Nose Tackle
Let’s start with the elephant in the room. DJ Reader is gone. Roy Lopez is gone. And right now, the Lions are basically banking on a healthy Alim McNeill and hoping Tyleik Williams takes a second-year leap to handle the interior.
Look, Brad Holmes knows what he’s doing. But asking Jay Tufele, a 310-pound guy who’s mostly played 3-tech, to suddenly become your run-stuffing nose tackle? That’s optimistic even by Lions standards. UDFA Aidan Keanaaina might develop into something, but we’re talking about plugging immediate holes here.
Maybe this signals some defensive tweaks, but teams still need big bodies to stop the run. The Lions could use another one.
Linebacker
Here’s where things get interesting. The Lions carried ten linebackers into OTAs last year. Right now they have eight, and that includes Joe Bachie, who they just picked up after the draft.
Jack Campbell is locked in. Derrick Barnes is solid. Malcolm Rodriguez is a capable backup. But beyond that? Trevor Nowaske and Damone Clark have some experience, but if Campbell or Barnes goes down, this position group gets real thin real fast.
Fourth-round pick Jimmy Rolder might be ready to contribute, but asking a rookie to be your immediate depth solution is risky business. Even if Detroit plans to run more nickel defense, they still need bodies for three linebacker sets and injury protection.
Wide Receiver
This one’s purely about numbers. The talent is there. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are locked in. The competition between Greg Dortch, Dominic Lovett, Kendrick Law, Jackson Meeks, and Tom Kennedy for the remaining spots should be entertaining as hell.
But Detroit only has nine receivers right now when they carried eleven into OTAs last year. For practice purposes alone, they could use a couple more bodies. You need players for the third and fourth string offense during team drills, and right now the Lions are cutting it close.
Safety
Another numbers game, but with a twist. The Lions did solid work at safety this offseason, bringing in Christian Izien and Chuck Clark while keeping Avonte Maddox and Loren Strickland.
The problem? Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch probably won’t participate much in spring practice, if at all. That leaves Maddox, Izien, Clark, Thomas Harper, Dan Jackson, and Strickland as your healthy bodies. Rock Ya-Sin could slide back from corner if needed, and Izien might see time at nickel, but that’s still thin for practice purposes.
Plus, with the injury concerns at the top of the depth chart, adding a young developmental safety wouldn’t hurt. Holmes is already scouring the waiver wire and veteran free agent market. These four positions should be on his radar.
Think Holmes addresses all four spots or just focuses on the most pressing needs? And which position keeps you up at night if injuries start piling up? Drop your take below.
Honestly I think Brad Holmes is gonna work some magic here like he always does. The nose tackle spot is the only one that actually worries me, but we’ve seen him find guys nobody else is looking at before. I trust the process at this point.
Look I want to believe but asking Tufele to become a run-stuffer when that’s not his game feels like wishful thinking. We got thin at LB too and that scares me if Campbell goes down. Holmes needs to hit on these secondary moves or it could get ugly real quick.
You know what, I’ve seen this franchise in dark places and what Campbell and Holmes have built feels different. The WR thing is just numbers games honestly, that’s not a real hole. But yeah the interior line without Reader troubles me more than it should. Still this is miles better than the chaos we used to deal with.
The talent is definitely there we just need some depth additions. McNeill staying healthy is huge and Williams taking that leap is totally possible. I like what they’re building and I’m not gonna panic about a few holes when we got studs at the skill positions.