While Detroit Lions’ training camp doesn’t officially start until this weekend, the team’s rookies are scheduled to report on Wednesday, a few days ahead of the veterans.
First-year players have played a crucial role in the franchise’s turnaround, from perennial cellar dweller to legitimate Super Bowl contender. It wasn’t until last season that the team didn’t need to heavily lean on multiple rookies, with only first-round pick Terrion Arnold logging significant playing time throughout his debut campaign.
Will things revert even slightly this season, or should we continue to anticipate fewer rookie contributions to a deep and veteran-laden roster?
As the rookies report, let’s inspect this year’s draft class, exploring the floor and ceiling for each player’s first season before predicting where they’ll fall between those extremes.
Defensive tackle Tyleik Williams
Ceiling: During general manager Brad Holmes’ tenure, the Lions have consistently received immediate and significant contributions from the team’s first-round draft picks, including Arnold last year. Beyond receiver Jameson Williams, who spent much of his debut season recovering from a torn ACL, Holmes’ five other first-rounders have averaged 836 offensive or defensive snaps as rookies.
Those past results raise expectations for Williams, the No. 28 pick out of Ohio State.
If Detroit’s roster were at full strength heading into the season, it wouldn’t be as easy to project a steady role. However, with Alim McNeill working his way back from his own ACL injury, Williams should be asked to shoulder a larger workload, at least for the first half of the season.
Typically, defensive tackles don’t stuff the stat sheet. The Lions would be content to see Williams perform at a similar level as McNeill did as a rookie in 2021, when he appeared in 16 games as a third-round choice out of North Carolina State and delivered 39 tackles and 2.0 sacks.
Floor: While playing time is likely, it’s not guaranteed. Detroit actually has quality depth along the interior, headlined by a more-than-capable starting tandem of DJ Reader and Levi Onwuzurike. While unlikely, there’s a world where experienced and reliable veterans Roy Lopez and Pat O’Connor eat into Williams’ early-career playing time while he adjusts to the size and strength of the next level. Remember, Williams’ initial development was potentially slowed after the newcomer missed OTAs due to a lingering hamstring injury.
That could create a scenario where McNeill gets medically cleared before everything clicks for Williams, depressing playing time opportunities throughout the 2025 campaign.
Prediction: Williams quickly works his way into the rotation, especially if the Lions continue to use five-man fronts as much as they did last season. With McNeill potentially out of action until November, there should be ample opportunity for the rookie to see snaps. If Williams stays healthy, 400-500 reps feels reasonable, with 30 tackles, a couple of sacks and 15 or so QB pressures.
Offensive lineman Tate Ratledge
Ceiling: All signs point to Ratledge being a Day 1 starter. Fortunately, the team has gotten steady first-year impact from a number of offensive linemen in recent years, including Taylor Decker, Penei Sewell, Larry Warford, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow and Graham Glasgow.
What we haven’t seen in some time is a rookie immediately starting at center, which is a possibility for Ratledge based on his early offseason reps. Even Ragnow, a dominant and experienced college center, didn’t begin his pro career snapping. Therefore, it feels like a lot for Ratledge to make a more rapid transition after exclusively playing right guard for Georgia.
Whether it’s center or one of the guard spots, an ideal debut would mirror Warford’s in 2013. After taking some lumps in training camp working against Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, a battle-tested Warford excelled as a rookie, both in protection and creating movement in the ground game. If Ratledge can similarly hit the ground running, it would greatly soften the blow of Ragnow’s decision to retire this offseason.
Floor: It would hardly be the end of the world if Ratledge proved unready to play center as a rookie. Glasgow should be able to bridge that gap while the Lions assess Ratledge’s longer-term viability as Ragnow’s replacement.
As a starting guard, Ratledge could end up performing more like Ragnow than Warford during their first seasons. It’s easy to forget that Ragnow, a multi-time Pro Bowler, was pedestrian as a rookie, allowing 36 pressures in protection and committing six penalties.
There are also durability concerns. Ratledge dealt with multiple lower-body issues during his college career, including major foot and ankle injuries.
Prediction: It still feels unnecessarily risky to project Ratledge as the Week 1 starting center on a Super Bowl contender. It’s more likely he ends up at guard while continuing to be groomed as Ragnow’s full-time replacement in 2026.
In terms of the results, they’ll probably land somewhere between Warford and Ragnow’s rookie seasons. Ratledge’s college tape suggests he’s not as good a run blocker as either of those two former Lions were coming into the league. However, the rookie has impressive pass-protection chops that should translate quickly.
Wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa
Ceiling: TeSlaa earning significant playing time on offense as a rookie would likely involve an injury higher up the depth chart. It’s understood development is needed, and that will largely take place on the practice field while Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond shoulder the game-day workload.
If forced into playing time by injury, it wouldn’t be outlandish to see TeSlaa catch 30 or 40 balls. However, 10-20 is a more realistic estimate.
Ideally, TeSlaa would make steady progress with the route-running fundamentals required to be effective on the outside, putting him in a position to replace Patrick next season. Additionally, with TeSlaa’s size and speed, he should be able to find ways to contribute on special teams.
Floor: The Lions haven’t hesitated to roster developmental players unable to carve out a role on game days, including undrafted cornerback Steven Gilmore and recent draft picks Brodric Martin and Giovanni Manu.
It wouldn’t be ideal, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that TeSlaa spends a meaningful chunk of his first season as a healthy scratch.
Prediction: I think we could reasonably be looking at something like Quintez Cephus’ rookie campaign in 2020, when the former fifth-round selection hauled in 20 of 35 targets for 349 yards and two scores in 13 appearances.
There’s reason to be optimistic about position coach Scottie Montgomery maximizing TeSlaa’s development. Additionally, there will likely be at least a few games where an injury will necessitate the Arkansas product stepping into a larger role, organically increasing his opportunities.
Offensive lineman Miles Frazier
Ceiling: It’s admittedly unlikely, but Frazier could excel in camp and the preseason and earn a starting job over Ragledge, Christian Mahogany or Glasgow. Displacing the veteran is particularly a stretch because the team wants to have an experienced voice to help direct pre-snap traffic in Ragnow’s stead.
Even if Frazier isn’t a starter, there’s a realistic path to becoming the first interior lineman off the bench in case of an injury. To do so, the fifth-round pick would need to beat out experienced and trusted veterans, Kayode Awosika and Netane Muti.
If Frazier demonstrates the versatility to play effectively at offensive tackle during the preseason, it will only enhance his chances of being active on game days.
Floor: Like former fifth-round pick Colby Sorsdal last season, Frazier could find himself a healthy scratch most weeks, stuck behind one or both of the aforementioned veterans on the depth chart.
Prediction: Maybe it’s not Week 1, but like Mahogany a year ago, Frazier should eventually claim the top backup job among the interior linemen.
Defensive end Ahmed Hassanein
Ceiling: With Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Josh Paschal and Al-Quadin Muhammad established commodities heading into the season, cracking the edge-rushing rotation as a rookie would be a huge win for Hassanein.
Another win would be finding some meaningful roles on special teams. At Boise State, he was largely limited to the field-goal block unit.
Floor: There is a world where Hassanein doesn’t make the 53-man roster, especially if the Lions opt to re-sign veteran Za’Darius Smith, who has been public about his desire to run it back in Detroit.
Holmes loathes giving up on his draft picks prematurely. Still, the team cut former sixth-round rookie James Houston after his first training camp, forcing him to spend half a season on the practice squad before adding him to the active roster.
Prediction: Hassanein makes the roster but is a healthy scratch most weeks, assuming the top of the depth chart isn’t decimated by injuries like it was a y