Lions' 53-Man Roster Prediction

Examining how the Lions' final 53-man roster will look

The Detroit Lions recently cut down to 80 players to accommodate the NFL’s new roster-size rules. 

Instead of utilizing a 90-man split-squad approach, head coach Matt Patricia and his staff can now be one group once actual on-field practices commence.

Due to there being no preseason games this season, training camp will be vital to assess talent. 

From a fan and media perspective, it might be more difficult to gauge who is having nice camps and improving their roster chances.

So much can change from now to the start of the season and I’m not necessarily completely convinced with some of my final decisions. 

New additions and waiver-wire pickups will undoubtedly throw a wrench in these predictions as well. 

No matter the case, here is my current guess as to how the Lions' final 53-man roster will unfold.

Quarterback (3)

• In: Matthew Stafford, Chase Daniel, David Blough

• Out: None

Analysis 

In any other year, Blough would likely be off the roster considering the Lions have two veterans ahead of him. Since the position is so important and the coronavirus could ravage the QB room at any moment, I think the Lions will keep three signal-callers on their roster.

Running back (4)

• In: D’Andre Swift, Kerryon Johnson, Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson

• Out: Jason Huntley, Nick Bawden, Wes Hills, Luke Sellers

Analysis

This might be more wishful thinking than anything, but I don’t have a true fullback projected to be on the Lions' 2020 roster. 

It would be very atypical for a Darrell Bevell-led offense. 

However, there will be an H-back from the tight end group that can be a fullback if necessary. They used this strategy at the end of last season, and had positive results.

Bawden struggled last year, and was a liability when it came to run-blocking -- the main job of the fullback. 

Per Pro Football Focus, Bawden was the lowest-graded run-blocking fullback and the lowest-graded overall fullback in the NFL.

Bill Streicher, USA TODAY Sports

Huntley and Johnson will likely be fighting for one roster spot. 

Yes, Huntley was selected 172nd in this year’s NFL Draft, and Johnson was the 186th pick last year. There isn’t much difference in terms of draft capital used to acquire them. Johnson is bigger and faster, while Huntley is more versatile. Either way, if one does get cut, they will likely end up on the practice squad.

Receiver (6)

• In: Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola, Marvin Hall, Quintez Cephus, Jamal Agnew

• Out: Tom Kennedy, Geremy Davis, Victor Bolden

Analysis

Just a couple weeks ago, the wideout battle was figured to be one of the toughest of any position group. After Geronimo Allison opted out and with Travis Fulgham and Chris Lacy having been released, it really watered down the competition. The top-three receivers are locks. 

Hall should be retained almost solely because of the speed element he provides, and Cephus was a fifth-round draft pick this year.

The big question will be Agnew. If Detroit general manager Bob Quinn believes Huntley can be a reliable return man, Agnew could be out. It’s unlikely Agnew will be anything more than a highly-specialized gadget player on offense, which limits his value. In saying that, Agnew provided next-to-nothing on defense last season as well, and they still held on to him.

Tight end (4)

• In: T.J. Hockenson, Jesse James, Isaac Nauta, Hunter Bryant

• Out: Matt Sokol

Analysis

The Lions like to run plenty of two tight-end sets. Combine that with the fact I currently have Nauta penciled in as the pseudo-fullback, and that leaves four tight ends making the squad.

The undrafted rookie in Bryant isn’t a traditional tight end, either. He is more of a “big slot” receiver in today’s NFL. The Lions don’t really have that specific role carved out in their offense at this time, but Bryant is talented and he may be tough to stash on the practice squad.

Offensive line (8)

• In: Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Joe Dahl, Jonah Jackson, Logan Stenberg, Tyrell Crosby, Kenny Wiggins

• Out: Beau Benzschawel, Oday Aboushi, Caleb Benenoch, Matt Nelson, Dan Skipper

Analysis

With the expanded practice squad and with teams having the ability to call up players for games, it changes things a bit compared to years past for this position group. The league has mandated that there must be eight offensive linemen dressed if the team wants to use both of the additional active roster spots on game day. Essentially, the league is giving teams another active roster spot to use along the offensive line.

