2025 Detroit Lions 53-man roster prediction: Post-draft edition

The 2025 NFL Draft has wrapped and the Detroit Lions have made plenty of moves. Though some additional wheeling and dealing could arise in the coming days, weeks, and months, the bulk of their roster has been set. Do we have some clarity regarding what the Lions’ 53-man roster will look come the regular season, or has the draft led to more uncertainty?

With OTAs and training camp months away, let’s take that first foray into the Lions depth chart. Which starters are locked in? Which rookies could compete for roles early on? Which names, both new and old, might be at risk of losing their roster spot in a post-draft world?

Note: Rookies are italicized. Players are listed alphabetically.

Quarterback (2)

Jared Goff

Hendon Hooker
Kyle Allen

Goff is the unchallenged starter, as expected, but the battle for QB2 could be an interesting one. Is Hooker ready to entrench himself as the backup, or will the journeyman Allen get the nod due to experience? The Lions could potentially roll with three quarterbacks, but Allen has not impressed in recent seasons. I think Hooker comfortably makes the team and Allen misses the cut.

Running back (4)

Jahmyr Gibbs

David Montgomery

Craig Reynolds

Sione Vaki
Anthony Tyus II

The Lions did not add a running back in free agency or the draft, making this an easy room to predict. Gibbs and Montgomery are the starters, while Reynolds and Vaki bring depth and special teams value. Tyus is unlikely to make the 53, but without any other competition on the roster, the practice squad is a potential landing spot.

Wide receiver (5)

Tim Patrick

Kalif Raymond

Amon-Ra St. Brown
Isaac TeSlaa

Jameson Williams
Ronnie Bell
Antoine Green
Jakobie Keeney-James
Tom Kennedy
Dominic Lovett
Jackson Meeks

Things get interesting at the receiver position. St. Brown and Williams are your starters in most sets, while Tim Patrick is a shoe-in for a sizeable WR3 role. Raymond had a quiet 2024 as a receiver and will likely be used sparingly on offense once again. The new draftees to the group are TeSlaa (third round) and Lovett (seventh round). TeSlaa should be a lock due to his draft pedigree, putting the receiving corps at a solid five players.

The remaining spot—if there is one—is purely a numbers game. Not only do Bell, Green, Keeney-James, Kennedy, Lovett, and Meeks have to put themselves ahead of each other on the depth chart, they need to do enough to justify keeping Detroit six receivers at all. Last year, the Lions kept just four on the initial roster, one of which was undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams. Lovett, primarily a slot receiver, has the best case due to his draft status and role as a gunner on special teams. Meeks, a big-bodied receiver like Patrick and TeSlaa, received a lot of money as an undrafted free agent and could garner some attention in camp. However, the two former Georgia receivers are just outside my 53-man roster, since I allocated that roster spot elsewhere—roster spots will be a prized commodity in 2025.

Tight end (3)

Sam LaPorta

Brock Wright

Shane Zylstra
Caden Prieskorn
Kenny Yeboah

LaPorta and Wright will be leaned upon on offense, but the battle for TE3 between Yeboah and Zylstra could go either direction. Yeboah is more of a blocker, while Zylstra has more chops as a pass catcher. In a vacuum, I would lean towards the blocker, but given that the coaching staff has plenty of familiarity with Zylstra, I will give him the nod. Neither tight end has a firm standing on the roster, however, so Prieskorn is not out of the running if he impresses in camp. The Lions have kept an undrafted rookie each year under Brad Holmes, and Prieskorn might have the easiest path to the roster out of this year’s group.

Offensive line (9)

Taylor Decker
Miles Frazier

Graham Glasgow

Christian Mahogany

Giovanni Manu

Frank Ragnow
Tate Ratledge

Penei Sewell

Dan Skipper
Kayode Awosika
Kingsley Eguakun
Leif Fautanu
Jamarco Jones
Mason Miller
Netane Muti
Michael Niese
Colby Sorsdal

The biggest logjam on the Lions roster, literally and figuratively, is along the offensive line. Decker, Ragnow, and Sewell are unquestioned starters. Yet after a heavy draft investment, the interior of the offensive line is spicy. The Lions have two starting guard spots available and (at least) four candidates. Glasgow and Mahogany are sure-fire bets to make the roster, but would not be unreasonable to see Ratledge (second round) or Frazier (fifth round) compete for a starting spot either. Add in Awosika and Muti, and the Lions have themselves six guards worth rostering. I cannot envision the Lions keeping all six, so Awosika and Muti miss the cut. If anyone gets injured in training camp, these are the next two names on my depth chart.

At tackle, meanwhile, I think it is fairly straightforward. I do not believe that the Lions will give up on Manu after an expected redshirt rookie season. At the same time, they might not feel comfortable with him as the sole backup tackle quite yet. If they want a veteran in that role to start the season, Skipper makes a lot of sense, though Jones is not out of the running either. Adding in the fact that Frazier had tackle experience in college, I do not see room for Sorsdal on the roster amidst the multiple tackle options—he will need a strong training camp.

Similarly, Brad Holmes mentioned in his post-draft press conference that Ratledge and Frazier will get cross-trained at center—whether that proves to be a successful endeavor or not remains to be seen. Given the two draft selections and Glasgow’s experience at center, Eguakun and Niese are on the outside looking in.

