Training camp and the preseason are over for the Detroit Lions, and now they have their initial 53-man roster set. While there could be some changes over the course of the next few days, there’s not likely to be any seismic changes. With that in mind, we’re ready to take a crack at what the Lions’ depth chart could be Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. Here’s what we got:

Offense

Position	Starter	Backup	Backup
QB	Jared Goff	Kyle Allen
RB	Jahmyr Gibbs	David Montgomery	Craig Reynolds Sione Vaki
WR1	Amon-Ra St. Brown	Dominic Lovett
WR2	Jameson Williams	Kalif Raymond
WR3	Isaac TeSlaa
TE	Sam LaPorta	Brock Wright	Shane Zylstra
LT	Taylor Decker	Jamarco Jones
LG	Christian Mahogany
C	Graham Glasgow	Kinglsey Eguakun
RG	Tate Ratledge	Kayode Awosika
RT	Penei Sewell	Giovanni Manu

The big notable one here is that we’re projecting the Lions will give Isaac TeSlaa the WR3 job over Tim Patrick. At this point, he’s shown both in the preseason and in training camp with the first team that he can help the offense in a big way with his blocking ability as well as his ability to put some chunk plays on the board. That’s why the Lions felt so comfortable that they traded Patrick away to the Jaguars.

Outside of that, we have the Lions’ new offensive line with Glasgow taking over at center, Mahogany at left guard, and Ratledge at right guard. The group has looked good in the summertime. Let’s see how they do in Week 1.

One of the interesting notes is that the Lions kept all of their centers. Glasgow, Eguakun, and then Trystan Colon is on the practice squad. They wanted to cover all bases on this one.

Defense

Position	Starter	Backup	Backup
Edge	Aidan Hutchinson	Al-Quadin Muhammad
DT	Tyleik Williams	Mekhi Wingo	Tyler Lacy Pat O’Connor
DT	DJ Reader	Roy Lopez	Chris Smith
Edge	Marcus Davenport	Tyrus Wheat
LB	Jack Campbell	Derrick Barnes	Trevor Nowaske
LB	Alex Anzalone	Grant Stuard	Zach Cunningham
Nickel	Amik Robertson
CB	D.J. Reed	Rock Ya-Sin
CB	Terrion Arnold	Khalil Dorsey
S	Brian Branch	Avonte Maddox
S	Kerby Joseph	Daniel Thomas

Jack Campbell has the greendot now, and he’s going to be the quarterback of the defense going forward. From everything we’ve seen from him in his career and this summer, he’s ready for this shift for sure.

The defensive line depth is certainly interesting, to say the least. Davenport looks significantly better than he did last summer, and that might make the Lions feel comfortable enough to where they don’t feel like they need to bring Za’Darius Smith back. Wheat will be behind him. It might seem like they’re ultra thin there right now, but guys like Lacy, Wingo, O’Connor, and Nowaske can rotate in as pass rushers, too. On top of that, the open roster spot can be used to bring up Isaac Ukwu or Keith Cooper Jr. We’ll see what they try to do.

Special Teams

Position	Starter
Kicker	Jake Bates
Punter	Jack Fox
Long Snapper	Hogan Hatten

The most comfortable players at training camp in 2025. These guys had no challenges for their jobs, and they pretty much just hung out and kicked field goals and punts off to the side all summer. They’re all very good at what they do; that’s why there was never a challenge.

Injured

Injury list type	Player
Reserve/PUP	Alim McNeil
Reserve/PUP	Miles Fraizer
Reserve/PUP	Levi Onwuzurike
Reserve/PUP	Malcolm Rodriguez
Reserve/NFI	Josh Paschal
Injured Reserve	Dan Jackson
Injured Reserve	Justin Herron
Injured Reserve	Ennis Rakestraw
Injured Reserve	Colby Sorsdal
Injured Reserve	Ezekiel Turner
Injured Reserve	Kenny Yeboah

The good news is that the guys on the reserve/PUP and reserve/NFI can come back this season. Onwuzurkie is not expected to return this year, but the rest of the guys are, and they could be back sooner rather than later. The guys on injured reserve are done for the year.

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