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
Defense
Defensive End 1 – Ziggy Ansah | Wallace Gilberry | Deonte Gibson (R/UDFA)
Defensive End 2 – Devin Taylor | Anthony Zettel (R/6th) | Kerry Hyder | James Deloach (R/UDFA)
The Detroit Lions are a bit light in the pants at Defensive End, especially when it comes to depth. Ziggy Ansah is a stud and Devin Taylor showed some promise off the bench. Wallace Gilberry is a good depth piece and then the talent falls off a cliff. Anthony Zettel is going to be defensive tackle sooner rather than later. Outside of that, there is no NFL level talent on the roster. The Lions will have to go scrap heap surfing for some additional depth here as well.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Ansah, Taylor, Gilberry, and Zettel
Practice Squad: Deonte Gibson
Cut: Hyder and Deloach
Defensive Tackle – Tyrunn Walker | Stefan Charles | Caraun Reid | Gabe Wright
Nose Tackle – Haloti Ngata | A’Shawn Robinson (R/2nd) | Khyri Thornton
Haloti Ngata will be a starter at one Defensive Tackle positions day one, but will never be on the field for the majority of the snaps in a given game. Starting along side him is a three horse race between Tyrunn Walker, Stefan Charles, and second round pick A’Shawn Robinson. Robinson has the highest ceiling of the trio, but isn’t ready as a pass rusher to be a starter just yet. Walker is the most talented pass rusher, but is coming off a nasty leg injury. Charles has never been a starter before and flashed brilliance in limited time in Buffalo. Caraun Reid is a decent run stuffer, but isn’t a quick enough player to do much in the pass rush. Gabe Wright is already on the out without a big camp in just his second year because he just isn’t very good. The Detroit Lions will likely keep five defensive tackles this year at the start and barring any injuries, those five are already signed.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Walker, Ngata, Charles, Robinson, and Reid
Practice Squad: Wright
Cut: Thornton
Strong Side Linebacker – Kyle Van Noy | Brandon Copeland | Antwione Williams (R/5th) | Xavier Gooden
Middle Linebacker – Tahir Whitehead | Stephen Tulloch | Jerry Franklin
Weak Side Linebacker – DeAndre Levy | Josh Bynes | Khasseem Greene
There is absolutely no depth at linebacker for the Detroit Lions. They have three very nice players in Tahir Whitehead, DeAndre Levy, and Josh Bynes, but not much besides those three. Stephen Tulloch still hasn’t been cut for some reason despite his stupid salary and lack of ability to play quality football anymore. Other than that you have a lot of cast offs and a rookie from a small school. It could be interesting who ends up making the team.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Whitehead, Van Noy, Levy, Bynes, Williams, and Greene
Practice Squad: Scrap heap find
Cut: Copeland, Tulloch, Gooden, and Franklin
Cornerback 1 – Darius Slay | Alex Carter | Johnson Bademosi | Adairius Barnes (R/UDFA)
Cornerback 2 – Nevin Lawson | Darrin Walls | Ian Wells (R/UDFA)
Nickel Corner Back – Quandre Diggs | Crezdon Butler | Charles Washington (R/UDFA)
Strong Safety – Rafael Bush | Miles Killebrew (R/4th) | Isaiah Johnson
Free Safety – Glover Quin | Tavon Wilson | Don Carey
The Detroit Lions have turned over a bunch of players in the secondary, mostly for the better. While Rafael Bush isn’t anything to write home about, he should be better than James Ihedigbo, especially in coverage. Nevin Lawson isn’t an average starting Cornerback, but when you pair him with Darius Slay and Quandre Diggs, you have something to work with. Miles Killebrew will likely only contribute on special teams in year one, but could be a great in the box defender if he matures into an NFL scheme. Tavon Wilson, signed away from the Patriots in free agency should be solid backup and special teamer for this club as well.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Slay, Lawson, Diggs, Carter, Walls, Bademosi, Bush, Quin, Wilson, Killebrew
Practice Squad: Johnson and Barnes
Cut: Carey, Wells and Butler
Specialists
LS: Don Muhlbach | Jimmy Landes (R/6th)
P: Sam Martin | Kyle Christy
K: Matt Prater
The drafting of Jimmy Landes out of Baylor in the sixth round is kind of a head scratcher unless the Detroit Lions are looking to get younger and cheaper at long snapper. Don Muhlbach has done nothing to indicate that he isn’t a replacement level long snapper still in this league. With that being said, you don’t spend a draft pick on a specialist if you don’t plan on keeping him. Kyle Christy is just in camp to make sure Sam Martin’s leg doesn’t get too tired. The Detroit Lions will likely will bring in another kicker for the same reason at some point, but at this point the group is settled.
Final Roster Prediction:
53-Man Roster: Landes, Martin, and Prater
Cut: Christy and Muhlbach