Detroit Lions Rookie Mini Camp & 90 Man Roster

In this episode we talk about the Lions Roster. With the NFL Draft in the books and Rookie Mini-Camp complete, the 90 man roster is taking shape. We’ll break it down by position and share our optimism and any potential concerns. That and more.. Let’s get to it Lions fans.

#detroitlions #onepride #lions #nfl #allgrit

[Music] Hey everybody, this is Matthew Saltziaak and you’re listening to Not the Same Old Lions podcast, part of the Minute Media Podcast Network. The Detroit Lions are now in a new grittier era and we look beyond just a kneecap when it comes to the analysis. I speak with a variety of guests and interview key players, gaining more insight on what makes this team go. Welcome to another episode. In this episode, we look at the Detroit Lions 90man roster now that the NFL draft is over and rookie mini camp is in the books. We’ll look at how the roster shaken up, the strength and weaknesses we see, that and more. Let’s get to it, Lions fans. Hey, this is Rob Rubik and you’re listening to Not the Same Old Lions podcast. Joining me today is coach Jerry Angers, a former Michigan high school coach of the year. He’s also named coach of the week by the Detroit Lions and he is a scouting and trading director for Bull Rush Sports. Coach, good to have you here. Great to be here, guys. All right, joining coach and I is James Cook, the sports writer of the year for Community Newspaper Holdings Incorporated. He’s also the senior sports writer for the Traverse City Record Eagle. James, loving the new jersey, love the black hat. Good to have you here with us. Yeah, to go black on black today and then uh the the the blue Kool-Aid to go with it. Nice touch. Nice touch. And coach, you are looking pretty dapper yourself and some some fine looking Lions gear there yourself. Oh yeah, it’s it’s the number one seller in the uh market in the country right now. All right. Well, as we get started, reminder to the listeners, tell your friends about the show. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcast, all major streaming platforms. And of course, if you’re looking for a video version, you can find us on YouTube as well. Now, uh, as we get started, Coach Angers, uh, you’ve got something you’d like to share with the listeners. Uh, talking a little bit about the More Than Four Foundation. Can you, uh, tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, so it’s called More Than Four Foundation because federal cancer research funding goes to pediatrics, there’s only about 4% that goes to them. So, uh, one of our local uh, football players, Pat Rean, who played at St. Francis uh who also played at Michigan State’s son uh had a a rare cancer uh born with it and has had at 6 months old he had his first surgery and of course um since then uh he’s now six and uh Pat’s mentality is his football mentality. He’s going to do whatever he has to do to help his kids survive. So he’s founded started this foundation. So coming up uh if you want to get some information on it it’s info@ more than4foundation.org. or uh looking for donations, looking for Lions tickets to raffle off, looking for Lions jerseys to raffle off, anything, anybody that can come up with uh Pat Rigggins family and and of course this foundation that helps uh other pediatrics across the world. So, um anyways, thanks for uh listening. Hopefully, we get some people to donate. Awesome, coach. Glad you’re a part of that and you’re helping promote it and uh try and get some more publicity and people involved as well. Okay, coach, let’s start with rookie mini camp. James, you you looked into that as well. Um, coach, what’s one of your takeaways from the rookie mini camp? What’s something that jumped out at you? Again, rookies were there. There were some also some some veterans that were there that were maybe trying to look them make the team or whatnot as well. So, it wasn’t everybody just a rookie, but uh obviously none of the Lions starters were there or anything like that. I, you know, I think it’s just the stuff you read. Again, it’s so hard to tell because it’s a rookie mini camp, but you know, like Tesla, he come out and they said everything. You know, he’s everything they thought he was going to be, you know, uh uh love it is his feet are unbelievable as a wide out. Uh you know, all the guys they drafted, you know, we moved the big um um our our boy from Georgia to center, uh which I really like. I like seeing that Rattlage, they played him at center a ton. Um and and of course my new favorite as we’ve talked about uh Amad the the guy did you see any of his interviews you guys about he was so excited about going in and and getting the food and all the stuff he can eat and he is just he is just so happy so happy to be a part of an NFL team and so happy to be part of the of the uh Detroit Lions and coach I I think those interviews with the players might have and more exciting and more interesting than the work they did on the field because you kind of got to know some of these