Tag: 53-man

Establishing the 53: Keeping a 6th WR vs a 4th TE

Examining the Detroit Lions pass-catching options and debating the value of keeping a sixth wide receiver versus a fourth tight end.

We are a long way from NFL training camps and even further from the regular season, but it’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

Previously, in this series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, declared a winner in the fullback versus H-back competition, and in this piece, we will explore the value of keeping a sixth wide receiver versus a fourth tight end.

Returning WR and TE starters

The Lions return all three wide receiver starters — Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola — and all three are expected to keep there starting spots.

At tight end, Jesse James technically started last season but T.J. Hockenson saw more snaps in 2019, despite missing the final five games of the season. Both return as the Lions top two tight ends, regardless of who starts.

Erik’s prediction: Based on contracts, roles, and talent, all five easily make the 53-man roster.

Key role players

He only played 127 snaps over nine games, but Marvin Hall was the vertical speed option the Lions offense had been searching for all last offseason. The Lions didn’t add another player with a skill set similar to Hall this offseason, indicating he is likely to return to his WR4/5 role.

Like Hall, the Lions don’t have another player like fifth-round pick Quintez Cephus on their roster. An inside-out option who will likely find success in the NFL as a big slot, there was a reason he was targeted in last month’s draft.

In a previous Establishing the 53 article, I laid out my reasoning for keeping Isaac Nauta as a third tight end/H-back option over Nick Bawden, citing positional versatility and health as difference makers.

Erik’s prediction: Hall, Cephus, and Nauta push the Lions pass-catching count to five wide receivers and three tight ends on the 53. Likely leaving, at most, one more skill player that could be added.

In the mix at WR6

With five receivers already locked in, the Lions final six rostered receivers — Geronimo Allison, Chris Lacy, Travis Fulgham, Tom Kennedy, Victor Bolden, and Geremy Davis — will be competing for the sixth wide receiver role. At this point in the offseason, you can probably cut these options in half, leaving the top-3 as realistic competitors.

Lacy and Fulgham battled all camp for a final spot on the roster with Lacy winning out, but only lasting two games on the active roster. He would join Fulgham on the practice squad for the majority of the year, but eventually, both were promoted to the active roster late in the season.

Allison was the Lions’ most notable free-agent wide receiver added this offseason, and like Cephus, he has inside-out potential, but they win in very different ways. His four years of NFL experience gives him a massive edge over Lacy and Fulgham.

Erik’s prediction: Allison is in the lead for the WR6 role but I am not ready to place him on the 53 just yet.

The wild card

A tight end in name only, Hunter Bryant (6-2, 240 pounds) is basically an oversized wide receiver who is a YAC (yards-after-catch) monster in the slot. Defenses will struggle to match up with him and Bryant has the potential to be a true wildcard in this offense.

Bryant gets knocked for his blocking — and rightfully so — but there is a foundation there, and with proper coaching, he should be able to improve his technique.

Erik’s prediction: If Bryant can prove his worth on special teams, he could lock up this final skill player spot early in training camp.

Conclusion

If the Lions are able to keep a WR6 or TE4, in my mind it will likely come down to Allison versus Bryant. Allison’s experience, ability to line up at multiple spots on the field, and contribute on special teams will be very appealing to the Lions, but Bryant’s upside may be too good to pass up.

At this point on the roster, the Lions are looking at a player who would likely see five to eight snaps a game, and would ideally someone who can give them an advantage every time they see the field.

Erik’s prediction: I’ll take the matchup nightmare, give me Bryant on the 53.

Establishing the 53: Weighing the options of keeping a FB vs an H-B

Examining the Detroit Lions roster, specifically the fullbacks and H-backs, and determining which has the best chance to make the 53-man roster.

We are a long way from NFL training camps and even further from the regular season, but it’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

Previously, in this new series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, and in this piece, we will take a deeper look at the players who complement them — the fullbacks and H-backs.

What happened in 2019?

After missing his rookie season will a torn ACL, Nick Bawden appeared to be a man with a purpose during training camp. Goal-line carries, swing passes, button hooks, and of course lead blocking, Bawden was deployed in several situations, especially near the goal line. Surprisingly, all of that disappeared — save lead blocking — once the regular season rolled around.

Bawden saw 125 snaps on offense, had zero rushing attempts, four receptions for 17 yards, and graded out (per Pro Football Focus) as a well above average pass blocker and underperforming run blocker.

In Week 11, Bawden went down with another knee injury, was placed on injured reserve, and was replaced in the lineup with rookie tight end/H-back Isaac Nauta.

Nauta would go on to see 41 offensive snaps over the final six games — 34 came as an H-back –, he recorded two receptions for 13 yards, graded out (per PFF) as an above-average pass blocker and was average as a run blocker.

