseph to start the season on PUP, leaving Maddox and Clark as the starters, as they’ve been throughout camp. Izien will start at nickel—splitting time with Abney—and Harper should give them enough depth to feel comfortable… assuming everyone is healthy.
Health is the big issue with this group, as Maddox, Izien, Harper, Brown, and Jackson all ended camp with an injury. At this time, it doesn’t appear any are dealing with something long-term that would warrant a stint on injured reserve, but there could be some shake-ups here if certain injuries linger.
Specialists (3)
- P Jack Fox
- K Jake Bates
- LS Hogan Hatten
No competition means no drama here.
At-a-glance projected depth chart
Notes: 1) Players listed with a position color made my 53-man projection, while the players without a color could be eligible to make the Lions’ practice squad. 2) There are 13 starters listed on defense in order to illustrate who is in line for a starting role depending on the Lions’ Base vs. Subpackage formations.