guys as players as human beings actually and so that kind of gave some insights and yeah Amed Hassan I mean that that guy is going to probably become a fan favorite I mean even though he’s a later round draft pick you know and you know and I think those were those were the things that stuck out and I know the two safeties Canel from GB and Dan Jackson I think they were 27 and 28 those guys uh you know they showed that you know they want to be part this and and I think that that what we’ve brought in with what we already have uh the competitiveness at at camp is going to be un is going to be crazy on who makes that 53 man roster. Can’t wait to watch the development of all these guys. Yeah, it’s going to be exciting. I I think the Tate Ratlage thing playing some center as well was interesting. Um, but of course we know the Lions like to play uh positionless football for some players for some positions and cross trainining is essential on that offensive line. Uh, James, you did a little bit uh deep diving into this and got some uh observations of your own. Uh, why don’t you share those? Yeah. Well, one other guy to add on I think that the that Lions fans are going to like and I they they’ve done a good job recently and I don’t think they take this into consideration really when they’re drafting a guy, but they’ve got guys with good personalities that that I think the fans are just going to like. Um and and the wide receiver in the seventh round love it. I think is another one of those guys. Um his interviews during the mini camp just came off as as one of those guys. people were comparing him to Jamal Williams uh as as far as like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li like li likeability for the media so that’s a pretty good thing because the media love that dude um so that’s just another thing I think from the fan perspective that the Lions are are getting guys that the fans really can embrace too um in just in addition to what they do on the field um now on the field one of the guys who really stood out in the mini camp was uh Keith Cooper who’s a defensive edge from University of Houston. Um he was a guy that initially wasn’t reported that they signed him as an undrafted free agent, but then wasn’t on the list when they released theirs. Um turned out it was just a try out um for the mini camp. Um but he he earned a roster spot from the mini camp. Got got signed to the 90man roster. Um they cut one of the other under drafted free agents they did sign to make room for him. Um and uh but they’ve also made a couple other moves since then, too. Um, they signed a tight end. They let they let Kaden Prescorn go, who’s one of the tight ends that we talked about right after the draft, like one of the good uh undrafted free agents that we thought might have a have a shot at maybe unseeding, you know, Kenny Yaboa or Zilstra or somebody like that. But they signed Luke Deal, who’s a two-year captain at Auburn. Um, so, you know, those are those those leadership intangibles that the Lions really seem to like. Um, they also added Malik Taylor, former Packers wide receiver. Um, a guy who has special teams experience and some return experience. So, I’m going to guess if he’s going to make the team, that’s going to be how he’s going to make it. But, he’s got to be a pretty good dark horse to make this this roster. And then Raon Rayquon Williams, who’s a former Michigan State guy, so a lot of people probably recognize him, but he hasn’t played in the NFL for a couple years um in a regular season game. He played uh a bit over two years I think in 2021 and 2020 for the Eagles, but has kind of bounced around since then and hasn’t uh hasn’t done a whole lot. But uh but so those are some of the guys that they added. Taylor went to Ferris State, too, so that’s also of of note. Hey, what what can I say? Fellow Bulldog guys. I’m just saying I know another great guy that played at Ferris. All right, so we got to see some of the guys in action. We got to see uh some personalities come out through those interviews, through those conversations, which is great. Uh now we have a roster to look at. We have like a 90man roster. Obviously, I think it’s I think it was at 89, but uh it’s it’s ebbing and flowing right now. Uh so we’re going to go through position group by position group to see, hey, how does each group look now that the draft is over? There’s a mini camp that’s taking place and you’re you’re pretty much set to go into training camp here. Uh so let’s start with the quarterback position. We got Jared Goff, Henden Hooker, and Kyle Allen. Coach, uh break down that position group. Not a big shock. Little change at the the number three quarterback position there. Um but what are your thoughts on this group and how you feeling about it? Well, I mean, we we know I mean we’re going to arguably that G is one of the top five, top three, top two, maybe the best quarterback in the NFL. I mean, we’re going to argue that nobody’s going to back it, but we know that how good he is. I and I think I the