Our predictions for every Detroit Lions training camp battle on offense.
As Detroit Lions training camp nears, we at Pride of Detroit are kicking off one of our favorite series: Bubble Watch.
Bubble Watch is a series of weekly articles where we take the pulse of our staff on the biggest training camp battles going on. How it works is simple: I list a group of players on each side of the ball who I believe to be on the roster bubble, meaning they’re right on the edge of making or missing the team’s 53-man roster. From there, our staff simply predicts whether that player will make the team (“IN) or will miss it (“OUT”).
We will revisit this every single week of the preseason with updated predictions to see which players are trending up, and which may be trending back.
Let’s start with our pre-training camp predictions for offensive players on the roster bubble.
Quarterback:
- Assumed in: Jared Goff
- Hendon Hooker: 11 “IN” votes
- Kyle Allen: 0 votes
The POD staff is not convinced Kyle Allen is legitimate competition for the backup job. What’s interesting is that no one even believes Detroit is going to keep a third quarterback. To be fair, the Lions have mostly run with two on the active roster and one on the practice squad under Dan Campbell, and that feels likely again this year.
Running back:
- Assumed in: Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki
Obviously, this is subject to change, but as it stands, the Lions’ running back room is fairly set with their top four players. Could UDFA Kye Robichaux make his way onto the roster bubble? Absolutely. But he starts camp as a longshot.
Wide receiver:
- Assumed in: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick, Kalif Raymond, Isaac TeSlaa
- Dominic Lovett: 10 votes
- Ronnie Bell: 1 vote
- Tom Kennedy: 0 votes
- Jackson Meeks: 0 votes
- Jakobie Keeney-James: 0 votes
Detroit is likely set with their top-five receivers, so the question entering camp is who will be WR6—if there is even a roster spot for the sixth. Understandably, we’ve got the draft pick, Dominic Lovett, as the winner of that spot. Although under-the-radar free agent signing Ronnie Bell garnered a vote, as well.
Tight end:
- Assumed in: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright
- Shane Zylstra: 9 votes
- Kenny Yeboah: 2 votes
- Zach Horton: 0 votes
TE3 is one of the more interesting battles heading into camp, and right now the staff is mostly backing the incumbent, Shane Zylstra. But it wouldn’t surprise me to see this fluctuate over the next six weeks. There’s already some support for veteran Kenny Yeboah, who has a boat of experience on offense and special teams.
Offensive tackle:
- Assumed in: Taylor Decker, Penei Sewell, Giovanni Manu
- Dan Skipper: 11 votes
- Colby Sorsdal: 0 votes
No drama here, at the moment. The Lions’ top four tackles are pretty well-established in Decker, Sewell, Skipper, and Manu. Although I wouldn’t completely count out the likes of Sorsdal or veteran Jamarco Jones. Still, it seems a little early to give up on Manu, and Skipper has carved out a nice OL6 role for him over the past few years.
Interior offensive line:
- Assumed in: Graham Glasgow, Tate Ratledge, Christian Mahogany, Miles Frazier
- Kayode Awosika: 6 votes
- Netane Muti: 5 votes
- Michael Niese: 2 votes
- Trystan Colon: 2 vote
- Kingsley Eguakun: 0 votes
This is where most eyes will be when it comes to position battles on offense. There are enough questions about the starters on the team, but those questions get even tougher when you talk about the depth on the roster. Will they go with young, developing players like Michael Niese and Kingsley Eguakun? Or will they stick with some veteran presence in a young room and pick Kayode Awosika and/or Netane Muti? The staff is pretty split at the start of training camp, and we probably won’t get much feel for movement until the pads come on a week or two into camp.