The Detroit Lions’ final 53-man roster is taking shape, and now it’s time to project what the Week 1 depth chart will look like. There aren’t many surprises on the offensive side of the ball, but the defensive depth chart has some genuine intrigue, particularly at edge rusher, nickel corner, and safety. Let’s break it down.

Offense

Position	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4
LWR	Isaac TeSlaa
RWR	Jameson Williams	Tay Martin
SWR	Amon-Ra St. Brown	Greg Dortch
LT	Penei Sewell
LG	Christian Mahogany	Free Agebt
C	Juice Scruggs	Free Agent
RG	Tate Ratledge	Miles Frazier
RT	Blake Miller	Larry Borom
TE	Sam LaPorta	Brock Wright	Tyler Conklin	Jackson Meeks
QB	Jared Goff	Luke Altmyer
RB	Jahmyr Gibbs	Sione Vaki	Jacob Saylors	Isiah Pacheco

The starting offense is what everyone expects. Jared Goff is your quarterback. Jahmyr Gibbs is your running back. Amon-Ra St. Brown lines up in the slot with Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa on the outside. Sam LaPorta starts at tight end.

The offensive line reads left to right: Penei Sewell at left tackle, Christian Mahogany at left guard, Juice Scruggs at center, Tate Ratledge at right guard, and first-round pick Blake Miller at right tackle. Behind Mahogany and Scruggs, the Lions will likely lean on free agents who haven’t arrived yet. Detroit is going to have other options along the offensive line. We just haven’t met them yet.

The one spot worth watching is backup running back. Sione Vaki is penciled in because Isiah Pacheco has not returned to practice yet. When the injury initially happened, Lions coach Dan Campbell said Pacheco could be back by Week 1, but on Thursday his comments pointed to that maybe not being the case. It’s a wait and see there.

Defense

Position	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3
LDE	Aidan Hutchinson	Ahmed Hassanein
LDT	Tyleik Williams	Levi Onwuzurike
RDT	Alim McNeill	Tyler Lacy	Skyler Gill-Howard
RDE	DJ Wonnum	Derrick Moore
WLB	Devin White	Malcolm Rodriguez
MLB	Jack Campbell
SLB	Derrick Barnes	Trevor Nowaske
LCB	Rock Ya-Sin	Nick Whiteside
SS	Chuck Clark	Thomas Harper	Kerby Joseph
FS	Avonte Maddox	Brian Branch
RCB	D.J. Reed	Khalil Dorsey
NB	Roger McCreary	Keith Abney	Christian Izien

Aidan Hutchinson is the obvious starter at one edge spot. Lining up inside, you have Tyleik Williams and Alim McNeill. No debate there.

The conversation starts at the other edge spot, where D.J. Wonnum gets the nod over second-round pick Derrick Moore. Some fans might wonder why the Lions wouldn’t just hand the job to Moore right away given his upside, but this goes back to the Lions’ six-week evaluation approach. Campbell explained on Wednesday how the Lions evaluate players in two windows: Can they help us now? And in six weeks, can they help us even more?

Right now, Wonnum is a known commodity who can start opposite Hutchinson. The question is whether Moore will develop enough over those first six weeks to take the job. Moore is going to get plenty of playing time regardless. The likely setup is Wonnum handling the early downs of a series, the traditional run downs, and then Moore rotating in on passing situations where his speed gives Detroit an advantage. If it’s third-and-6 or third-and-7, Moore is out there because the opponent is obviously going to pass. If it’s third-and-2 or third-and-1, the defense probably needs Wonnum’s run-stopping ability.

At will linebacker, Devin White starts over Malcolm Rodriguez. Jimmy Rolder was the player many expected to fill that role, but with his current absence, it’s unclear where he fits. When he comes back, maybe he grabs it. At this point, we don’t really know.

Jack Campbell is locked in at middle linebacker. Derrick Barnes starts at Sam linebacker with Trevor Nowaske backing him up.

At outside corner, Rock Ya-Sin and D.J. Reed are the starters, backed up by Nick Whiteside and Khalil Dorsey respectively. The nickel corner spot is where it gets fun. Roger McCreary gets the initial start, but he and Keith Abney will probably rotate quite a bit. When Christian Izien returns, he should reclaim that spot, though a healthy rotation at nickel will likely continue all season.

Chuck Clark and Avonte Maddox start at safety in Week 1. But here’s the thing. Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are both listed on this depth chart for a reason.

The suspicion is that the Lions will activate both Branch and Joseph next week and get them back to practice rather than placing them on the PUP list to start the season, which would prevent them from practicing the first two weeks and playing in the first four games. Under this scenario, both players would get two weeks of practice before Week 1 even starts. Neither player likely suits up for the opener, but Week 2 or Week 3 could be on the table.

That’s something we’re going to need more information on from Campbell and the Lions. But those are the starters. Let’s see how it all shakes out.