Over the last two weeks, I have examined each of the Detroit Lions position groups on the 90-man roster, in an attempt to give readers a more informative look at how I believe the Lions will narrow the field to just 53-players.
If you missed any of the previous articles in this series, you can see my thought process in more detail through the following pieces:
- Rounding out the running backs group
- Declaring a winner in the fullback versus H-back competition
- Adding an offensive weapon
- Narrowing down the offensive line
- Breaking down the defensive line
- Establishing the top options at linebacker
- Sorting the defensive backs
- Examining the specialists in the kicking game
In this installment, I will overview my thought process step-by-step looking at the entire roster when narrowing the field.
Returning starters
The first step to establishing a 53-man roster is to identify the expected starters. On offense, the Lions are returning nine of their 11 starters from 2019, only needing to replace an offensive tackle and guard. Here are those nine returning starters:
- QB: Matthew Stafford
- RB: Kerryon Johnson
- WR: Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, Danny Amendola
- TE: T.J. Hockenson
- LT: Taylor Decker
- LG: Joe Dahl
- C: Frank Ragnow
On defense, the Lions base 3-3-5 calls for 11 starters, but because of the frequency at which they use their defensive backs, I allow for an extra 12th defensive starter — a third safety — to accommodate for the scheme. Of those 12 spots, the Lions return seven starters:
- DDE: Trey Flowers
- DT/BIG DE: Da’Shawn Hand
- Off-the-ball LB: Jarrad Davis, Jahlani Tavai
- Nickel CB: Justin Coleman
- JOKER safety: Tracy Walker
- 3rd Safety: Will Harris
On special teams, the Lions return two starters:
- K: Matt Prater
- LS: Don Muhlbach
Roster tally: The Lions have 18 spots filled based on returning starters, leaving 37 spots remaining. Here’s an at-a-glance look at the Lions roster so far:
Anticipated starters after the offseason
The next step is to add in the newly rostered players who are expected to fill out the remaining starting spots. On offense, even though there are two obvious spots remaining on the offensive line, there is an argument to be made that the Lions will have duel starters at running back. Here are the additions on offense:
- RB: D’Andre Swift
- RT: Halapoulivaati Vaitai
- RG: Jonah Jackson
On defense, I am adding another dual starter spot at defensive tackle, because when the Lions shift to a four-man front, Hand will shift outside to Big DE and they will need another interior starter. Here are the additions on defense:
- NT: Danny Shelton
- DT: Nick Williams
- Off-the-ball LB: Jamie Collins
- JACK: Julian Okwara
- CB: Desmond Trufant, Jeff Okudah
- FS: Duron Harmon
On special teams, only the punter spot remained, and for now, the likely leader is:
- P: Jack Fox
Roster tally: With the new players and added starter spots, the Lions roster now sits at 29 players, leaving 24 spots open for reserves. Here is an updated at-a-glance look at the Lions roster:
Adding in the role players
Next, I look at the reserves that play key roles that would be difficult to replace. On offense, that includes a backup QB, power runner, deep threat, big slot, blocking TE, swing tackle, and high ceiling reserve interior offensive lineman.
- QB: Chase Daniel
- RB: Bo Scarbrough
- WR, Marvin Hall, Quintez Cephus
- TE: Jesse James
- OT: Tyrell Crosby
- OG: Logan Stenberg
On defense, it’s the same exercise, adding two rotational pass rushers, a reserve LB with positional range, a developmental upside CB, and matchup Safety:
- DDE: Romeo Okwara
- JACK: Austin Bryant
- Off-the-ball LB: Christian Jones
- CB: Amani Oruwariye
- S: Jayron Kearse
Roster tally: With the key role players factored in, the Lions roster is now up to 41 players with just a dozen spots remaining. Here is an updated at-a-glance look at the Lions roster:
Final 53-man projection
Adding the first 41 players isn’t the challenging part as they play obvious roles for this organization. The difficult part is projecting who the final 12 players are.
The “Establishing the 53” articles that preceded this one explain in more detail why I selected each of the players listed below. Those articles are listed at the top of this piece and I also put an “explanation” link after each player for easier access to those pieces:
- RB: Ty Johnson (explanation)
- Gadget RB/returner: Jason Huntley (explanation)
- TE/H-B: Isaac Nauta (explanation)
- TE/Big slot: Hunter Bryant (explanation)
- G/T: Kenny Wiggins (explanation)
- G/C: Beau Benzschawel (explanation)
- NT: John Penisini (explanation)
- DT: Kevin Strong (explanation)
- LB/special teamer: Jalen Reeves-Maybin (explanation)
- NB/returner: Jamal Agnew (explanation)
- NB/gunner: Tony McRae (explanation)
- CB/gunner: Mike Ford (explanation)
The final at-a-glance look at the Lions 53-man roster projection:
Final thoughts
Things are far from settled — especially among the last group of players — and training camp will surely bring some clarity, but as of today, with the happenings in the world being what they are, this is who I believe to be the front runners for the Lions 2020 53-man roster.
Here is a reminder at-a-glance look at the Lions 90-man roster:
