5 biggest surprises from the Lions’ 53-man roster — and one move may be coming next
Detroit kept five running backs and 11 defensive linemen while carrying only four receivers and three tight ends, creating an initial roster that already looks ripe for another move.
The Detroit Lions 53-man roster is officially out, and there are some genuine surprises worth digging into. The initial roster cuts revealed a few decisions that caught just about everyone off guard, from the running back room to the tight end group to some defensive line moves. Let’s break it down.
5 running backs? Really?
The Lions are carrying five running backs on this initial 53-man roster. I did not see that one coming. Four was the number I expected the entire time, but Detroit decided to bring Jabari Small along after a great summer.
Here’s the thing, though. This completely leans toward the idea that the Lions are probably bringing back wide receiver Greg Dortch, and you have to have somebody you can move off the roster to make that happen. I think that somebody might be Small. Keep in mind, this is the initial 53-man roster. This isn’t the end-all be-all. There are going to be more things that happen over the next few days.
I think Saylors might be your running back 2 heading into Week 1, maybe splitting that role with Vaki a little bit. As for Pacheco, we don’t know how long he’s going to be out, but he didn’t wind up on any injury list, which is going to help a lot.
Tyler Conklin not making the roster is a stunner
The Lions are only going with three tight ends. Jackson Meeks makes the spot, and I had no doubt that Meeks would make the roster. That wasn’t the surprise. I thought for sure Tyler Conklin was going to make it too. I figured they would go with four tight ends and Conklin would be that other pass-catching option.
But it looks like Detroit is going full steam ahead with Meeks, and look, Meeks is much more athletic, much more able to make contested catches and do some of the things Conklin can’t. At the same time, Meeks is going to have to show up in the blocking realm the way Conklin traditionally has throughout his career, and he’s only been doing this for a couple of months. We’ll see where that goes. Meeks absolutely deserved the spot, but I thought for sure they would go with four.
Seth McLaughlin and the offensive line questions
Seth McLaughlin making the roster surprised me. Part of me wonders what the reasoning is there. I still think the Lions are going to look at what’s going on with the free agents and some of the guys hitting the market. We’ll have a list of guys you should definitely be paying attention to coming out soon.
I’m not fully sold that this is the final look for what the offensive line is going to be, but we’ll find out soon enough.
Mekhi Wingo, Eric O’Neill, and the defensive surprises
Mekhi Wingo making the roster is awesome. I didn’t think he was going to make it, but he did, and I’m super happy for him. He’s a great dude, and I’m still high on what Wingo can be. I’m just curious to see when he’s going to be that, because when the Lions picked Skyler Gill-Howard, it felt like they were picking him to do what they thought Wingo could do. We’ll see how that plays out.
Eric O’Neill making the roster is another one I didn’t expect. He earned it, absolutely earned it. But I thought this was going to be the hardest possible cut Detroit could make, that they’d be sick to their stomach about it and bring him back on the practice squad to keep growing with him. Instead, they’re going for the upside now. Good for him.
Jimmy Rolder’s status and the Dortch question
Jimmy Rolder not going on any sort of injury list caught my eye. We haven’t really heard much about him in terms of injury updates, and I thought maybe they’d put him on the PUP list, but he’s not on it. That points to the idea that maybe he could play Week 1. We’ll see if Rolder is practicing when the Lions get back to work and go from there.
Ennis Rakestraw also made the team, which I was off and on about. Greg Dortch getting cut was the big headline, but I still think he might be coming back. Somebody is coming off this roster to make room, whether that’s Small, McLaughlin, or someone else.
This is a solid roster, deep in a lot of different areas. But I still think there are going to be a lot of changes between now and Week 1. Let’s see what this thing looks like when the regular season actually arrives.
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