Offense
Quarterback – Matthew Stafford | Dan Orlovsky | Jake Rudock (R/6th)
Matthew Stafford will be the starter with Dan Orlovsky or another veteran brought in late in camp will be the backup. The Detroit Lions will only keep two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. Jake Rudock will need an injury to make the team, but will likely spend the whole season on the practice squad, with just slightly more than zero percent chance of making jumping into the second spot, no matter what.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Stafford and Orlovsky
Practice Squad: Rudock
Running Back – Ameer Abdullah | Stevan Ridley | Theo Riddick (3rd down) | Zach Zenner | Dwayne Washington (R/7th)
The Detroit Lions will probably only keep five total backs. The top four are set in stone; Abdullah, Ridley, Riddick, and Burton. The Lions could just role with those four our carry a fifth flexible option like Zach Zenner or George Winn who provides some versatility as an option at either Running Back or Fullback. Dwayne Washington might provide a boost on special teams over a Zenner or Winn. Either way, there is little or no chance the Lions will go outside the organization to seek help at this position. Theo Riddick will the the third down back and may see some time at Wide Receiver as well.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Abdullah, Ridley, and Riddick
Practice Squad: Zenner
Cut: Dwayne Washington (R/7th)
Fullback – Michael Burton | George Winn
Michael Burton graded out as the third best Fullback in football last year as a rookie. Fullbacks grow on trees, so unless there is an injury, the Detroit Lions are just fine where they sit.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Burton
Cut: Winn
Tight End – Eric Ebron | Tim Wright | Brandon Pettigrew | Matthew Mulligan | Casey Pierce | Jordan Thompson | Cole Wick (R/UDFA) | Adam Fuehne (R/UDFA)
Eric Ebron will be the number one guy here without question. The Lions will likely keep three Tight Ends and who they keep will largely depend on what style of offense they stick with. If they choose to go with one Receiving Tight End and two Blocking Tight Ends it will be Ebron, Pettigrew, and Mulligan. If they go two receiving and one blocking it will be Ebron, Wright, and Pettigrew. In the later scenario, the Detroit Lions could keep Matthew Mulligan over Brandon Pettigrew in a cost saving maneuver.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Ebron, Wright, and Pettigrew
Practice Squad: Cole Wick
Cut: Mulligan, Pierce, Thompson, and Fuehne
Wide Receiver 1 – Golden Tate | T.J. Jones | Corey Fuller | Ryan Spadola | Jay Lee (R/UDFA) | Jace Billingsley (R/UDFA)
Wide Receiver 2 – Marvin Jones | Jeremy Kerley | Corey Washington | Austin Willis | Quinshad Davis (R/UDFA)
The Detroit Lions are likely not done adding to their wide receiver corps. They have four guys on the roster that will probably make it, but will probably go scrap heap surfing for their fifth guy after other guys are cut during training camp. Golden Tate and Marvin Jones are locks for the starting positions, but behind them is a murky mess. T.J. Jones showed some flashes in 2015, but still hasn’t put it all together. Although T.J. Jones flashed some return game skill, the Lions brought in Jeremy Kerley on a free agent deal to fill that same role. After that you have track star Corey Fuller who can’t catch or do anything on special teams and a bunch of scrubs. Undrafted free agent Jay Lee has a shot because of his size and record at Baylor of making the team and would likely make the practice squad if not.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Tate, M. Jones, T.J. Jones, Kerley, and scrap heap find
Practice Squad: Lee and Billingsley
Cut: Fuller, Washington, Spadola, Willis, and Davis
Left Tackle – Taylor Decker (R/1st) | Corey Robinson | Cornelius Lucas
Left Guard – Laken Tomlinson | Joe Dahl (R/5th) | Darren Keyton
Center – Graham Glasgow (R/3rd) | Travis Swanson | Braxton Cave | Gabe Ikard
Right Guard – Larry Warford | Geoff Schwartz | Tyrus Thompson | Andrew Zeller (R/UDFA)
Right Tackle – Riley Reiff | Lamar Holmes | Michael Ola | Chase Farris (R/UDFA)
The Center job will be a two man competition between Glasgow and Swanson. I think that Glasgow will end up winning in the end. The only other question in the starting lineup will be the alignment of Taylor Decker and Riley Reiff. I think that the length of Decker compared to Reiff makes Decker a better left tackle, but will the team trust a rookie with that responsibility? I think if you give him all of camp and the preseason in that spot, then you have Decker has a good shot of starting the season as the first team Left Tackle. Rookie Joe Dahl provides a ton of versatility as does veteran Geoff Schwartz. Travis Swanson will hold on to a backup Center/Guard position, but doesn’t have a firm grasp on a roster spot if the Lions decide to keep Joe Dahl as a backup Center and keep Michael Ola as a backup Guard/Right Tackle.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Decker, Tomlinson, Glasgow, Warford, Reiff, Dahl, Swanson, Schwartz
Practice Squad: Thompson and Robinson
Cut: Lucas, Keyton, Cave, Ikard, Zeller, Holmes, Ola and Farris