At-a-glance comparison:

Games played Off. snaps per gm Rec per gm Yards per rec Pass Protection Run blocking
Bawden 10 12.5 0.4 4.25 Well above average Below average
Nauta 6 6.83 0.33 6.5 Above average Average

Bawden was the Lions’ first choice last season and when he saw that field he slightly outproduced Nauta in each category, save the most important — run blocking. Nauta didn’t light the world on fire as a run blocker either though and he was below Bawden in most of the above categories, but he deserves some leeway as he was a rookie and playing out of his natural tight end position.

Special teams

The numbers on special teams also slightly favor Bawden. He played in all four phases — kick coverage, kick blocking, punt coverage, and punt blocking — and averaged 17.8 special teams snaps per game.

Nauta averaged 13.7 special teams snap over his six games, and while he started out participating in all four phases, his numbers are lower than Bawden’s mostly because he was removed from the kick-off coverage unit over the final four games.

From a performance perspective, both were close in their PFF grades with Bawden getting the slight edge.

Conclusion

This will likely be one of the closer battles in training camp and could easily come down to overall team philosophies on offense and special teams. Do they want a bruising lead blocker or a positional flexible option?

Based on what we saw in 2019, Bawden appears to be the preferred option and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if he opens up camp with an impactful role. The main factor keeping him from being locked into the roster is he is a fullback only on offense, and he has had two significant knee injuries in as many years.

Meanwhile, Nauta has been fully available, showed he has the potential to fill two roles on offense — as a third (blocking) tight end and H-B –, as well as a contributor on special teams, and it’s reasonable to expect his game to grow as he develops in his sophomore season.

At the end of the day, this is a specialty position (7-12 offensive snaps a game) and in order to fill it, you need to be one of two things: flexible enough to fill more than just one role, and/or elite at what you do.

Bawden may be better at what he does than Nauta is right now, but because he is limited in his roles, he needs to be exceptional at them — which, save pass pro, he is not at this time.

Erik’s prediction: Unless Bawden enters camp and blows it up, Nauta’s position flexibility and availability likely carries an advantage at that’s why he gets my nod for the 53, sending Bawden to the practice squad.

Establishing the 53: Rounding out the Lions’ backfield

Examining the Detroit Lions running backs room to determine how many players from this group could make the 53-man roster.

We are a long way from NFL training camps and even further from the regular season, but it’s never to early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.

This article is the first in a new series of articles at Lions Wire called “establishing the 53”, where we will be examining a Lions’ position group, predicting the Lions’ strategy, and projecting the players who have an inside track for the regular-season roster.

In this piece, we will take a deeper look at the Lions’ running backs.

Easy decisions at the top of the RB group

The Lions have a clear 1-2 punch combo at the top of their running backs group after returning starter Kerryon Johnson and drafting D’Andre Swift in the second-round (pick 35 overall). The only debate involving these two will be over which one starts.

Erik’s prediction: Johnson and Swift make the 53, Johnson starts Week 1

1st down thumper

While K.Johnson and Swift are capable of playing on all three downs, the Lions want to rely on an early-down thumper, and the fact that they didn’t add one in the offseason, speaks volumes about how they feel about Bo Scarbrough. Unless his production falls off a cliff in the pre-season, the smart money is on him beginning the regular season as RB3.

Wes Hills will also challenge for this role but he is still rough around the edges and was outperformed by Scarbrough in 2019. He has NFL potential and his talent is worth continuing to develop but he may need more time.

Erik’s prediction: Scarbrough makes the 53, Hills to the practice squad

Will the Lions keep four or five RBs?

If the Lions only keep four running backs there will be a strong camp battle between last year’s sixth-round draft pick Ty Johnson and this year’s fifth-round draft pick Jason Huntley.

Let’s take a look at their athletic profiles:

Height Weight 40-yard-dash Burst score
Ty Johnson 5106 213 4.4 120.15
Jason Huntley 5084 182 4.4 132.65

Both can burn up the turf, catch passes, and are capable kick returners — something an RB4/5 needs to be able to do to make the back end of a roster.

The first big advantage for T. Johnson has over Huntley is his deceptive size. He has proven he can hold up in the NFL, his year experience (63 rushes and 24 receptions) cannot be undervalued, and his improvement as the season progressed is worth noting.

Meanwhile, Huntley is roughly the same size at J.D. McKissic but faster and more explosive. Huntley can step right into the role McKissic has last season as a jitterbug runner with dynamic pass-catching skills out of the backfield (he had 134 career catches at NMST), while also legitimately challenging Jamal Agnew for kick return duties (he had five kick off returns for touchdowns in college).

Erik’s prediction: Lions keep five backs, both T. Johnson and Huntley make the 53

Erik’s Reasoning

Five backs may seem like a lot but you don’t draft four running backs in three years — two in the second-round at that — unless you plan on using them. The Lions are also a team desperate to establish the run, have injury concerns with several of their top options, and Swift/Huntley’s elite pass-catching skills will allow the Lions to potentially go with fewer bodies at other offensive skill positions.