Every year during training camp, fans tend to develop a fondness for certain players, known as “camp darlings”. For Lions fans, players like Zach Zenner and Tom Kennedy come to mind, as they have an underdog story that makes them easy to root for. This year, the Detroit Lions have two UDFAs who have exceeded expectations during training camp: wide receiver Dylan Drummond and cornerback Starling Thomas V. These two players have earned the “camp darling” title due to their impressive performance.
Recently, Drummond’s story has gained attention across the country, making him a potential underdog contender for a spot on the roster. Those who have been present at training camp are not surprised, however. Apart from Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drummond has been the most dependable wide receiver during camp, becoming a favorite target for Nate Sudfield while playing with the second and third teams. The coaching staff has certainly taken notice of his impressive performance.
“He makes plays every day,” head coach Dan Campbell said of Drummond in camp. “He really, mentally, can play all the positions. He competes in special teams. I would say he’s hard to ignore. He’s just hard to ignore. He’s continuing to climb the depth chart.”
Despite being a consistent player in camp, Drummond faces the challenging task of making it onto the roster. St. Brown, Kalif Raymond, Josh Reynolds, and Marvin Jones are most likely guaranteed spots. Jameson Williams won’t count towards the roster for the first six games, but will eventually join the lineup. That leaves the team with five receivers already. The Lions may choose to utilize those roster slots for other positions like in the secondary.
Drummond is vying for a wide receiver spot against several other players, including Antoine Green, Denzel Mims, Maurice Alexander, Trey Quinn, Chase Cota, and Avery Davis. His performance indicates that he deserves the spot, but ultimately, it will depend on how many receivers the Lions decide to keep and how the rest of camp plays out. Nonetheless, Drummond has positioned himself well to make a strong case for being selected for the team.
Starling Thomas V was one of those polarizing players coming out of the draft, that you weren’t too sure he might go because of his size, but he had the ball skills and stats to back it all up. The Lions snagged him up in the undrafted process, and Thomas has proven himself so far through training camp. Sometimes it’s possible to identify why he may have stumbled, but for the most part, he appears comfortable on the field; t’s easy to forget that he was an undrafted free agent.
Luckily for Thomas, his path to making the roster is easier compared to Drummond’s. The Lions have recently rebuilt their cornerback depth, but it still remains weak. It’s expected that Cam Sutton and Jerry Jacobs will be the starting outside corners, while Emmanuel Mosley’s status is uncertain depending on his recovery. However, he will likely still be included in the lineup.
Thomas is among the competitors for the outside corner roles on the Lions team, along with Chase Lucas, Steven Gilmore, Khalil Dorsey, and Tae Haynes. Though Gilmore has been making some noise, Thomas is performing at a higher level, which should give him an edge. Today, the Lions released an “unofficial depth chart,” and Thomas is listed right behind Jacobs for the outside corner position. This should be taken with a grain of salt, but given Thomas’ impressive contributions on defense and special teams, as well as the Lions’ lack of depth, he may have a good chance of making the roster.
Drummond and Thomas have been performing exceptionally well during camp, and it will be exciting to see how they perform in the upcoming preseason games. If they continue their upward trajectory, it may be difficult for the Lions management to exclude both of these undrafted free agents from the team roster.