ALLEN PARK — The NFL draft is in the books, and Detroit has added a six-man class to one of the best rosters in the league. Of course, having one of the best rosters in the league means the rookies might have a harder time cracking the lineup. And for a team that was forced to play one of the league’s youngest rosters each of the last three years, that’s a great spot to be in.
“Look, I was thinking about that this morning,” general manager Brad Holmes said after wrapping up his fourth draft on Saturday night. “… It’s a good feeling to be in a spot where we feel good about the depth we have, we feel good about the future we have, but man, those guys have got to compete and win spots. I know that we’re a better football team now, to take that step, like you were talking about. It’s going to be really up to them. Now we’re going to do our part and make sure that they’re surrounded with the resources to be set up for success with their development, but those guys got to compete.”
With that, let’s take an early look at where the competition stands heading into Organized Team Activities in a couple weeks. This does not account for undrafted rookies, whose deals are not yet official.
QUARTERBACK
Projected starter: Jared Goff
Reserves: Hendon Hooker, Nate Sudfeld
Notable departures: Teddy Bridgewater
Rookies: None
Breakdown: Not much to see here, which is an awfully good place to be at quarterback. Michael Penix at No. 8? Bo Nix at No. 11? Are you kidding me? People do strange things when they need a QB in the NFL. Jared Goff, meanwhile, has piloted back-to-back top-five offenses, finished No. 2 in passing yards last season, posted the best completion percentage of his career, and has all his favorite toys back for another go at it next season. That includes playcaller Ben Johnson. After spending a third-round pick on backup quarterback Hendon Hooker last year, even the QB2 needs are met. Not much to see here, and that’s an awfully nice place to be.
RECEIVER
Projected starters: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Donovan Peoples-Jones
Reserves: Kalif Raymond, Antoine Green, Tom Kennedy, Tre’Quan Smith, Daurice Fountain, Maurice Alexander
Notable departures: Josh Reynolds (Broncos)
Rookies: None
Breakdown: Three years after plunging to Pick 112, Amon-Ra St. Brown got his revenge on the draft industrial complex. He signed a four-year, $120 million extension on the eve of the event — the third-highest contract ever for a non-QB — before kicking off the festivities from the stage on Thursday night. In short, the kid is officially a superstar. He’s already caught 315 passes, third most in NFL history through a player’s first three seasons, and now will be a fixture in Detroit for the long term.
But there are questions on the outside. Jameson Williams is expected to become a full-time starter for the first time in his career, and while he showed undeniable development in the second half of last season, he’s never been counted on like this before. There are even bigger questions on the other side of the field, where Detroit seems prepared to roll into training camp with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Kalif Raymond competing for the remaining spot. DPJ caught just five passes in eight games after arriving in a trade at the deadline, but did make some key third- and fourth-down grabs too. Perhaps an offseason in the program will allow him to develop better chemistry with Goff. Or maybe Raymond separates for the job. Antoine Green, a seventh-round pick who made minimal contributions as a rookie, has the physical traits to play out there too.
TIGHT END
Projected starter: Sam LaPorta
Reserves: Brock Wright, James Mitchell, Shane Zylstra
Notable departures: None
Rookies: None
Breakdown: Michael Mayer was viewed by analysts as TE1 in last year’s draft. Some in Detroit’s war room wanted him too. But Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell were big believers in a kid out of Iowa named Sam LaPorta. So big, they used the 34th overall pick to get him.
“We don’t have a crystal ball,” Holmes said that night last year, “but I would expect that we can get some instant impact (from the top rookies. You go even to Sam LaPorta, a guy that I would say more along the terms of a gritty weapon, I do think that Sam would be able to make an early impact.”
After so many years of so many misfires in Detroit, it’s still pretty weird to be around a man who knows what he’s doing. LaPorta needed only a few days to show what Holmes was talking about, instantly asserting himself as Jared Goff’s favorite target behind Amon-Ra St. Brown despite the historical challenges of playing that position as a rookie. He went to catch 86 passes — a record for a first-year tight end — for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named second-team All-Pro, a first for a Lions rookie at the position.
With Brock Wright back too, plus a nice competition brewing between former fifth-round pick James Mitchell and red-zone threat Shane Zylstra for TE3, Detroit is in outstanding shape for the now and foreseeable. Led by a former NFL tight end at head coach and a former tight ends coach as the offensive playcaller, Detroit has a deft touch for deploying those guys, too.
RUNNING BACK
Projected starters: David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs
Reserves: Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki, Jermar Jefferson, Jake Funk, Zonovan Knight
Notable departures: None
Rookies: Vaki (fourth round)
Breakdown: Holmes and the rest of the Lions war room wore “POSITIONAL VILLAIN” hoodies on Day 2 of the draft, a not-so-subtle jab at the critics who belly-ached about Detroit taking a running back at No. 12 last season.
