Detroit Lions Roster Bubbles, DEFENSIVE LINE! SURPRISE CUTS? Who Makes The Roster?

Detroit Lions Roster Bubbles, DEFENSIVE LINE! SURPRISE CUTS? Who Makes The Roster?

the Detroit Lions have a fantastic roster going into 2024 a roster that is projected to bring them back-to-back NFC North championships a roster that has projected him to go very far in the NFL playoffs and a roster that it potentially could be the one to bring the Lions their first Super Bowl appearance and Super Bowl championship in the entirety of the franchise’s history and with the lions having such a great roster having so much talent in order to do that it is of course going to lead to a lot of competitive roster battles and a lot of competitive roster spots whether that be for playing time whether that be for roles or whether that just be for some players to flat out make this roster and have a chance to compete and win the big game and no position speaks more truly to that than the edge rushing position a position that had a lot of ups and a lot of downs last year a position that led the NFL in pressures a season to go but ranked just 23rd in in the NFL a positional group that has a lot to be desired a lot of excitement for the season but also has a lot to prove going forward to prove that they can be one of the best in the NFL and with that being the case with all of the dep that the Lions have added over the last couple of months all the players that are currently competing and fighting for that roster spot the roster bubble for the defensive line is going to be a very interesting story to follow and today I wanted to take a look at it take a look at the locks the likelies and the 5050 players just fighting for a chance to call Detroit home now taking a look starting off with the roster likelies and I would say really the roster locks of this season Aiden Hutchinson is going to be a Detroit line he is in his third year of his rookie contract the former second overall pick Superstar pass rusher for the Detroit Lions who last year led the NFL in pressures and came away with 11 and a half sacks to match it he was a phenomenal player for the Detroit Lions got a lot of pressure a lot of sacks with the Lions by far their best pass rusher in the NFL and now with the additions of guys like Marcus David port and DJ reer on the defensive line we could see a massive breakout year for Aiden Hutchinson and potentially see him take that step into Elite pass rushing territory alen mcneel the Detroit Lions star defensive tackle for the last three years is also a member that is a lock for this roster going into his last season of his rookie contract a great player last year for the Detroit Lions before injury missed the last month of the NFL season but came back for the playoffs and again was super impactful he will of course make this roster and potentially will have an even expanded role going into 2024 DJ reer the Detroit Lions free agent signing their prized free agent acquisition a player that they have big hopes for and a player that hopefully will be healthy to start the season and be impactful early and then of course you have Marcus Davenport the free agency prize as well signed for $10 million fully guaranteed whether he’s injured or not he will be a member of the Detroit Lions roster and he is a lock to make this team as well now these are the only four players that I would say are 100% guaranteed to make this roster but there are a number of other players that I think have a really good chance and are almost locks but you could see the reasoning to potentially not have them on the roster if something does go wrong those players are going to be Josh Pascal broadrick Martin McKai Wingo James Houston as well as John Kaminsky now Josh Pascal I would say is one of the safest players on this roster again a really good player does a lot of great things for the Detroit Lines defense does all of the Dirty Work that the coaches ask of him and of course he is still on that third year of his rookie deal still looking to be super impactful still very cheap still very good and a player that I would almost guarantee makes this roster I really don’t see a area where he is going to not make the roster right I don’t see any situation where Josh Pascal doesn’t make the final 53 but just because he’s not a guaranteed starter next season I do have him just a little bit below but again basically a lock for this roster same thing goes with brck Martin second-year player a project player that you knew was going to take two three years to develop there’s no way that they’re going to get rid of him obviously he hasn’t been super impactful so far so again if like Camp goes really really poorly and they can just see that this isn’t a guy that’s going to work out there’s like a 1% chance that Brodrick Martin doesn’t make this roster but after having a strong mini camp a strong OTA outing and also again being a second-year player that is already a project there’s a very little chance that he goes maai Wingo is a rookie that they just drafted a rookie has never ever been cut by Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell he is almost a lock to make this roster James Houston is a player that is very interesting a player that seemed to be really close to not making this roster a