Defensive tackles (6)

Roy Lopez

Alim McNeill

Levi Onwuzurike

DJ Reader
Tyleik Williams

Mekhi Wingo
Myles Adams
Keith Cooper Jr.
Brodric Martin
Pat O’Connor
Chris Smith

The defensive tackle group could be the most difficult to predict. The roster locks are Reader, Onwuzurike, Lopez, and the first-round rookie Williams. I want to say that Wingo is a safe bet to make the roster, but I would not call him a lock quite yet. McNeill’s injury status is one of the biggest question marks entering camp, and starting on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list is certainly possible—maybe probable. For now, I am counting him as in, meaning a fair number of contributors from last season—Adams, O’Connor, Smith—could be on the chopping block. If McNeill does miss the start of the season, I would lean towards keeping O’Connor, but the Lions could opt to add another player at a different position, such as Lovett at wide receiver.

One name not included on the list of 2024 contributors is Martin, a former third rounder that has yet to make a mark as a professional. With Lopez and Williams added this offseason, there is likely no room for a developmental nose tackle that has not developed in two years. No player on this roster needs a breakout training camp performance like Martin does.

Defensive end (5)

Marcus Davenport
Ahmed Hassanein

Aidan Hutchinson

Al-Quadin Muhammad

Josh Paschal
Mitchell Agude
Keith Cooper Jr.
Nate Lynn
Isaac Ukwu

Did the Lions do enough at defensive end? That will be the question on everyone’s mind until the regular season rolls around. Unless the Lions bring back Za’Darius Smith or sign a free agent like DeMarcus Walker, their edges seem cut and dry. Hutchinson and Davenport are your starters, Pachal and Muhammad are rotational pieces, and Hassanein is an intriguing prospect cut from the same cloth as Dan Campbell. The rest of the group is composed of undrafted free agents from years past and present. Agude, Lynn, and Ukwu had some moments last preseason, but can they parlay that into a roster spot? Given that I am keeping six defensive tackles (two of which can play outside), adding another six defensive ends to the line would be overkill—for reference, only nine defensive linemen made the initial roster last year.

Linebacker (6)

Alex Anzalone

Derrick Barnes

Jack Campbell

Trevor Nowaske

Malcolm Rodriguez

Grant Stuard
Abraham Beauplan
DaRon Gilbert
Anthony Pittman
Ezekiel Turner

Linebacker could be a bloodbath. The starters of Anzalone, Barnes, and Campbell are set in stone, but everything beyond that is a question mark. Will Rodriguez be ready come Week 1? Stuard seems like a frontrunner for Jalen Reeves-Maybin’s role, but a $1.7 million contract is no guarantee of a roster spot if he struggles early on in Detroit. Like Stuard, the remaining players are all special teams standouts, so the roster battle could come down to defense. For that reason, I’m giving Nowaske the sixth linebacker role behind Stuard—the Lions do not have many SAM linebacker options behind Barnes. If Rodriguez starts the season on the PUP, I would add Anthony Pittman to the group.

Cornerback (6)

Terrion Arnold

Khalil Dorsey

Avonte Maddox

Ennis Rakestraw Jr.

D.J. Reed

Amik Robertson
Gavin Holmes
Stantley Thomas-Oliver
Rock Ya-Sin

The Lions have a pretty talented cornerback group on paper entering 2025. Arnold and Reed are almost certainly the starters along the outside, though the nickel role could see a battle between Robertson, Rakestraw, and Maddox. Robertson performed well enough last year to earn the preseason pole position, but expect it to be a healthy competition. The hope is that Rakestraw shows some development after a rookie season stunted by injury, and if he wins the nickel spot, he will have truly earned it. Even if he is not a starter, Maddox should be a frequent contributor on defense and special teams. Ya-Sin is a tough cut to make, but with a stacked roster ahead of him, I could not find room for a seventh cornerback.

Safety (4)

Brian Branch
Dan Jackson

Kerby Joseph

Loren Strickland
Ian Kennelly
Erick Hallett
Morice Norris

Branch and Joseph are arguably the best safety duo in the league, no question there. It took awhile for the Lions to add to their safety depth, but they finally added one in the form of Jackson late in the draft. Normally I would consider a seventh-round rookie to be a toss-up to make the 53-man roster, but given the current state of the safety room, I don’t see a lot of competition.

In 2024, the Lions had undrafted rookies Norris and Strickland on the active roster at various points of the season. Either one could stake a claim to a roster spot, as could Hallett and newcomer Kennelly. I have two questions for this group: who can take some of Ifeatu Melifonwu’s snaps and who can stand out on special teams? There are a lot of answers to the second, but not a lot to the first. We might see a cornerback like Maddox or Rakestraw get looks in a Melifonwu-like role if none of the safeties step up. Additionally, this could be a prime spot for a late free agent signing, perhaps Julian Blackmon, Marcus Williams, or Justin Simmons.

Special teams (3)

Jake Bates

Jack Fox

Hogan Hatten

No changes with the key special teamers. Maybe they bring in another leg to give Bates or Fox a rest, but I doubt we see a serious challenger added in the coming weeks.