“I got hit for ‘positional value’ last year,” Holmes said. “When I got tipped off on ‘positional value,’ I didn’t even know what that was. This was like a new analytic. I didn’t know what it was.”
Holmes, as he usually does, got the last laugh. In their debut season together, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery became the first teammates in NFL history to both account for 1,000 yards from scrimmage and run for 10 touchdowns. Here’s the crazy thing about that: Gibbs didn’t find his stride until Week 7. He spent the first half of his rookie season either riding the bench or struggling to find his footing on the field. By year’s end, he was among the best home-run threats in the league and finished with the third-most yards from scrimmage of any rookie overall.
The future looks very bright in the Lions’ backfield. With trusted backup Craig Reynolds also under contract, the immediate need was exceedingly low heading into the draft. But it’s always smart to continue investing in the game’s most violent position, and Detroit developed a crush on former Utah safety Sione Vaki during the draft process. Yes, safety. But Vaki began moonlighting as a running back in the final six games of last season, and somehow averaged 7.5 yards on his 42 carries. He also drew snaps in the slot, and caught 14 passes for 203 yards, a ridiculous average of 7.51 yards per route. When Vaki visited Detroit for a 30 visit, he met with the Lions’ offensive staff, including coordinator Ben Johnson and running backs coach Scottie Montgomery.
When Brad Holmes woke up for Day 3 of the draft, he realized how heartbroken he would be if he didn’t land Vaki. So he went after the kid, landing Vaki in the fourth round. He probably won’t play a lot right away on offense, but he’s a high-upside lottery ticket who will contribute immediately across the special teams, including possibly as a return man, a position with increased value because of the change to the kickoff rules.
“We thought he was one of the better special teams players in this entire draft, all four phases of special teams, especially with some of the changes that are coming about,” Holmes said. “He’s starting to come to life even more. And then really later on in the process, just sticking to the special teams component, it kind of came to life even more with some possible return value. You’re looking at him at four corps in the return units as more of a blocker, but the stuff that he can do with the ball in his hands (is appealing). I first saw him when he had first made the switch when they got kind of short at running back there at Utah. They just had him fill in. But we were more so looking at him as a safety, but he looks so natural as a runner. I was like, ‘Wait, where did these backyard instincts of his come from of just him running the ball and making these plays?’ Not only does he have these instincts that are (more) natural (than) we thought, he’s not even majoring in it. He just did that because they just got kind of shorthanded and he was like, ‘Oh, you need a running back? I’ll help out.’ And he started making these plays running the ball and in the passing game.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
Projected starter: LT Taylor Decker, LG Graham Glasgow, C Frank Ragnow, RG Kevin Zeitler, RT Penei Sewell
Reserves: T Dan Skipper, T Giovanni Manu, G Kayode Awosika, G Colby Sorsdal, G Christian Mahogany, G Matt Farniok, G Netane Muti, OL Connor Galvin, OL Michael Niese
Notable departures: G Jonah Jackson
Rookies: Manu (fourth round), Mahogany (sixth round)
Breakdown: The rich get richer, and you love to see it. The Lions bid adieu to Jonah Jackson in free agency, but they believe their starting five could be even better after landing reigning Pro Bowler Kevin Zeitler — one of the league’s premier interior pass blockers — in free agency. Graham Glasgow also re-signed in free agency, solidifying one of the best starting fives in the league.
Detroit also invested in the future of the position, trading up to get their top Day 3 target, a 6-foot-8, 352-pound offensive tackle named Giovanni Manu. You probably don’t know that name, and that’s OK. Manu is a relative unknown who was born in Tonga — about a 45-minute flight from Penei Sewell’s home of American Samoa — before moving to Canada and eventually enrolling at the University of British Columbia. The level of competition was exactly what you’d expect, but Manu’s physical gifts are extraordinary. At 6-8 and 352 pounds, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.90 seconds at his pro day. The Lions had people on hand for that workout, and were so intrigued that the personnel people told Holmes he had to take a look at the film.
“We were so blown away just (by) his makeup, his character, the way he’s wired,” Holmes said. “He’s got a lot of upside. … This is more of a down-the-road future deal, but the upside is enormous.”
Don’t expect to see Manu play this season, but he’s landed in a great place to unlock his incredible potential. Detroit returns one of the best 1-2 tackle combinations in the league, and both Sewell — a fellow Pacific Islander — and the veteran Decker should be great mentors. Same goes for Hank Fraley, one of the finest offensive line coaches in the league.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Projected starters: EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, DT Alim McNeill, DT DJ Reader, EDGE Marcus Davenport
Reserves: EDGE James Houston, EDGE John Cominsky, EDGE Josh Paschal, EDGE Mathieu Betts, DT Brodric Martin, DT Levi Onwuzurike, DT Mekhi Wingo, DL Chris Smith
Notable departures: EDGE Romeo Okwara, EDGE Charles Harris, DT Benito Jones
Rookies: Wingo (sixth round)
Breakdown: Aidan Hutchinson has lived up to the hype through two seasons, finishing second in the league in pressures last year and piling up 21 sacks overall. The problem is he’s had almost no help. That should change next season, especially on the interior. DJ Reader, perhaps the best nose tackle in the league, has been added to a starting lineup that returns Alim McNeill, who was a top-10 interior defender last year. That’s a nasty 1-2 combination that should not only continue Detroit’s improvement against the run, but offer a lot of juice against the pass too.