season to go a player that is a rotational pass rusher a pass rush specialist if you will but the lines just tenured him to a two extension which will keep him around through the remainder of what would have been his rookie contract I think he stays I don’t think they sign him back to this contract if they don’t think that he can be impactful in 2024 and obviously being in the NFC championship game coming off of a bad lower leg injury that caused him a majority of 2023 he still got a lot of looks still got some pass rushing opportunities and still had a number of pressures as well as a quarterback hit he is pretty safe to make the roster and then John Kaminsky as well John Kaminsky is a player that I think is a little B less safe than the rest of these guys just because I think he’s a little older he doesn’t have quite as high of a ceiling as any of the other four players we talked about before however being a leader being a veteran being a player that the coaching staff loves that the players love to be around there’s a really good chance that he does make this roster he did get slightly less playing time last year but but it was only very slightly it went from about a 60% of the defensive snaps to about a 57 58% of defensive snaps so he did Play Slightly less last year than he did the year prior in 2022 his statistics did go down but again being a veteran being a leader being a player that the Lions love to have around love to have in the locker room and relied on pretty heavily the last two seasons I would say John Kaminsky is a pretty heavy lock for this roster now taking a look at the Detroit Lions week one last season the Lions kept around five defensive tackles and seven Edge rushers that being Aiden Hutchinson Charles Harris John Kaminsky Josh Pascal James Houston and the oara brothers at edge with Al mcneel Bonito Jones brri Martin Isaiah bugs as well as Levi aneri at the defensive tackle position as of right now the Detroit Lions as far as the locks and the almost locks have four defensive tackles and five Edge rushers that being of course reer mcneel wingo and Martin on the defensive tackle side and Hutch Davenport Pascal Houston and Kaminsky as your Edge rushers so who’s left on the Detroit Lions roster well you have Levi Anar the fourth defensive tackle Prospect who’s been making his name known in mini camp you have Mitchell agude the very young very raw Prospect who is yet to play an NFL game you have Matthew Betts the CFL Defensive Player of the Year you have Kyle Pico the NFL veteran with not great statistics but a guy that’s been around the NFL for a very long time and then you have the young players in Chris Smith and Nate Lynn Chris Smith being an undrafted rookie for agent a year ago who was good in the preseason but not quite good good enough to make this roster was stashed and stored away in the practice squad with Nate Lynn the undrafted rookie free agent from William and Mary being a good player in Camp so far but again not having any NFL experience in being a rookie undrafted free agent so let’s take a look at them individually Levi Anar as I said a fourthe player having a really good camp but a really slow start to his career he’s a player that I think the Lions could cut their losses if they don’t see what they’re looking for in mini camp or through training camp or through the pre season right if Levi continues to struggle with injury if Levi can’t you know make his name known throughout the preseason in games when it matters there’s a good chance that the LI say okay this is a guy that is going to be pretty cheap to get rid of a guy that you know was costing us what would be the tail end of a second round rookie contract and while I don’t think the lions are necessarily desperate for money a player that isn’t going to be super impactful for you won’t stay on the field very long could potentially be a roster cut for a guy that is potentially a little younger a guy with a little more upside or just a player that they feel can be more reliable consistently however I do think that Levi anque is the favorite for that last defensive tackle position looking at the other guys you have Pico and Smith guys that we will talk about a little later on but players that just don’t have won the career that Levi has right Levi might not have done a ton in the NFL but he still has more career saxs than Pico and still obviously has more experience than Chris Smith so I think that he is still a good chance to make the roster but I think he has a true case to not make the roster as well speaking of Mitchell agude is a player that I think potentially doesn’t make this roster either he’s a young player with good size but has no NFL experience and despite being really good in Camp there’s a good shot that he potentially doesn’t make this roster there’s a good chance that you know just with the amount of edge rushers that they have in front of him just the other guys that are fighting for this roster spot that they want a guy that’s played in NFL games they want a guy that has played on an NFL roster and they want players that they feel are a little bit more confident and have played a little bit more football at a higher level taking a look at Matthew Betts although he has not played a lot in the NFL he was on the Bears during