hooker thing I he’s been around. He’s been, you know, Love, how many years did Love sit under Rogers and stuff like that, you know? I mean, three, right? And and I think, you know, I I I think he’s a great second backup for us. I think he gives us some intangibles. Uh because he’s athletic. I think he’s he’s not Everybody reads into, “Oh my god, they brought a a high school football coach back to to to be number two over him in the playoff game.” And then of course Allen’s got got experience and he’s going to push Hooker. So I think we I think we’re I think we’re in great shape right there. I’m not I’m not worried about it. I’d like to have Cooper Rush as our second string backup quarterback, but that’s not possible. No, because he’s playing with the Baltimore Ravens. Exactly. James, how about you? Quarterback position. Yeah, I think Allen adds some pretty good veteran, you know, guy who’s seen some men some NFL snaps um into that competition with Henden Hooker. you know, Hooker’s got all the upside. Um, you know, so he’s obviously got the the way higher ceiling than Allen, but I think Allen right at this point has the higher floor um with just with that experience. So, it’s good to have that depth. I think that they very well could go into this season carrying three quarterbacks on the 53. Um, you’ve also got I think Jake from is still resigned to a futures deal, so he could be a practice squad candidate, too. Okay. Well, uh, no surprise here, right, with Jared Goff being the starting quarterback. But the backups, I mean, it’s, if you look at where we were three years ago, the backups compared to now, significantly different. We still don’t know what we have in Henden Hooker. I’m not going to read into the headlines on saying, you know, this or that, that he’s a total buster, whatnot. I think this this training camp and this preseason is going to tell us a lot about Henden Hooker. They wanted a guy with upside potential on a rookie deal. That way, it wasn’t going to hit the salary cap as hard. you weren’t going to have to spend $10 million to get a backup or whatnot. So, you know, any team with a quarterback, if your starting quarterback goes down, there’s going to be a significant drop off. And what we have in Hen Hooker, we’ll know more about that later on. I also think the Lions have an insurance policy and if all else fails, you try and bring Teddy Bridgewwater back in the second half of the season when his high school thing’s over if you have to go that route. So, you know, this room’s about as stable as you can get. and uh I’m I’m comfortable with it. And yeah, Kyle Allen, you know, you got a little bit more experience there, James, and a little bit more success on the NFL field than some of the other backups we’ve had. I think that’s a good thing. All right. Well, let’s move over to the running back room. All right. Running back wise, we know Jir Gibbs, David Montgomery, Craig Reynolds are your top three. Sony Vaky was a rookie last year. They got a couple undrafted free agents this year, coach. Uh I mean, it’s it’s topheavy with a couple allstars. The third guy is just a solid contributor going all the way back to Hard Knock. So I think we know what people think about him. And Vaky’s a former safety turn running back. Uh again, not a whole lot of influx or change here. What are your thoughts on this room? Loaded. You know, we know that. I mean, we got it’s it’s the best duel in the NFL, arguably. I there’s nobody can there’s no way anybody can argue with it. We may have the best running back in the NFL. We’ll find out how he does this year. I mean, there you know, we know that, you know, he’s and he’s in the top three. I mean, and he’s in pretty good company because he’s mentioned with with Henry and and those guys all the time. So, uh, Reynolds again, steady. Eddie does the job. I mean, look at him last year. When he gets in there, he makes plays. Doy, I think, is going to have a little bit of breakout year and probably get some more reps. And then, and I heard the rookies are doing pretty well, too. So, you know, again, they’re haven’t been in camp. They’re not getting hit. They’re not getting smacked with pads and stuff like that. They’re not in preseason games, but they still have some intangibles to help us. So, uh, extremely excited about this one. uh you know is is I and I heard they’re still going to split time. You know, probably 6040 instead of almost a 5050, but uh I think we’re in pretty good shape there. Yeah, I I don’t see any real change. I think those are the four guys that going to be on your roster when the season starts, unless something unexpected comes out of one of the undrafted free agents. Uh but that’s about as good of a running back room as you can ask for. James. Yeah, I think you could see one of the one of the undrafted free agents on the practice squad. Um, you know, Reynolds is maybe the guy who’s in on the fringe here this year, you know, um, if he if he loses even a little bit of a step, you know, I think his roster spot could be in