Local receiver might have a shot to make Lions roster
Who doesn't love a local sports story? Making an NFL roster is hard. There's only 53 spots and maybe 42 of them are already decided by the time that everyone reports for camp. When you're an undrafted rookie, you have double the pressure on top of you and maybe half the chance as the guy […]
Who doesn't love a local sports story? Making an NFL roster is hard. There's only 53 spots and maybe 42 of them are already decided by the time that everyone reports for camp. When you're an undrafted rookie, you have double the pressure on top of you and maybe half the chance as the guy next to you that got drafted.
That hasn't stopped Eastern Michigan receiver Dylan Drummond. After playing his college ball in Ypsilanti, he's now trying to make a name for himself 30 minutes down the road with the Detroit Lions. So far, he's turning some heads.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked abotu Drummond before practice on Thursday. Here's what he had to say:
"You've got to do everything right you know, for a guy like him. Because you're not the only one who sees that, you know, we see it. He makes plays every day. He really mentally can play all the positions. he competes in special teams. And I would say he's hard to ignore. He's just hard to ignore. I mean, he just, he's continuing to climb the depth chart. So he's doing exactly what a guy like him has to do. He's doing everything right. And you know, he rarely messes something up and, and if he does, he learns from it, grows and doesn't happen again. So he's doing a good job."
Drummond has a lot of competition ahead of him. The Lions are expected to carry six receivers into the season. With Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and Denzel Mims holding down five of those spots, now you have a group of receivers fighting for one spot.
At that point, it's going to come down to what else you can bring to the table. The Lions just lost a special teams ace in C.J. Moore after he was suspended for the entire season for violating the leagues gambling policy. Someone has to replace him. If Drummond is shining on special teams, that really gives him a chance to make it.
He has some stiff competition. Seventh round pick Antione Green could give him trouble on the receiving end of things and Maurice Alexander showed last year that he can be good in the return game. Then there's Trinity Benson. He's had a decent camp.
The thing about all those guys is that there's an answer for them on how Drummond can beat them. Green was a draft pick, but Mims can play his role and do it better. Alexander is good in the return game, but the Lions just brought back Justin Jackson, who was sixth in the league in return yards last year. Lastly, Benson just went down with an injury on Wednesday.
Drummond has a real shot at this thing, but nothing is guaranteed. He needs to keep putting in work and rising up the depth chart.
Featured image by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
