Admittedly too early, post-draft Detroit Lions' roster projection and analysis
Allen Park — The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books, and the undrafted free agents will be in town next week to sign on the dotted line, fleshing out the Detroit Lions’ offseason roster.
Now seems as good a time as any to offer an early 53-man roster projection. It's an admittedly way-too-early prognostication, but what else are we to do between now and training camp?
For this exercise, we’ll include the reported UDFA signings, even though they’re not yet official. Additionally, we’re abandoning our traditional position-by-position breakdown in favor of an experimental format.
The players below will be listed under one of six categories: Locks, near-locks, one foot in the door, on the bubble, work to do, and injured list. We’ll cap the post with our 53-man roster.
Feel free to use the comment section to share your thoughts and disagreements.
Locks (37)
Offense: QB Jared Goff, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, RB David Montgomery, RB Sione Vaki, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Jameson Williams, WR Tim Patrick, WR Kalif Raymond, WR Isaac TeSlaa, TE Sam LaPorta, TE Brock Wright, OT Taylor Decker, OT Penei Sewell, OT Giovanni Manu, OG Christian Mahogany, OG Tate Ragledge, OG Miles Frazier, C Frank Ragnow
Defense: Edge Aidan Hutchinson, Edge Marcus Davenport, DT DJ Reader, DT Levi Onwuzurike, DT Tyleik Williams, DT Roy Lopez, LB Alex Anzalone, LB Jack Campbell, LB Derrick Barnes, LB Grant Stuard, CB Terrion Arnold, CB D.J. Reed, CB Amik Robertson, CB Ennis Rakestraw, S Kerby Joseph, S Brian Branch
Specialists: P Jack Fox, K Jake Bates, LS Hogan Hatten
Analysis: There aren’t many points to contest here. This group is largely comprised of starters, veterans with significant guarantees on their contracts (Patrick, Raymond, and Lopez, for example), reasonably priced proven depth, or young players who have a developmental leash to prove themselves.
Near-locks (7)
Offense: QB Hendon Hooker, OG Graham Glasgow
Defense: Edge Josh Paschal, Edge Al-Quadin Muhammad, Edge Ahmed Hassanein, CB Khalil Dorsey, CB Avonte Maddox
Analysis: Think of this group as having an 80% chance or better of making Detroit’s roster. If all seven make it, you shouldn’t be surprised.
● Hooker will enter the offseason in pole position for the backup quarterback job.
● Glasgow might end up losing his starting spot, but nearly $6 million of his $7.4 million cap hit is sunk cost in dead money. There’s little reason to eat that cost, given his ability to serve as a high-caliber, three-position backup.
● Hassanein’s already got his hooks in the fan base with his intensity and compelling path to the league. I expect a quick study who finds a way to contribute on special teams.
● Paschal and Muhammad are relatively low-cost options at a position where the Lions lack compelling depth. Most of Muhammad’s salary is guaranteed, while there’s an opportunity to clear nearly $2 million in cap space to move on from Paschal if a young player forces the Lions to reconsider.
● Dorsey signed for two years this offseason. He is one of the league’s best gunners, but he has some questions to answer after breaking his leg last season. Regardless, going in a different direction doesn't offer much cap savings.
● The Lions are only paying Maddox the veteran minimum, but the team fully guaranteed his contract. The veteran is expected to provide valuable depth at multiple spots, as well as special teams contributions.
Injured list (2)
DT Alim McNeill, LB Malcolm Rodriguez
Analysis: McNeill and Rodriguez both tore their ACLs late last season and will likely still be rehabbing beyond Week 1 of the 2025 campaign. A couple of others may join this group, but these are the two players we can anticipate.
One foot in the door (6)
Offense: RB Craig Reynolds, OT Dan Skipper, TE Kenny Yeboah
Defense: DT Mekhi Wingo, LB Trevor Nowaske, S Dan Jackson
Analysis: With this group, we’re talking about a better than 50% chance of making the roster if the season started today.
● Reynolds has been RB3 for the better part of three seasons and has done nothing that would suggest his grip is loosening on the role. He’s reliable in all facets of the position and can be counted on to deliver more than 200 special teams snaps.
● Skipper ran away with Detroit’s swing tackle job last offseason, earning the right to back up Decker and Sewell. Skipper doesn’t have the same hold on his job as Reynolds, with Manu, Colby Sorsdal, and Jamarco Jones in the mix.
● The third tight end spot is up for grabs. Still, based on nearly half a million in contractual guarantees awarded to Yeboah to lure him to Detroit, he has the early leg up in the competition.