jeopardy. Um, you know, just because I think Vaky is young. Um, he’s going to overtake him at some point. It’s just a matter of of when. So, um, so there there could be that movement, but you know, Reynolds is still solid. We’ve we’ve seen, you know, what he can do and everything. So, it the running back room as a whole is just pretty solid. I I like the Taius kid, the the rookie undrafted guy from Ohio. Um, he seems like u kind of David Montgomeryish um in what little I’ve seen of him. Um, so, uh, I think he’s guy that they could stash on, the uh, on the practice squad for sure. All right. Well, those are like probably the two of the easiest positions to talk about. So, uh, I guess we we’ll do get into stuff that’s got a little bit more controversy to it. Uh, wide receiver, we know St. Brown, JO, Tim Patrick, Khif, Raymond, those are your top four. Uh, by third round draft pick, default. Isaac Ta Law is your number five. Those are your top five returning or four returning receivers. Taste Law New Edition. You’ve got Tom Kennedy, Dominic Love It, Ronnie Bell is on there, and I think that’s it. Like, oh, we’ve got Jason Meeks or Jackson Meeks. We have Jacobe Keaney James and, uh, Dominic Love. I think I mentioned him already. So, uh, you know, we’re looking at this room and I know we who know who the top starters are with with the four guys remaining, returning. Telaw, I think he’s going to work his way in. He might start more on special teams than in the starting lineup. And as long as Tim Patrick’s healthy in contributing the way I think people expect, I think Tesla’s numbers are going to be a little bit limited um in snaps on the field. And I think they’re going to work him into that role as the season goes on. Or maybe the real vision is for next year depending how things go this year. Uh that’s the top of it. And then we’ve got some other guys that are going to fill in some pieces or might surprise you on on a couple of those like that seventh round pick. Uh coach, what are you seeing on this receiving core and how do you feel about the receiving position? Uh again, um you know, TP, we talked about this earlier. TP’s back after a year, a full year of playing football, you know, and not coming off injuries. So, you know, he’s just going to and he’s just going to keep I think he’s he’s going to continue to get better, give us more numbers. I think uh Tesla is going to definitely, you know, be awful nice to be able to go 6’4, 65 or 6’4, 64 and and jump ball situations. Uh I think the biggest thing you know we know we know St. Brown. The biggest thing that I’m reading and loving and seeing is J Mo and how they are talking about he is going to go to another level this year with his work ethics, with his attitude, with his questions, with him he he’s just he did sounds like he’s done everything, knock on wood, to be better during the off season. And and I can’t wait to see that cuz you know he had a thousand yards last year and uh and and I know that Morton I I I saw a Morton thing the other day where he just says, “Oh, we’re going to take some shots.” So uh so I think with with that much speed, with height, and with you know, with with uh you know, with St. Brown, I’m pretty excited about this and and to see how it all plays out. And we got guys if we get injuries it looks sounds like you know with with Levit with Love it and and and those guys. So yeah, I’m looking forward to uh really looking forward to seeing J Mo um explode like they believe he’s going to explode. Well, and that’s crazy if he does because he already took a big step forward last year and so if he goes to another level, watch out. Yeah. Uh James, this has got to be the best wide receiving core Lions have had at this point entering a season. Um, I don’t even know how far back you have to go, but the stability, the returning people, like coach said, Tim Patrick’s coming back after a complete season and he played well and you drafted a guy in the third round and you’ve brought in some other people. So, what are you seeing out of this room? And I mean, yeah, I guess how confident you got to be super confident, but what what are your thoughts? I really like this group as a whole. I mean, St. Brown obviously, what more can you say about him? Jameson Williams has really started to step up. they they you know did the fifth year option on him. So they have infinite amount of confidence I think in him to to even keep progressing past what he was last year. Uh we know we have in Raymond he’s a great return guy a very solid slot receiver. Um and Patrick is you know a great guy to have coming into that that room with with his blocking with his size. Um, and I think maybe he has maybe another step this year, like Jerry said, being a year off of those injuries being a full year. Uh, he could be even faster than last season, even though he’s a year older. Um, and then you add Teslaw, uh, you know, who has I everything you could ask for at a wide receiver. I mean, he’s 6’4. Uh, you know, he can jump, he can he can get the 50/50 