Brodric Martin should become more of a factor too after essentially taking a redshirt last year to make the NFL jump from Western Kentucky, and it’ll be interesting to see what rookie Mekhi Wingo — who had 8.5 sacks at LSU — can provide too. Holmes hinted that he liked Wingo’s pass rush so much, the rookie could see opportunities on the outside too.
Detroit also added former first-round pick Marcus Davenport to that mix in free agency, and don’t forget about the return of James Houston either, who delivered eight sacks in an incredible seven-game rookie season before missing most of last year with a broken ankle. The Lions believe a jump is coming, one of the reasons they ranked the edge rush below other offseason priorities.
LINEBACKER
Projected starters: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell
Reserves: Derrick Barnes, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Malcolm Rodriguez, Mitchell Agude
Notable departures: None
Rookies: None
Breakdown: It’s difficult to remember a time when the Lions were this deep at linebacker. Alex Anzalone has improved every season in Detroit, and returns for a fourth year as the trigger man in the middle. Jack Campbell was taken with the 18th overall pick last year, and finally began to unleash his immense physical traits down the stretch last season. He has a legitimate shot to be the most improved defensive player next season. Campbell was drafted to replace Derrick Barnes in the starting lineup, but Barnes was so much better last season that he started 13 games anyway and made the huge pick that sealed Detroit’s trip to the NFC championship game.
That’s good depth, and doesn’t even account for special teams stars Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Malcolm Rodriguez, both of whom have started games at linebacker and played well. Detroit doesn’t have superstars at the position, but there’s so much to like about the depth and how the pieces fit together.
DEFENSIVE BACK
Projected starters: CB Carlton Davis, CB Terrion Arnold, CB Brian Branch, S Kerby Joseph, S Ifeatu Melifonwu
Reserves: CB Amik Robertson, CB Emmanuel Moseley, CB Kindle Vildor, CB Khalil Dorsey, CB Steven Gilmore, CB Craig James, S Brandon Joseph
Notable departures: CB Cam Sutton (unsigned), CB Jerry Jacobs (unsigned), CB Will Harris (unsigned), S C.J. Gardner-Johnson (Eagles)
Rookies: Arnold (first round), Rakestraw (second round)
Breakdown: Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw were the two best cornerbacks in the SEC last season. They also were the top two cornerbacks on the Lions’ draft board. And when an early run on offensive players pushed the top of the defensive class to the back half of the first round, Holmes didn’t hesitate to knock out his biggest need with his favorite prospect, trading up to take Arnold at 24th overall.
After trading for Carlton Davis and signing Amik Robertson, both of whom have quality NFL starts under their belt, Detroit had addressed its 27th-ranked pass defense with significant upgrades. And Holmes still wasn’t done, also taking Rakestraw in the second round, at 61st overall.
That’s a historic investment in the position — Detroit had taken just two corners that highly in the last 10 years combined, and never done it in the same draft in its history — that will provide bonafide building blocks for the future of the secondary, something the Lions haven’t had since the days of Darius Slay.
Davis will anchor the CB1 spot for now, but what happens beyond that is anyone’s guess. Arnold will compete for the other outside spot and surely will be the future face of the position. But if he needs time to acclimate to the NFL game — the jump at cornerback is no joke — Robertson and Emmanuel Moseley both have quality NFL starting experience that Detroit can lean on instead. Arnold and Robertson also have experience playing inside, and so does Rakestraw for that matter too, freeing up Detroit to toy with moving stud nickel Brian Branch to safety, where young ascending players like Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu also return.
The training camp battles in the back end of the defense will be a sight to behold.
“It’s a bloodbath in there now,” Holmes said. “It is, and that’s what makes everything better. It makes the room better, it makes the defense better, it makes the team better. Competition just brings the best out of everybody.”
SPECIALIST
Projected starters: P Jack Fox, K Michael Badgley, LS Scott Daly
Notable departures: None
Rookies: None
Breakdown: Not much to see here. Jack Fox is among the league’s best punters and Scott Daly is expected to make a full recovery from the injury that sidelined him down the stretch last season. The only real uncertainty is at kicker, and there were a few draftable players at the position. After two went in the seven picks before Detroit’s final selection, the Lions are prepared to run it back with their crew from last season.