The Detroit Lions concluded their evaluation of their 91-man roster on Saturday afternoon with their final preseason game against the Houston Texans.
Let’s take a look at the snap counts from the game to see if we can gather any hints about how the Lions may finalize their roster cuts to create a 53-man squad.
Quarterbacks:
- Hendon Hooker: 24 (65%)
- Kyle Allen: 13 snaps (35%)
- Jared Goff: DNP
The fact that Hooker got three quarters of play and only managed 24 snaps shows how ineffective the Lions offense was all day. Detroit gave Hooker as much time as possible to prove he could lead a productive offense, yet Kyle Allen still managed to move the ball more in just two offensive series.
Running backs:
- Jacob Saylors: 17 (46%) — 7 special teams snaps (37%)
- Craig Reynolds: 10 (27%) — 4 (21%)
- Deon Jackson: 10 (27%) — 1 (5%)
- Jahmyr Gibbs: DNP
- David Montgomery: DNP
- Sione Vaki: DNP (injury)
With Vaki out, it forced Reynolds to start the game, but for the majority of the contest, it was Saylors at running back. He continues to make a strong impression that could land him on the Lions’ practice squad.
“He’s pretty crafty, pretty nifty,” coach Dan Campbell said after Saturday’s game. “He’s got detail to what he does—the runs, the landmarks, the check downs. There’s something there and we like him, and it was good to see him go back in there and play a little bit.”
Wide receivers:
- Dominic Lovett: 24 (65%) — 9 (47%)
- Ronnie Bell: 18 (49%) — 5 (26%)
- Tom Kennedy: 17 (46%) — 2 (11%)
- Isaac TeSlaa: 13 (35%) — 3 (16%)
- Jackson Meeks: 11 (30%) — 11 (58%)
- Jakobie Keeney-James: 11 (30%) — 2 (11%)
- Malik Taylor: 6 (16%)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown: DNP
- Jameson Williams: DNP
- Tim Patrick: DNP
- Kalif Raymond: DNP
The first thing that jumps out is how little Jackson Meeks played. He was mostly relegated to the second half, appearing after Lovett, Bell, Kennedy, and TeSlaa had already taken the field. Obviously, with the ineffectiveness of the second-half offense, Meeks didn’t get as many opportunities as the Lions likely hoped, but it sure is interesting to see Meeks playing so late in the game. Were the Lions hiding him? Is he truly that far down the depth chart?
Of course, the other—perhaps more important—thing to note about Meeks is his 11 special teams snaps, leading the entire group. No player on offense had more special teams snaps than him, and that’s where he could justify a spot.
Detroit got a good, long look at Lovett after the rookie receiver missed some time with an injury earlier this preseason. He didn’t make much of an impact on offense, but he, too, got plenty of special teams looks.
Bell is the wildcard of the group. He repped earlier than expected, and he continues to be steadily productive. While the stat sheet only says two catches for 25 yards for Bell vs. the Texans, he also had a 30-yard catch negated by penalty.
Tight ends:
- Zach Horton: 25 (68%) — 2 (11%)
- Steven Stilianos: 11 (30%)
- Shane Zylstra: 10 (27%) — 6 (32%)
- Gunnar Oakes: 2 (5%)
- Sam LaPorta: DNP
- Brock Wright: DNP
Zylstra was out of the game relatively quickly, but maintained a strong special teams role. Both of those are pretty good indications he’ll be safe. Meanwhile, Horton played nearly the entire game while being limited on special teams. Add in a couple of tough penalties on Horton, and it’s easy to see where things stand in the tight end room.
Offensive tackle:
- Giovanni Manu: 37 (100%) — 1 (5%)
- Dan Skipper: 20 (54%) — 1 (5%)
- Gunner Britton: 17 (46%) — 1 (5%)
- Jamarco Jones: DNP (injured?)
- Penei Sewell: DNP
- Taylor Decker: DNP
It’s unclear why Jamarco Jones wasn’t dressed, but some reporters believe he suffered an injury during the final set of joint practices. That meant Giovanni Manu had to play the entire game, and he held up particularly well as the full-time left tackle. Dan Skipper and Gunner Britton split the game at right tackle.
Jones is really the only player whose roster spot is up in the air (Skipper and Manu seem safe), and with his absence still a mystery, it’s hard to know how to read that situation.
Guard/center:
- Michael Niese: 20 (54%) — 1 (5%)
- Kingsley Eguakun: 20 (54%)
- Netane Muti: 20 (54%)
- Mason Miller: 17 (46%) — 1 (5%)
- Zach Johnson: 17 (46%)
- Kayode Awosika: 17 (46%) — 1 (5%)
- Tate Ratledge: DNP
- Trystan Colon: DNP (injury)
- Christian Mahogany: DNP
- Graham Glasgow: DNP
- Miles Frazier: DNP (Injured/PUP)
Here’s how the game started:
LG: Netane Muti
C: Kingsley Eguakun
RG: Kayode Awosika
The second team was:
LG: Zach Johnson
C: Michael Niese
RG: Mason Miller
But there was a telling moment right before switching from the first team to the second: for one drive with the starters, the Lions sat Awosika and replaced him with Niese. Did Awosika suffer an injury? Had he shown them enough to warrant his roster spot? Did they want to give Niese an opportunity to show his versatility between center and guard? I won’t jump to conclusions, but it was an interesting development in the moment.