ball, he’s got good hands, he runs pretty good routes, he blocks well. Uh he seems to have a good personality and everybody loves him. I mean I I don’t see I don’t see a negative with this kid. Um and then and then Love it looks like basically Khalif Raymond too. Um you know a guy I think that’s going to be you know your slot receiver next year maybe. Um and return guy. So I think I I really like what they’ve done with this position. It went from people clamoring to we don’t have anything behind St. Brown and and Jameson Williams a year ago, too. This is pretty well settled. I mean, it’s it’s Well, James, I got to have to ask you a controversial question, then. Is this year Tom Kennedy does not make the practice squad? I think so. Yeah. And you’ve got Meeks and Keiny James who are both, you know, both had pretty good college careers and have pretty good NFL profiles. Um, so I think that those guys are definite contenders for the practice squad. um you’re only allowed to have so many guys out of your 16 in the practice squad that have uh more than like a year or so of NFL a year or two I think it’s two years of NFL experience. So Kennedy would take up one of those six spots. Uh you know from would be one and you know you’ve got a bunch of other guys who would take those you know maybe maybe a guy like Kobe Sorsall who’s been in the league for two years now is going to be on the practice squad now and he would be one of those bad guys. Those are some shots fired right there. We haven’t even gotten to that part of the uh the group, but yeah. Well, again, as the roster gets be bigger and better, not bigger, but well, some guys are bigger. Um, but as it gets deeper and more talented, we we’ve seen things change. Uh, tight end group, Sam Leaporta, Brock, right? Those guys are back. Those guys will be the starters. Uh, Shane Zilstra and we picked up Kenny Yaboa. Plus, there’s a couple undrafted free agents. I think Zack Horton, I think, is still with the team. And I think they’ve already made a movement on another one. Uh, you know, just having Leaport and Brock right there, I feel great about this room. You’re bringing those top two guys back in as Zilstra. If the Lions carry three active, I would expect him to be in that spot. Um, I think he’s went between the active and the practice squad last year, if I remember correctly. U, I kind of expect it to be the same there. No real change on the tight end group, coach. Yeah, I think I think they’re looking for that one tight end that’s just a phenomenal blocker. you know, uh, Leaporta struggles a little bit, but then, you know, he makes up for it too with effort, stuff like that. Brock Wright again, you know, again, is some of his grades again, I don’t, you know, you look at some of his grades in some games where he struggled. So, uh, again, a very solid um, successful with the two that we’ve already talked about on the top. Zilstster again is that receiving type of guy and then Yo, I think he’s he’s going to be the big blocker. So, um, again, um, definitely not hurting, um, and definitely what, you know, up there with with some of the better tight end groups in the in the league. Yeah. And Kenny Yaboa is the, uh, the question mark, right? The new guy brought into the situation that that could affect things for that number three spot. James, any thoughts on the tight end group? Yeah, like you said, I kind of see Zilstra as being the fourth guy here um and being on that practice squad and being somebody that they can bring up um when the game plan calls for a fourth tight end or if an injury or anything like that. Uh Kennyboa is that blocking tight end that they want. You know, Leaporta and Wright are are decent blockers but not not killing people out there. Uh, you know, so I think that they want that tight end they can bring in that they just know will will just take somebody to the ground and and open that edge. Um, and and Kenny Yo can do that and still be, you know, a capable receiver. He’s not going to break big plays like Sam Leapora does. Um, but he’s a guy who can be a a chain mover. All right. Well, for all those guys to be successful, you need an offensive line. So, let’s move to that offensive line spot right there. Uh, let’s go with starters. Well, we got Decker, Glasgow, Ragnau, and Su all back. Christian Mahogany was on the team last year. He did start a couple games, so let’s just put him in at right guard. So, we’ll just call those your five starters. The Lions drafted Tate Ratlage. He may be a starter. You also have Dan Skipper, Miles Frasier, who was drafted. You got Giovanni Manu, Coyote Aashika, Net Natani Mouti, uh, Kobe Sorsdale, Jamarco Jones, Michael Nice, and Kingsley Iguan. Uh, that’s a lot of guys right there. I I kind of mixed in the guards, the centers, the tackles, all that. But man, I I after seeing this draft and and the the players we added, I feel really good. Is there still maybe a weakness at tackle? Maybe. Um although, you know, you’ve got some guys that could play tackle that you just drafted as