3 Position Battles to Watch for Lions in Preseason Finale

Read more on the three position battles to watch for the Detroit Lions, heading into their preseason finale with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday.

Position battles aplenty exist for the Lions, as they work to finalize their season-opening 53-man roster ahead of Tuesday's roster cutdown deadline (4 p.m. EST). 

Let's take a look now at the three biggest battles to watch, going into the team's preseason finale with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday.

Backup QB (David Blough vs. Tim Boyle) 

The top two candidates to serve as Jared Goff's backup in 2022 -- Blough and Boyle -- have been evenly matched thus far in the preseason. Both passers threw for less than 100 yards a week ago against the Indianapolis Colts, and neither was overwhelmingly impressive. 

Detroit started the 2021 campaign with three quarterbacks on the roster, with Goff, Blough and Boyle all making the team. The odds of that happening again are extremely low, as the Lions have since realized that not all three are worthy of a roster spot. It's why Sunday's preseason tilt with the Steelers will prove to be pivotal in determining who claims the backup job. My money right now is on Boyle.

No. 3 running back (Craig Reynolds vs. Justin Jackson and Godwin Igwebuike) 

In my opinion, the leader in the clubhouse for the No. 3 back spot, behind D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, is Reynolds.

Reynolds, a preseason darling a year ago, handled much of the early load a week ago against the Indianapolis Colts. He ended up finishing the contest with 37 yards on seven carries, good for an average of 5.3 yards a carry. 

Trevor Ruszkowski, USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, Jackson, who spent the first four years of his NFL career with the L.A. Chargers, has paced all of Detroit's backs in rushing yards this preseason. He's accumulated 65 yards on 10 carries, equating to an average of 6.5 yards per carry. He rushed for a game-high 54 yards in last week's exhibition contest with the Colts. 

Now, between Igwebuike and Jefferson, Detroit's 2021 seventh-round pick, the former has the better shot at winning the third-string running back job.

Thus far this preseason, Jefferson has rushed for 44 yards on 16 carries (2.75 yards per attempt), while Igwebuike has logged 36 yards on 10 rushes (3.6 yards/carry).

A one-time safety, Igwebuike was the Lions' primary kick returner last season, averaging 24.9 yards per return. It was good for the fifth-best mark in the NFL, among 16 qualifying players.

His aforementioned ability to provide special teams value places him firmly ahead of Jefferson in the position battle.

However, at this present juncture, I've got Reynolds ranked No. 1, Jackson No. 2, Igwebuike No. 3 and Jefferson No. 4 in the duel for the No. 3 RB spot.

Starting kicker (Riley Patterson vs. Austin Seibert) 

Patterson and Seibert have been duking it out for the starting kicker job all training camp long.

Seibert has gone three-for-four on field-goal attempts, while Patterson has executed on his lone two attempts through the first two weeks of the preseason.

At this juncture, it feels like it's a neck-and-neck competition between the two kickers. Seibert seemingly has a slight edge, and not solely based on production. I'm, instead, basing it on Lions head coach Dan Campbell stating earlier in camp that Seibert, a University of Oklahoma product, is ahead of Patterson in the battle.

It can't be by much, though, as Patterson had a solid 2021 campaign, connecting on 13-of-14 field-goal attempts. It was good for a conversion rate of 92.9 percent. He also nailed all 16 of his extra-point attempts.

With a solid performance Sunday against the Steelers, Patterson might just catapult Seibert for the starting kicking job.