4 Players to Watch in Lions' Preseason Opener against Buffalo Bills

Read more on the four Detroit Lions players to watch in the team's preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills.

The Lions open up preseason play against the Buffalo Bills Friday at 7 p.m. (EST) at Ford Field.  

It marks the first taste of live game action for the organization's new regime, led by Dan Campbell at head coach and Brad Holmes at general manager. 

It also marks the first game in Honolulu Blue for a variety of players. 

Without further ado, here are four players to watch in Detroit's exhibition contest against the Bills. 

QB Jared Goff

Friday's preseason opener for the Lions will mark Goff's first game in the Motor City. 

Sure, it's not a regular season contest and he might only play a drive or two. But, plenty of eyes at Ford Field will still be on the former L.A. Rams passer to see how he does in live game action. 

Will the offense be conservative with him under center, and will he be "Mr. Checkdown?" Or will Goff and the offense get a little adventurous and dial up a downfield pass or two? 

It'll be interesting to watch, and Lions fans will surely be examining his play closely every step of the way. 

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown 

St. Brown walks into a great situation in Detroit, with an opportunity to make an impact in the team's receivers room immediately. 

The Lions don't have a ton of quality depth at the receiver position. So, St. Brown will have a chance at an ample amount of playing time from Friday night on. 

Now, let's see if the former USC wideout and fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft (No. 112 overall) makes the most of his opportunity. 

Kirthmon F. Dozier, Imagn Content Services, LLC

OL Penei Sewell 

After Goff, the player who arguably will receive the most attention from the Detroit fanbase Friday is Sewell. 

He'll be one of the men blocking for the Lions' new signal-caller throughout the 2021 season. 

The expectations are high for the former Oregon standout, as he was selected by Detroit at No. 7 overall in this year's draft. 

He hasn't taken a snap in a live game since 2019, though, after opting out of playing during the 2020 college football season. 

The 20-year-old has struggled a bit in one-on-one drills during training camp so far. So, it'll be very intriguing to see how he fares against the Bills in his first taste of NFL action. 

RB Dedrick Mills 

Multiple players in front of Mills on the Lions' running backs depth chart -- specifically D'Andre Swift and Jermar Jefferson -- have been dealing with injuries thus far in training camp. 

It leaves the undrafted rookie in Mills with a great opportunity to prove his worth in Detroit's preseason opener against Buffalo. 

With a good performance Friday and in the Lions' following two exhibition games, the Nebraska product could just steal the No. 3 job from Jefferson. 

It'll be an interesting position battle to monitor as camp progresses. 

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