well. So, I think you’ve got some versatility. And it’s not just versatility, it’s youth versatility that uh I’m really excited about this offensive line, coach. I I like the guys we got coming back and I like the influx of youth there. And not just Rattlage, but Miles Frasier is a nice a nice addition, too. Oh, for sure. Our starting five with Mahogany, I mean, we saw him, he, you know, he he held his own and and had some pretty good blocks and and played well when he started. So, you know, they, you know, he he yet he kind of was behind the eightball last year because he was sick and he missed all those games and all those practices and yet he still came in and started and played well. So, I I don’t think we’re definitely hurting there. I the the two guys we drafted are both just dogs. They got, you know, both of them and stuff. Again, I’m reading reports. I watched film on them. They play a little high in their run blocking. you know, they’ll get they’ll get they’ll stand up a little bit, which is what you hear all the time, but they’re still two nasty guys that started in really good college football programs and and and you know, in Rattled, of course, you know, that center guard concept that’s at Glasgow, you know, Glasgow uh replacement down the road or, you know, could start over him. So, um, uh, Manu, uh, Giovani is the one I am really excited to see just because I saw a bunch of his offseason workouts at that he’s training out in that place, uh, in, um, uh, with the ex NFL guy, OOLP, I think it is. And just this looking at that body and the athleticism and how much it looks like he’s put into work there is going to be, you know, going to be interesting to see if he becomes that that backup tackle um, you know, uh, down the road. So, um, and and we’re deep and, you know, you look at it and you see a lot of like Kingsley, he’s the center, too, right? And he’s, you know, he’s got to be going, “Oh, boy.” Um, so, yeah, it’ll be it’ll be definitely interesting to see. And of course, we got Skipper. So, I think it’s deeper. I believe it’s deeper than it was last year and even deeper than the year before that, of course. and and I and I’m really looking forward to um we have a lot of bodies that can fill in when guys need a rest or need to, you know, and not play on broken feet like Rags does. Yeah, I I love the depth of this. And Giovanni Manu, he’s going to be a real interesting to see with that second year. And Kobe Sors though, this this is a very important offseason for him. And you know, I think James alluded to a little bit. It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up. Is he a second teamer on this or is he someone that might float back and forth between the practice squad or you know I mean that’s kind of crazy to think at this point but you just said it coach it’s a pretty deep room and it may be the deepest room they’ve had since actually Campbell and Holmes took over James. Yeah I mean I think Sorzal to have a shot at making the team is going to have to beat out Glasgow or Skipper. Yeah. I mean that’s who else is he gonna take a job from? Yeah. Uh, you know, Decker, Ragnau, Mahogany, Rattlage, Frasier, Su, Manu are all pretty much guaranteed roster spots at this point, I think. So, uh, you know, the only guys that I think that could be possible for him to pass would be Glasgow and Skipper. Uh, and that’s not going to be an easy task. This is a pretty deep offensive line all of a sudden. uh they went from having a really great starting offensive line the last few years to now having a really great backup line behind it as well. Um you know they they didn’t have great depth. They were you know signing undrafted free agents and playing them you know guys like Aashika and stuff like that whenever they had injuries but now they’ve got those guys in house already. Uh so the depth on the offensive line is just pretty incredible. I mean, you could see within a year or two. I mean, would you be shocked if the starting offensive line was uh Su and Manu at the tackles and then Mahogany, Rattlage, and Frasier inside. The secession plan is in place. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but they’re building for the future for sure. Oh, yeah. I think the offensive line’s in great hands. This draft changed that a lot, I think, in a lot of people’s eyes cuz adding adding Rattlage and Frasier really helped. Plus, I mean, the mahogany pick from last year, man, that that thing could really be paying dividends. All right. Well, let’s uh jump over to the defensive side of the ball. Defensive tackles, uh, projected starters are DJ Reer, Levi Zarrique. You might even have Tyreek Williams in there at that spot. Uh reserves include Roy Lopez, um Ahmed Hassan, Josh Pascal, Brick Martin, Mai Wingo, um Alkaedin Muhammad, Pat O’ Conor, Miles Adams, Chris Smith, Nate, Isaac Uku. There’s a lot of people there. I think I threw the defensive ends in there, though, too. Uh which I guess would have Aiden Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport as your