● Detroit beefed up on the defensive line, and Wingo didn’t do much as a rookie before a season-ending injury. Still, I'd lean toward him sticking, especially while McNeill recovers.
● Nowaske got his first taste of defensive work last year and served as a backup Sam linebacker. Detroit didn’t draft an alternative at that spot.
● Nothing is guaranteed for a seventh-round pick. However, Jackson’s competition for the third safety job is a couple of other inexperienced options.
On the bubble (13)
Offense: WR Dominic Lovett, OT Colby Sorsdal, OG Kayode Awosika, OG Netane Muti, OL Michael Niese, TE Shane Zylstra
Defense: DT Brodric Martin, DL Pat O’Connor, LB Ekekiel Turner, LB Anthony Pittman, CB Rock Ya-Sin, S Morice Norris, S Loren Strickland
Analysis: Offensively, Lovett could push for a spot if he pops on special teams, particularly as a gunner on punt coverage. Meanwhile, the path for the backup offensive linemen got murkier with the additions of Ratledge and Frazier in the draft. Two, potentially three of the four listed, will be left on the outside looking in. As for Zylstra, he won’t go down without a fight, possessing enough schematic experience to fend off Yeboah and some undrafted rookies.
Flipping to the defense, Martin has to show significant improvement to maintain his roster spot. The team has two nose tackles in Reader and Lopez, with the rookie Williams also possessing the size and ability to play those alignments. The others on the list are potential depth pieces who can contribute to special teams. They could play their way into jobs with a strong camp/preseason performance (or an injury ahead of them on the depth chart).
Work to do (26)
Offense: QB Kyle Allen, RB Kye Robichaux, RB Anthony Tyus III, WR Ronnie Bell, WR Tom Kennedy, WR Jackson Meeks, WR Jakobie Keeney-James, TE Zach Horton, TE Caden Prieskorn, OT Jamarco Jones, OL Mason Miller, C Kinsley Eguakun, C Leif Fautanu
Defense: Edge Nate Lynn, Edge Isaac Ukwu, Edge Mitchell Agude, Edge Keith Cooper Jr., DT Chris Smith, DT Myles Adams, DT Laki Tasi, LB Anthony Beauplan, LB DaRon Gilbert, CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver, CB Grant Holmes, S Eric Hallett, Ian Kennelly
Analysis: I'm not about to write anyone off at this stage in the offseason. Still, this group has the biggest uphill climb to unseat more reliable options on the depth chart.
Historically, the team has entered the season with at least one undrafted rookie on the 53-man roster. As noted in our
post-draft thoughts to start the week, tight end and safety are logical spots where a challenger could emerge.
It will also be interesting to watch how second-year players develop after spending their rookie seasons on the practice squad. Lynn wasn’t that fortunate, suffering a season-ending injury in the preseason. Regardless, he'd shown some pass-rushing juice in his limited window of opportunity. Others entering their second year who were in Detroit last season include Ukwu, Gilbert and Eguakun.
Projected 53-man roster
Quarterback: Goff, Hooker
Running back: Gibbs, Montgomery, Reynolds, Vaki
Wide receiver: St. Brown, Williams, Patrick, Raymond, TeSlaa
Tight end: LaPorta, Wright, Yeboah
Offensive line: Decker, Sewell, Glasgow, Mahogany, Ragnow, Ratledge, Frazier, Manu, Skipper, Sorsdal
Edge: Hutchinson, Davenport, Paschal, Muhammad, Hassanein
Defensive tackle: Reader, Onwuzurike, Williams, Lopez, Wingo
Linebacker: Anzalone, Campbell, Barnes, Stuard, Nowaske, Turner
Cornerback: Arnold, Reed, Robertson, Rakestraw, Dorsey, Maddox
Safety: Joseph, Branch, Jackson, Norris
Specialists: Fox, Bates, Hatten
Injured lists: McNeill, Rodriguez
Final note: There’s wiggle room for adjustments at a few spots, but I feel pretty good about this projection without seeing the 2025 Lions on the practice field.
The two players I’m least confident about are Sorsdal and Norris. The back end of the offensive line depth chart is wide open. I leaned toward a Holmes draft pick because history tells me that’s the smart play.
As for Norris, Detroit might not need a fourth safety if they feel good about Maddox’s versatility and ability to backstop the position in a pinch. That opens the door for another cornerback, wide receiver, or giving Martin's development a little more time.
… I agree that they wanted someone (not sure it was Pearce as I thought I read he had some character concerns- could be wing on that though). The war room didn’t have its normal energy after their first round pick which seemed odd.
