The Detroit Lions have a positional battle still happening at WR. Who will win out the job? We discuss in our Week 1 mailbag.
While most of the Detroit Lions roster is set, there is one position that remains a bit of a mystery. Despite coach Dan Campbell’s pleas for a big-bodied wide receiver to step up in training camp, it never ended up happening, and now the Lions simply don’t have one on their 53-man roster.
That said, they are still on the hunt. Detroit quickly added veterans Tim Patrick and Allen Robinson to the team to compete with Donovan Peoples-Jones for that role—with all three of them currently on the practice squad. Patrick comes with a lot of hype from Denver Broncos fans, but two serious injuries in the past two years have put a damper on his career, and leave many justifiably wondering if he still has it in him. Robinson is the eldest of the group, and while he has three 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, he only has 1,029 yards in the last three years combined. Peoples-Jones had his chance at the job and couldn’t win it in camp.
So who will come out on top of that competition? Will any of them end up signing to the 53-man roster? Could more than one make their way onto the gameday roster? And who will take on the role for Week 1?
That’s our (Jeremy Reisman and Erik Schlitt’s) big topic in this week’s Midweek Mailbag podcast.
For the Los Angeles Rams game, it’s easy to see why Peoples-Jones may be the favorite to play. He’s been around the offense longer, knows the system better, and has had more in-person work with Jared Goff.
But Goff explained on Tuesday how impressed he was with Patrick and Robinson, as their veteran status has helped them pick things up quickly.
“It’s fun to work with vets like that where that learning curve seems to be a bit shorter, and you can kind of speak a language they can understand,” Goff said.
We expand upon that conversation in the podcast below.
Here’s a look at every topic we discussed, along with the timestamp you can find that conversation:
- 3:30 — What will the Lions do with the 53rd spot on their roster?
- 8:30 — Which practice squad WR will be on the field in Week 1 (if any)?
- 13:10 — How will they treat the WR-X position all season?
- 16:45 — What will Isaiah Williams’ role be in Week 1? Could he be the kick returner?
- 20:00 — Will we see more packages with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs on the field at the same time?
- 25:00 — Are we buying the Bears and Packers hype? What about them is a legitimate threat? What is noise?
- 31:30 — Will Derrick Barnes play much with the Rams in 11 personnel so often?
- 35:00 — Can the Lions exploit the loss of Rams LB Ernest Jones with Texas routes from Gibbs?
- 39:00 — What will Sione Vaki’s role on offense be this year?
- 42:20 — Will the Lions DBs hold up against a tough early schedule against good passing offenses?
You can listen to the show below, or re-watch the live stream over on YouTube or Twitch.
