Detroit Lions projected depth chart vs. Dolphins reveals major defensive changes and a few surprising decisions Dan Campbell could make
With several key Lions unlikely to play against Miami, Detroit could be looking at major changes on defense. Here’s our projected depth chart and what Dan Campbell’s latest comments suggest about the replacements.
The Detroit Lions will take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and we now know that they will very likely have to do it without D.J. Reed, Cade Mays, and D.J. Wonnum, according to Lions head coach Dan Campbell. So what is this depth chart going to look like in this game?
Here’s what some of the clues tell us:
Offense
Detroit Lions depth chart
Not much is changed on offense with Mays sitting this one out. Seth McLaughlin is still on the 53-man roster, and instead of being a healthy scratch, it makes all the sense in the world that he’ll be active in this one as a backup center.
The majority of the changes and talking points this week stem from the defense.
Defense
Detroit Lions depth chart
OK, let’s start in the secondary. The good news is that Brian Branch has been practicing, and as long as there are no setbacks on Friday, he should be expected to play on Sunday. So Detroit will be able to go with its usual setup of Branch, Chuck Clark, and Keith Abney pulling down most of the safety work.
At cornerback is where things get more interesting. The thing that makes the most sense is that the Lions go with more of a committee look here, but it makes sense that Rock Ya-Sin takes one side and Ennis Rakestraw starts on the other side and shares reps with Khalil Dorsey and Roger McCreary. The latter gets the start in the slot, of course.
At linebacker, the thing that makes the most sense is Derrick Barnes taking over the green dot with Jack Campbell out. Barnes has played a lot of middle linebacker for this team in his time in Detroit. You can put Trevor Nowaske in at SAM, and then Malcolm Rodriguez and the newly signed K.J. Britt will likely split the WILL, with Rodriguez getting the majority of the snaps.
Then on the defensive line, you start Lacy, but I would expect to see a lot more Derrick Moore in this game. This is going to be a huge day for him. Campbell had mentioned that he just needs more reps, but also said he gets better with every rep.
The interesting part here is you might think that Ahmed Hassanein would get the opportunity in this one, but it definitely sounds like he will not, and that Anthony Lucas will likely get the call-up from the practice squad.
It says something that Campbell was asked if Hassanein would play, and he didn’t even answer the question and went right into talking about Anthony Lucas.
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