starters. Let’s just go all defensive line on this one, guys. Coach, uh this was a banged up group last year. They they brought some pieces in. Um, give us your breakdown. What are you thinking? Well, I mean, we got injuries that we have to you know, we talked about injuries a few times with this team last year, but you know, you know, Wingo and then you know, those guys coming back. Um, and and you know, we’re going to have to we’re going to have to fill in for those guys. And I think they went out and got some guys that are going to fill in. got some guys that can that you know that we pulled off like Roy Lopez again another guy that’s excited to be here. Uh Williams is just I watched some more film on him the other day and uh dude he was he was underrated man I he he did some things that I you know again because you know with you had Sawyer and and you know Ohio State was pretty much loaded in that situation and then Michigan had those great Dlinemen but I think Williams is is going to be he’s going to shock he’s going to shock the jock the league next year. I just there’s just something about him. And then, you know, my my boy, we we already talked about him numerous times from Boise, man. We’re going to call him ah because he’s he’s high octane. Uh and Pascal, you know, and and Pat O’ Conor and those guys, there’s going to be some guys that played significant minutes for us next year that going to struggle to even make the squad, let you know, maybe get on the practice squad. Again, it’s deep. It’s and I think we have enough guys to offset Hutch and you know we we have to be deep because we have guys coming off you know uh McNeel coming off late um you know probably mid-season maybe earlier. I don’t think they’ll when you look at that I don’t think they’re going to force McNeel back early or not they’ll they won’t force him but say hey when he says I feel great they may say awesome you’re going to feel way way better next week and that’s when they’re going to play him. So, I just think there’s there’s just there’s a lot there. And again, building depth is what the Lions continue to do. And building players at at any point any one of those guys on that list right there, I don’t fear any of them playing in a game force. No. And that’s the thing, right? They’re the they’re you hear about, you know, like high ceiling or high floor, low ceiling type stuff for some players or coaches. And the the Lions are raising the floor on the depth chart. Like they’re raising that floor so they have more depth. So you’re not afraid when somebody goes in. And we know Ali McNeel is coming back later in the season. So they’ve got Roy Lopez, they’ve got Tyreek Williams in there. And as we talked about before, Williams is going to be great if DJ Reer doesn’t come back after this year because it’s the end of his contract. So uh the interior defensive line, I think most Lions fans are really good with the defensive end there. There, you know, there’s a lot of people that want another defensive end opposite Aiden Hutchinson. That’s not just Marcus Davenport. you know, Ahmed Hassan, I’m not counting that guy out, but I don’t know that he’s going to be a major contributor his first year. I mean, anything’s possible, but there there is a learning curve and it might be take him, you know, some time to get into that that rotation, but James, what are you seeing on the defensive line? Yeah, I think Hassan will he’ll see some snaps, but I don’t know that he’s going to be he’s not going to be close to starter level snaps. I mean, you’ve got Hutchinson is going to play, if he’s healthy, he’s going to play almost every down at at right end. Um, you know, maybe take a few plays to get a breather off here or there, but I mean, otherwise, when Hutchinson’s norm normally, you know, his normal self, he plays almost every down. Uh, so then you got Davenport, uh, Pascal, and Muhammad splitt in time at the other at the other end. Um, which is a nice combination. They all do a little bit different things. Um, so you know, I think that you can totally have a good defense with those guys at at defensive end. We saw how good the defense was the first couple seasons with Davport was up there. Um, and you know, not getting a lot of sacks, but getting a lot of pressure. Um, so I think that this this group is pretty good. I mean, I think they’ll have I think they’ll carry 11 defensive linemen, and that’s not counting McNeel. Okay. Um, I mean I mean because I I don’t know who I don’t know who they count who they cut out of all those guys that we mentioned. I mean what the most likely one I guess would maybe be Muhammad and he was pretty solid last year down the road. I mean but out of those 11 names that we mentioned uh Brick Martin maybe and and Muhammad would maybe be the two that are most on the edge. Yeah, Brick Martin. This is going to be he’s like Kobe Sorsdale, right? This is the big year for him. you got to see a big step forward. Um, yeah, and we we’ll get into that. You know, I understand that people want more at defensive