the preseason a few years ago coming off of a campaign where he was the CFL Defensive Player of the Year with 18 sacks and three forced fumbles his get off his first step is incredibly quick and even though the competition at the CFL level was very questionable right the offensive tackles were not very good and the quick was all he really needed to get around them he still did show that his ability to get to the quarterback the ability to finish plays he’s big he’s fast he’s strong although I think he’s a little bit raw from a pass rushing uh Nuance although I think he’s not quite a polished Prospect you give him to Tyra Williams one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL somebody that’s big fast great first step you have a case for again another project player that could be a really really good player for the Lions potentially be the player the lines have been looking for to put alongside Aiden Hutchinson in pass rushing situations Kyle Pico is an NFL veteran lots of NFL experience but I just don’t think is a great fit for the Detroit Lions I think he’s very much a Christian Covington type player from last year where yeah they’re going to bring him in and they’re going to have him play through the preseason but unless he really really shows out and shows a massive step in year seven probably isn’t going to make the roster and then you have the undrafted rookies in Smith and Lynn one being a defensive tackle one being an edge rusher but both being in the same boat both being young undrafted rookie free agents of course Smith going into his second year now likely practice squad player guys players that could have good camps could be having good preseason but likely just due to their youth due to their floor as of right now are not going to be immediate impact starters and could see their way to the bench before anything now with that being said this is how I see the depth chart playing out obviously Hutch Davenport Pascal Houston and Kaminsky I think the last Edge rushing spot is going to go to Matthew Betts a player that I think is the most proven of the remaining players on the Detroit Lions but as you might notice that leaves the lions with just SI just six Edge rushers whereas last year they had seven and I think that the Lions potentially can do this I think that they might go a little bit thinner at defensive line this year because I think they have a lot more Talent this year on the top end than they did a season ago and now a finally healthy James Houston Josh Pascal going into his third year John Kaminsky being really good Marcus davor being a solid player to kind of be a big upgrade over where Romeo aara and Charles Harris were from a season to go Matthew Betts I think is a much better depth option than the oara brothers I think the lions are going to be more talented in these six defensive lineman these six Edge rushers than they were with the seven they brought into week one a season ago and it potentially leaves the Detroit Lines the opportunity to maybe save that extra offensive lineman save that extra wide receiver save that extra running back save that extra safety spot on the roster and I think that these six guys can get it done throughout the NFL season while potentially stashing guys like Aude as well as Nate Lynn on the practice squad for emergency situations and then for the defensive tackle spot I kind of already alluded to it but I think it’s going to be reader mcneel Wingo Martin I think Levi will get that last spot obviously this battle is between Levi Pico as well as Chris Smith Chris Smith is an undrafted rookie free agent who has proved even less than Levi Anar even though Pico is a n veteran who’s played a lot more games than Levi Levi throughout his real two seasons of NFL play while suffering through a back injury the entire time already has more pass rushing success in his career than Pico already got to the quarterback more already had more pressures already had more sacks I do think with a good camp the Lions do believe heavily in Levi anque and I do think that they will take him into the NFL season give him that final shot to make the roster give him that final shot to make his case for a second contract and I think think they’re going to give Levi as many opportunities as it takes until they get it right I think with him finally being healthy this year is a good and opportunity as any but with all of that being said that is all for you guys today let me know down in the comments below whether you agree whether you disagree what your roster and what your defensive line would look like going into 2024 I’d be very curious you guys have to say and what you guys think about it but with all that being said that’s I got for you guys right now if you enjoy the content Please Subscribe obviously you enjoy the Detroit Lions content if you’re 14 minutes into a deep di of the defensive line so if you do enjoy the content and you have yet yet subscribed please do so it helps the channel out a ton and we’re trying to hit 4,000 subscribers before the preseason so if you can help us out that’d be great but all that being said that’s all I got for you guys right now thank you all very much for watching and until next time and as always go lions

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