Defensive end:
- Isaac Ukwu: 43 (57%) — 6 (32%)
- Al-Quadin Muhammad: 26 (35%)
- Nate Lynn: 25 (33%) — 11 (58%)
- Mitchell Agude: 24 (32%) — 8 (42%)
- Ahmed Hassanein DNP (injury)
- Aidan Hutchinson: DNP
- Marcus Davenport: DNP
Ukwu got nearly double the snaps of everyone else on the team, which is a tad surprising. It’s even more surprising that Muhammad—who is likely locked into the EDGE3 role—got more time on the field than Lynn and Agude. But keeping him off special teams is probably an indication that they didn’t want him to risk injury on non-defensive snaps.
Ukwu rewarded the opportunity with three quarterback hits on an otherwise quiet day for Detroit’s pass rush. It’s a nice push to make the final roster on what is a pretty wide-open competition for the EDGE4 spot. But, in general, the Lions’ defensive line did not impress against the Texans, leaving serious questions about the depth here—particularly with Hassanein and Josh Paschal expected to both miss some significant time.
Defensive tackle:
- Myles Adams: 50 (67%) — 6 (32%)
- Keith Cooper Jr.: 48 (64%)
- Chris Smith: 39 (52%)
- Brodric Martin: 28 (37%) — 6 (32%)
- Pat O’Connor: 17 (23%) — 2 (11%)
- Tyleik Williams: DNP
- DJ Reader: DNP
- Roy Lopez: DNP
Adams and Cooper continue to get a lot of valuable experience, and I am curious about Adams getting so much special teams work while Cooper got none. Adams could be one of those sneaky 53-man roster adds, as someone who has gotten praise from Campbell at several points this offseason. Still, it was a rough night for the entire defensive line, which produced just a single sack and allowed 150 rush yards on the afternoon.
Linebacker:
- Trevor Nowaske: 54 (72%) — 8 (42%)
- Anthony Pittman: 37 (49%) — 14 (74%)
- Grant Stuard: 35 (47%) — 5 (26%)
- DaRon Gilbert: 34 (45%) — 13 (68%)
- Zach Cunningham: 16 (21%) — 5 (26%)
- Ezekiel Turner: 6 (8%) — 9 (47%)
- Jack Campbell: DNP
- Alex Anzalone: DNP
- Derrick Barnes: DNP
- Malcolm Rodriguez: DNP (Injured/PUP)
Turner’s day saw an early end after he suffered what appears to be a serious Achilles injury.
It’s interesting to see Nowaske play nearly the entire game, but with the Lions a bit shorthanded at linebacker, he was forced to play both SAM and MIKE. And he sure made a strong impression with his play.
“Now(aske) played at a high level today. You could see the physical, but I thought, man, he was in it mentally – like he was pretty locked in,” Campbell said. “I thought he—which look, some of that is raw for him playing the stack-backer, and he was running the MIKE, middle linebacker—making the calls. And I just thought he played a pretty cerebral game too, which is good to see, which means he’s growing and developing.”
In my opinion, he’s a roster lock.
Beyond that, Cunningham played early and was off, an indication he’s the highest on the depth chart among these reserves. Stuard continues to rep as the first-team kick returner. And while Pittman has struggled defensively, his 14 special teams snaps—most on the team—show how he could sneak onto the roster as LB7.
Cornerback:
- Nick Whiteside: 50 (67%)— 8 (42%)
- Allan George: 45 (60%)
- Tyson Russell: 43 (57%) — 6 (32%)
- Erick Hallett: 35 (47%) — 5 (26%)
- D.J. Miller: 33 (44%)
- Avonte Maddox: 22 (29%) — 1 (5%)
- Luq Barcoo: DNP (?)
- Terrion Arnold: DNP
- D.J. Reed: DNP
- Amik Robertson: DNP
- Khalil Dorsey: DNP (Injured)
Again, the Lions rotated their cornerbacks heavily, although Luq Barcoo was an unexpected absence.
After a strong start to camp, Whiteside has cooled off a bit and struggled in his big role against the Texans. Then again, almost everyone in the Lions’ secondary struggled.
Interestingly, Hallett was mostly relegated to safety in this game. Per PFF, his 35 snaps were split at free safety (23), box safety (10), outside cornerback (1), and at the defensive line level (1). That likely speaks more to Detroit’s depth, as they had plenty of options at cornerback, but only three other safeties were active.
Safety:
- Ian Kennelly: 40 (53%) — 12 (63%)
- Loren Strickland: 40 (53%)— 10 (53%)
- Rock Ya-Sin: 35 (47%) — 3 (16%)
- Morice Norris: DNP (injury)
- Brian Branch: DNP
- Kerby Joseph: DNP
Hallett and Ya-Sin got the start at safety, with Kennelly and Strickland taking over about halfway through. Strickland had the more impactful game (nine tackles, one TFL) and earned some praise from his head coach after the game.
“He’s a ball-hawk. He finds the ball, and he did that again, man,” Campbell said. “Two big plays there in the red zone were good to see.”
Both he and Kennelly may be fighting for a roster spot, so it’s no surprise to see that both got a long look on special teams, as well.
Specialists:
- Jack Fox: 5
- LS Hogan Hatten: 5
- Jake Bates: 3
Not enough Jake Bates.
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