The Detroit Lions have spent the offseason building their roster, and the first week of the preseason is in the books. We’ve talked a lot about who Detroit might cut and what the 53-man roster projection looks like. But what we haven’t talked about is what everybody else’s 53-man roster projection looks like and how that could affect the Lions.

Every beat writer at A to Z Sports published their own 53-man roster projections after preseason Week 1. I went through all of them and identified the players being cut who would fit best with Detroit. Here are the guys I came up with.

Defensive tackle McKinley Jackson, Cincinnati Bengals

This one feels like your classic Brad Holmes reclamation project. Jackson had two good seasons as mostly a depth nose tackle, and Pro Football Focus graded him at 62.1. That role is exactly what I’ve been banging the drum about for the Lions. I love the versatility Detroit has on its defensive line right now, with big ends who can kick inside and outside. But man, it would be cool to just have a nose tackle hanging around on the depth chart somewhere.

Jackson is a former third-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft. The Lions’ 2024 draft was not good, but here’s an opportunity to retcon that a little bit and grab a guy who, being honest, hasn’t worked out for the Bengals but could really help Detroit. You’re not asking him to start. You’re saying go out there and rough some guys up. Stop a run here and there. That’s all the Lions need him to do, and I think Jackson can handle it.

Cornerback Khristian Fulton, Kansas City Chiefs

I already talked about Fulton in a trade article not long ago, right after Terrion Arnold had been released. He fits what this team needs at the moment. You could make a pretty good argument that the cornerback room is kind of figured out. D.J. Reed is the No. 1, Rock Ya-Sin is the No. 2, and then you’ve got Nick Whiteside, who has performed really well this summer. Rookie Keith Abney got some first-team snaps at slot corner this week, which is a pretty big deal. You’ve got Khalil Dorsey as your special teamer, and I like Roger McCreary, though I know some of my colleagues are leaning toward him possibly not making it.

If McCreary doesn’t make it, that opens a spot. Fulton can fit right in. He might force the Lions to carry seven cornerbacks, but I feel much more comfortable with him over Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at this point. I’d also feel more comfortable with him over Dorsey on defense, even though I think Dorsey is a very good special teamer who should make the team no matter what. I just haven’t seen enough from Dorsey on defense outside of training camp. Fulton makes sense.

Edge rusher Drake Jackson, Washington Commanders

I like this one because the Lions don’t really have a pass rush specialist as a depth piece. Jackson was a second-round pick in 2022, and right now Detroit is kicking the tires on former first-round pick Peyton Turner from the 2021 NFL Draft. But Turner has already been dealing with injuries, and that’s been the story of his career. If Turner were healthy, he’d fill that pass rush specialist role, but he’s not.

Drake Jackson could be what San Francisco used him as. Look at his rookie season: 315 snaps, 16 pressures, 4 sacks off the bench. That’s a Lions thing they could do with him. He could come off the bench, play about 250 snaps this season, and maybe get you 2 to 3 sacks. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Edge rusher Chris Braswell, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This guy is interesting because he’s another player drafted high who hasn’t stuck. He was a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which, if you’re not seeing the pattern with how bad that draft class was, it’s not just a Lions thing. That draft appears to just be really bad across the league.

Braswell fits for a few reasons. For starters, there’s the Alabama connection. We know Holmes loves drafting Alabama guys. A lot of the pillars on this Lions team played for the University of Alabama. Beyond that, my guys over at Pride of Detroit do this cool thing every year called the Grit Index, which helps identify the Dan Campbell guys in every draft. They used a scientific method, essentially, and created a whole grading system. The highest grade you can get on the Grid Index is a 3. Braswell has a 3. He’s a Dan Campbell guy, at least based on what everyone thought coming out of college.

Braswell isn’t a very good run defender or edge setter, and Tampa Bay just has a lot of defensive linemen pushing him out. But he’s a good pass rusher. In his rookie year, he put up 20 pressures and 3 sacks on 335 total snaps. You could do that all day for the Lions off the bench.

Linebacker Chris Paul Jr., Seattle Seahawks

If you’ve been following me since the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, you know I’ve been high on Chris Paul Jr. this entire time. I wrote an article about why he was the guy. Every year I go to the Combine, I pick one player I think is the best fit for the Lions, and I project the Lions will draft him. In 2024, it was Sione Vaki. In 2025, it was Chris Paul. I guaranteed the Lions would draft him. That didn’t happen, and in 2026 I didn’t do one. Maybe I was too embarrassed they didn’t pick Paul.

Look, Paul’s NFL career so far has been circumstantial. He got drafted by the Los Angeles Rams and had a really great preseason. He looked good at camp. Everybody liked the guy. But the Rams had to cut him because they didn’t have the space. Rams fans were very upset about it, and they were even more upset when they couldn’t get him back on the practice squad because Seattle claimed him. The Seahawks didn’t need him. They have a pretty good linebacking corps. He spent the entire year on their practice squad, and again this summer he’s having a solid camp.

There’s a chance Paul makes Seattle’s roster, but if he doesn’t, the Lions should jump on it. Detroit doesn’t necessarily need him either with Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Damone Clark, Devin White, and Jimmy Rolder coming back at some point. But he just feels like a guy to have around. I think Clark is a good linebacker, but I would rather have Paul. I see a lot in the kid. His career has been circumstantial, and I think he just needs the right landing spot. I thought Detroit was that spot. I still feel that way.

Quarterback Will Levis, Tennessee Titans

I know how Lions fans are going to feel about this one. I know what the stereotype is on him right now. He’s got the stink on him. This is what happens to quarterbacks in this league because of the stupidity that is quarterback wins and losses, a stat that just shouldn’t matter.

I look at Levis and I see a guy who has been in the worst possible place for his development. You won’t hear an argument from me that he has played well, because I don’t think he has. But you will hear an argument from me if you say he’s nothing, that he’s nobody and not going to be anything. I don’t believe that. If you put Will Levis in the right situation with the right coaches, you could get at minimum a premium backup quarterback. And what do the Lions not have right now? A premium backup quarterback.

Here’s one who could be sitting there for free. Not free, you have to pay him a little bit, but you don’t have to trade for him. He could just be sitting out there. If I were the Lions, I would look at my coaching staff. Quarterback coach Mark Brunell, a former NFL quarterback. Passing game coordinator Mike Kafka, a former NFL quarterback and Patrick Mahomes’ quarterback coach. Bruce Gradkowski, former NFL quarterback. Marcus Tuiasosopo, former NFL quarterback. Drew Petzing, former NFL quarterback. Dan Campbell has helped get Jared Goff back to the guy everybody thought he was going to be when he was the 1st pick of the draft. There’s a really good group of quarterback whisperers on this staff. It just fits for the Lions. I would do it in a heartbeat.

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