The Detroit Lions’ roster looks ready for another competitive year, but what position do you think has the least amount of depth?
General managers will do whatever they can to construct a perfect roster, but there is only so much you can do with the limited resources at your disposal. Last year, in Brad Holmes’ third year as a GM, he sought to make the Detroit Lions a competitive team, and that’s exactly what he did.
The Lions made a deep playoff run thanks largely to their offense, and this year, after making some much needed improvements to the defense, there is hope that there will be more balance to the roster. So with a roster that looks much better on paper and certainly a lot deeper, where are the cracks in the armor?
Today’s Question of the Day is…
At which position do the Lions have the weakest depth?
After attempting to do this exercise, this only made me feel better about the Lions’ roster. I don’t think the team is in bad shape at any position, and for the most part, the starters are looking good, and their depth across the board is much better than where they were a year ago.
Still, I’ll throw out a few positions where I could see some troubles potentially arising if they run into some injuries.
Quarterback is an obvious one that I’ll mention, but I don’t want to bring too much attention to it. Obviously, if Jared Goff were to go down, then that would be very bad for this team, as it would be for any team losing their starting QB. However, the Lions are in a much better position this year with their young backup Hendon Hooker finally healthy, and the hope is that he can continue to learn and develop this year behind Goff.
At wide receiver, the Lions had to make some sacrifices and spend their resources elsewhere, as largely the same group returns to the team in 2024. However, they are hoping that Jameson Williams can have a breakout year after a strong finish to last season. I believe he can, and I’m more worried about the Lions’ lack of depth at the X receiver role. That spot will likely be filled by Antoine Green or Donovan Peoples-Jones. It will be interesting to see who can win that spot and whether that will be a step up, down or a lateral move from Josh Reynolds, who spent a lot of time in that role last year.
The Lions are set on the offensive line in terms of their starters, but their depth you could argue looks a little questionable. Holmes did a nice job of using free agency to replace Jonah Jackson with Kevin Zeitler, and then locked up Graham Glasgow to some term to solidify the starting line. He then used the draft to add Giovanni Manu and Christian Mahogany for some extra depth. We’ve seen the Lions have their fair share of injuries along the line in years past, and they’ve managed to maintain their status as arguably the best OL in the league. Huge credit to the guys stepping up and to the OL staff. One can only hope that it will continue for another year.
On the other side of the trenches, the Lions look improved on the interior DL with the addition of DJ Reader. If Reader and Alim McNeill can both stay healthy, then that’s a scary situation to be in for an opposing QB. The production behind those guys all depends on growth from Brodric Martin and Levi Onwuzurike. That remains a huge question mark, but they also have rookie Mekhi Wingo who can contribute, which was considered to be one of the biggest steals in the draft. I really like where the interior DL is at right now.
I’m a little less confident in the Lions’ edge rushing depth at the moment. Aidan Hutchinson is obviously a superstar, but who will step up on the other side? Josh Paschal looks to be the frontrunner unless Marcus Davenport can live up to his contract and stay healthy. John Cominsky is reliable depth, but the Lions need pressures, and they can’t have Hutchinson accumulating nearly triple the amount of pressures as the next best guy. That just can’t happen again. The Lions also have a healthy James Houston IV returning this year, so hopefully they can get some solid production out of him.
Let’s hear from you. Drop your thoughts in the comments below.