Aboushi has some experience, and was a reserve for the Lions in 2019. With the two rookies coming in at guard, Aboushi is the odd man out.

Benzschawel has yet to show much promise, and this training camp will be huge for him. He also has positional versatility going for him as well. There has been a little cross-training with him as a center -- which the Lions will need if Ragnow were to go down. Benzschawel is a fine practice-squad type of player.

Defensive line (6)

• In: Trey Flowers, Danny Shelton, Da’Shawn Hand, Romeo Okwara, Nick Williams, John Penisini

• Out: Kevin Strong, Jashon Cornell, Frank Herron, Olive Sagapolu

Analysis

The Lions have three main positions on their defensive line: down defensive end, nose tackle and the 3-tech/5-tech defensive tackle. Hand and Williams fit the smaller defensive tackle role. With NT John Atkins opting out, that leaves the rookie in Penisini with a much better shot at cracking the final roster behind Shelton.

Both down defensive ends in Flowers and Okwara possess the ability to move inside, which somewhat eliminates the need for more backup defensive tackles like Strong and Cornell.

Linebacker (8)

• In: Jamie Collins, Jahlani Tavai, Jarrad Davis, Julian Okwara, Christian Jones, Reggie Ragland, Austin Bryant, Miles Killebrew

• Out: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Elijah Lee, Jason Cabinda, Anthony Pittman

Analysis

This unit is going to be the key to the defense. They had some real issues in 2019, and any improvement could go a long way for the defense. Technically, the JACK position is a linebacker in Patricia’s defensive scheme, so both Julian Okwara and Bryant are in this group. Bryant has the ability to play down defensive end. And if the Lions want the younger Okwara to play with his hand in the dirt at times, he probably could too.

Even a majority of the off-ball linebackers can effectively line up on the edge at times. I think this year’s style of defense is going to be much more versatile than what we saw from the linebackers in year’s past.

Killebrew is not a great fit for the defense per se, but his special teams' value is paramount.

Cornerback (7)

• In: Desmond Trufant, Jeff Okudah, Justin Coleman, Amani Oruwariye, Mike Ford, Tony McRae, Dee Virgin

• Out: Darryl Roberts

Analysis

The top-four corners seem to be obvious, but it all comes down to special team contributions after that. Ford has played some meaningful defensive and special teams snaps with the Lions, which give him a slight advantage over the veteran Roberts, in my mind. Virgin has been a staple on special teams for the last two seasons in Detroit, but McRae is more familiar with new special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs. I have them both making the roster at this time. But, once safety Jayron Kearse returns from suspension, one of the depth corners could be on the losing end of Kearse's return.

Safety (4)

• In: Tracy Walker, Duron Harmon, Will Harris, C.J. Moore

• Out: Jalen Elliott, Jeremiah Dinson, Bobby Price

• Suspended: Jayron Kearse

Analysis

As previously mentioned, Kearse will be suspended for the first three weeks of the season, which will open up another roster spot. With Kearse contributing largely on special teams, his absence doesn’t necessarily mean the Lions will use another safety to replace the vacancy. 

Dan Powers, Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Lions have quite a bit of position flexibility on the back-end of their defense. Killebrew is listed as a linebacker, but could play as the strong safety or the hang defender in a pinch.

For the final safety spot, Moore was active for all 16 games in 2019, and has a leg up on the three undrafted rookies from this year's class currently on the roster.

Specialists (3)

• In: K Matt Prater, LS Don Muhlbach, P Jack Fox

• Out: P Arryn Siposs, LS Steven Wirtel

Analysis

Prater has no camp competition, so that’s an easy call. Muhlbach has been the ole’ reliable for seemingly forever. However, I will mention that he did have some accuracy issues last season. It would be a lie if I claimed to know anything about Wirtel, but Muhlbach needs to prove this training camp that he isn’t in decline at his age. 

Lastly, it would appear that the Lions have more faith in Fox as their punter than some of the fans. Quinn neglected to draft or sign a punter in free agency. They did add an undrafted free agent in Siposs, but it’s still Fox’s job to lose at this point.

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