The Detroit Lions were one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NFL last season. Detroit’s potent offense and subpar defense resulted in several shootouts, which made for excellent viewing from all NFL fans. The Lions put up one of the best seasons in franchise history, winning 12 games and logging multiple playoff victories — snapping the longest drought in the NFL at the time. Now Detroit will try to one-up that performance by getting to the Super Bowl.
That is not a foolish goal, this team has the roster and coaching staff to make it happen.
The Lions have invested significant resources into fixing their secondary, which should greatly increase the potency of their defense as a whole. The offense is a great as ever, with third-year receiver Jameson Williams expected to take a huge leap forward in talent and responsibility in 2024. As long as the Lions stay healthy and keep doing what they’ve been doing, they’ll have another successful season.
However, there won’t be a spot for everyone on the final 53-man roster. Detroit will face some tough decisions when they have to cut down their training camp roster.
Here are three of the biggest training camp battles to watch with the Lions as we enter the preseason in just a few weeks.
Who will provide depth to St. Brown, Williams, Raymond at wide receiver?
One of the weaknesses on this Lions roster is the depth at wide receiver. Detroit makes up for this deficiency by placing more responsibility on other skill players like Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta, but we should still take this training camp battle seriously.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Kalif Raymond are locks to make the roster. They are the team’s most reliable wide receivers, and we should not even think about them for this exercise. Instead, we want to focus on the two or three receivers who will provide depth on the final 53-man roster.
There are some promising candidates to choose from.
First on the list is Donovan Peoples-Jones. The Lions acquired DPJ from the Browns at the trade deadline last year. DPJ never played a big role in 2023, but there’s an obvious reason for that. After being traded at the deadline, DPJ had to adjust to a brand new team with a new scheme and teammates. There was little chance that he would become an instant contributor, especially on a high-powered offense that didn’t need any help scoring points.
With a full offseason of training under his belt, DPJ could become a consistent part of the Lions’ offense in 2024. Remember, this is the same player who logged 61 receptions for 839 yards and three touchdowns in 2022 — he has the talent. DPJ just needs to prove it in training camp and the preseason.
The other main contenders are Antoine Green and Daurice Fountain.
Green was a seventh-round pick by the Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft. He did not contribute much at all in 2023, though he did show some flashes during the preseason. He also took a couple of key snaps on offense during the playoffs, which suggests the coaching staff is comfortable with him.
Fountain has spent time on multiple practice squads in the NFL, most recently in Detroit. It is early in training camp, but Fountain has started getting some rave reviews from local beat writers. That puts him firmly on the map as a name to watch during preseason games in August.
The ultimate question for Detroit is how many of these guys will make the final roster.
Lions newcomer Marcus Davenport vs. John Cominsky, James Houston at EDGE
It is no secret that the Lions need a pass rusher opposite of Aidan Hutchinson.
Detroit did not invest draft picks in this position, but they did sign Marcus Davenport to a one-year contract during free agency.
Davenport started his career in New Orleans, so he is familiar to both Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Davenport was a first-round pick, but has struggled throughout his NFL career due to injuries. His availability will be a question mark in Detroit as well.
He will battle with John Cominsky and James Houston as his top competition for defensive end snaps. For our purposes, we’re calling Josh Pascal a lock to make the roster.
It will be interesting to watch these three players throughout training camp and the preseason. There have not been many definitive developments related to this players since we are so early in training camp.
My prediction: all three players make the final roster, but how much playing time each player gets will be decided by their performance in practice.
Mekhi Wingo and Levi Onwuzurike are likely fighting for one roster spot
There are three players on the interior defensive line who have roster spots locked up — Alim McNeill, D.J. Reader, and Brodric Martin.
Considering how many EDGE players on the roster have the ability to kick inside, there is probably only room for one more interior defender on the team. That battle will come down to former second-round pick Levi Onwuzurike and sixth-round rookie Mekhi Wingo.
Onwuzurike has struggled with injuries throughout his NFL career, but he is finally starting to look healthy for a prolonged period of time. If he can stay healthy, he will provide tough competition for Wingo.
Wingo showed some flashes of brilliance in his final year in college, but suffered a lower-body injury that required surgery. He is only a sixth-round pick, but it is hard to imagine Detroit giving up on Wingo before the regular season.
If the choice does come down to one of these two players, expect the Lions to attempt to bring the other back on practice squad as a protected player.
