We’re officially just a week away from Detroit Lions football, and after a week of roster cuts, the team finally has a full 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad.
While there have been some surprises along the way, the team is still—at its core—the team we expected. The Lions have playmakers at every level, depth at most positions, and a championship-level amount of overall talent, regardless of how much national attention has shifted to the divisional rival Green Bay Packers.
But let’s just keep the discussion insular for today. The Lions roster is excellent, but it’s not perfect. As coach Dan Campbell said earlier in the week, you’ll always be chasing perfection in the NFL.
“Every roster has holes. You’ll never have it exactly where you totally want it,” Campbell said. “But from where we’ve come, year after year, this is—we’ve taken it to another level.”
So today’s Question of the Day is:
What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the Lions’ 2025 roster?
My answer: The strengths are pretty easy to point out. Detroit has the best running back room in the NFL. Not only do they have a great one-two punch in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, but Craig Reynolds is a solid backup, and Sione Vaki is a special teams weapon. The Lions also have a ton of receiving talent. Opposing secondaries are going to have their hands full with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, and now Isaac TeSlaa, too.
On defense, while there are some depth questions, I am very high on Detroit’s secondary. There’s no safety duo better than Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, and they’ll be behind a young, strong set of starting corners in D.J. Reed, Terrion Arnold, and Amik Robertson.
And, again, Detroit has phenomenal depth when it comes to their linebacking crew. Starters Derrick Barnes, Jack Campbell, and Alex Anzalone have a chance at being one of the best units on the team, and they should be well protected by the reserves. Grant Stuard is a menace on special teams and is a force defending the run. Zach Cunningham brings nine seasons and 86 starts of experience to the room. And Trevor Nowaske is a strong special teamer who finally gives Detroit an adequate backup SAM linebacker, while also having some long-term potential at MIKE. That doesn’t even count Malcolm Rodriguez, who is expected to return in a month or two.
As for weaknesses, the most glaring one to me is along the offensive line. Obviously, there are questions as to how long it will take the starters to fully gel, and beyond that, Detroit has a lot of inexperience and struggles with their reserves. This is a problem for most teams, but you can certainly feel the difference between this year and last year following the losses of Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler.
EDGE depth has been the biggest talking point all season, and it certainly remains a relative concern. While most of those worries unfairly assume some sort of inevitable injury to Marcus Davenport, there are more legitimate concerns about who will even rotate in at the position on a weekly basis. The Lions recently added Tyrus Wheat via waivers and signed Andre Carter to the practice squad, but it’s hard to know how they fit into the puzzle until we see them on the field. Those awaiting a Za’Darius Smith signing have some legitimate beef.
What do you think are the team’s biggest strengths and weaknesses? Give us your answer in the comment section below.
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