Four Lions Players Who Better Show Up This Summer or They’re Gone
Training camp is less than three weeks away. Rookie minicamp just wrapped. The schedule drops Thursday. And somewhere in Allen Park right now, there are four Detroit Lions players who should be sweating a little more than usual.
These aren’t bubble guys or camp bodies fighting for a practice squad spot. These are established players with familiar names and comfortable paychecks who suddenly have real competition breathing down their necks. Brad Holmes has loaded this roster with depth. Drew Petzing is bringing in a new offensive system. The margin for error has shrunk.
At least two or three of these guys might not be wearing Honolulu Blue when the 2026 regular season starts.
Brock Wright
Wright has been the Lions’ tight end two for a while now. You know his deal. Once a year he’ll break off a random 35-yard touchdown, and then you forget he exists for the next 16 games. He’s supposed to be a blocking tight end, except his blocking has been rough lately.
Then the Lions brought in Tyler Conklin, who blocks better than Wright and can actually catch the ball consistently. In the system Petzing wants to run, you need two receiving tight ends. Conklin is one of them. Sam LaPorta is the other. That shoves Wright down to tight end three, and now you’re asking if he’s worth nearly $5 million for that role.
The Lions are going to run a lot of 12 and 13 personnel. Multiple tight end sets are going to be a staple. But if you’re keeping a third tight end, you probably want someone who can actually block at an NFL level. Wright has graded out in the low-to-high 50s in pass blocking and the 40s and mid-50s in run blocking throughout his career, per Pro Football Focus. That is not good. Miles Kitselman and Zach Horton both have potential to take over that spot if he doesn’t show something new this summer.
Training camp is going to tell us everything.
Ennis Rakestraw
This one was obvious before. Now it’s suffocating. Rakestraw has to get healthy, stay healthy, and actually play football for the first time in his career. But he’s also carrying the weight of the entire 2024 draft class on his shoulders, and yeah, that matters.
The first-round pick from that class just got cut. Giovanni Manu is probably not long for this roster. Sione Vaki has been solid on special teams but the Lions traded up for him expecting more than that. Makai Wingo is projected to miss the roster right now. Christian Mahogany has his own problems, which we’ll get to.
So Rakestraw is essentially the guy who needs to prove Brad Holmes got at least one real contributor out of that draft. That is a ton of pressure. If he can show he’s a serviceable cornerback, that alone would be impressive. If he can show he’s a starter, then Detroit lucked out in a big way.
Training camp is huge for him. Get on the field. Get some reps. Work through the preseason games. By all accounts he’s a great person with a strong work ethic. I think he can do it. But we’ll see.
Levi Onwuzurike
This one is brutal. Onwuzurike is a former second-round pick who dealt with back issues early in his career and had to have major back surgery. The fact that he got back on the field at all was impressive. Then in 2024 it looked like he was finally turning the corner. He was second on the team in pressures, getting sacks, playing well.
Then he tore his ACL. There’s speculation it happened late in the season as a partial tear that got worse over time.
The only reason he’s back with Detroit is a rare provision in the collective bargaining agreement. Because he was signed and then missed an entire season on the NFI list, his contract carried over to 2026 at a cheap number. You hate to say it out loud, but this summer could determine his entire career.
He’s got Tyler Lacy, rookie Skyler Gil Howard, Makai Wingo, and others nipping at his heels. If you’re judging based on OTAs and mandatory minicamp, he’s behind right now. But if he can prove he’s healthy and play like he did before the injury, he gets another lease on life.
This is it. Show up or it’s over.
Christian Mahogany
Mahogany is projected to be the starting left guard. Dan Campbell said during OTAs that this competition is wide open. It’s not Mahogany’s job. He’s going to have to fight off Miles Frazier, who started at left guard at LSU and played there last season. Ben Bartch has strong grades at left guard and some NFL starts under his belt. Juice Scruggs can play guard but might end up as the backup center. Giovanni Manu is getting a look there too. And Michael Niese has been with the Lions for four or five years as an interior lineman.
If I’m the Lions, I’ve got my eyes on Bartch. He has a real shot to steal this job. Frazier was drafted relatively high and has the tools to win the spot. Mahogany is going to have to earn it, and training camp will tell us everything.
These are the four guys under the most pressure heading into camp. At least one of them is probably not making it to Week 1. Which one do you think gets cut first, or are we all being too harsh on guys who just need a healthy summer? Drop your take below.