end than just Marcus Davenport, but this is where sometimes you live in that world of embarrassment of riches and you just look for a spot that might be weak, but you forget that you’ve got seven other spots that are stronger than your opponents and you just are like, it’s like, you know, you’re stacking the fantasy football roster, you know, and uh yeah, so that being said, um, and we’ll come back to this. I I do think the Lions will make some sort of a move yet maybe for defensive end before the season starts and and I wouldn’t be opposed to that and and I actually kind of support that and we’ll get into that. Um but let’s jump over to linebackers. We got Analone, Derek Barnes, Jack Campbell, three solid guys coming back. You brought in Grant Stewart, you’ve got some other guys back and Anthony Pitman, you’ve got Trevor Noski, Ezekiel Turner. Um you’ve got Abraham Boplan, Michel and Don Gilbert. coach. Uh solid linebacking core. I did not me I did not mention uh fan favorite here. Uh because he is injured. Um but I’m not sure when uh um he’s coming back. When’s Rodrigo coming back? Is that going to be a little bit late, we think? Yeah, because it was such it was late in the in the uh season when he got hurt. So Barnes is a I saw a picture of Barnes the other day and man does his leg look small when he hurt. So, you know, so, you know, that may be a concern, but I think they’re they’re saying he’s going to be ready. So, but yeah. Yeah, we don’t, you know, Rodriguez’s not in there because we’re not sure when he’s back, but you know, that’s another one of the guys. I think I think the good thing is is Grant will be, you know, a good special teams guy for us that can fill in. Turner’s got his upside in certain situations and his downside in others. Uh, you know, Pitman’s been around the around the block. Um, you know, Trevor, of course, is was playing two and three different positions last year and and uh, you know, hopefully he’s gonna he’s going to fill in and and and do a great job. But I I think the thing that we’re missing, you know, that we that I’ve been reading about and talking about is Jack Campbell on the level Shephard and the linebacker and those guys believe he is going to be playing at this year. the level is I they’re they’re just saying and I was looking at some of his grades you know whether it was nextgen or whether it was you know PFF and stuff and his coverage grades as a season especially when Analone went down Jack Campbell we look at his numbers it was unbelievable and and with him and Analone you know so anybody we can fill in even if D Barnes isn’t you know totally healthy or you know at at at the level he was playing at uh we can baby step that with with what what Jack came analone can do and look at that front D line you know we could go 330 34 we you know so it’s going to it’s going to fit right in and and it’d be happy when Riot Reg goes back and and Derrick’s full you know 100%. Makes sense James solid linebacking core a lot of depth going in. Any thoughts on this? Yeah I saw a thing the other day and I can’t remember who posted it. with somebody on Twitter. They had a chart of of players who were drafted in the last two years who could become the best player at their position with, you know, in short time. And Jack Campbell was listed as the linebacker there. Um so, you know, the league, I think, knows what he can be. The Lions know what he can be. I I think he’s still got steps that he can take. He was very good last year. Um I I think Barnes will be uh Barnes will be used a little bit differently, I think, this year. here. I think they’re going to blitz him more. Um, it seems to be kind of like what some of the coaches have been hinting at a little bit. Um, is that they’ll use him to brush the passer a little bit more and and and I like that. I mean, you know, that was supposed to be one of his strengths coming out of college at Purdue. Um, and we haven’t seen it a whole lot. So, it’d be it’d be great to see it. And the depth that the Lions have at linebacker, it’s pretty great there, too. Uh, you know, Stewart, Noki, rock solid. Uh, Pitman, Turner, Aguay, Bo Plan, all good guys they could have on the practice squad. Can play great special teams. Um, so the the depth here is pretty good, too. All right. Well, let’s move to the back half of the defense. All right. The the secondary, we’ve got the defensive backs, DJ Reeds, the newcomer, replacing Carlton Davis in the starting lineup presumably, expectedly, Tyrion Arnold and Amique Roberts. And those are your projected starters. We’re gonna have Enus Raikstraw back. Another familiar face there with Khalil Dorsy. Then you’re bringing in Avante Maddox. Rocky Stanley Thomas Oliver is there. And then uh got an undrafted free agent as well. And so looking at this room, uh it looks pretty deep, coach. Um what what are you thinking? What what’s your make of it? Well, T. Arnold, uh he’s got his workout out for him, you know, because he’s going to be the number one guy. He already said he wants to be the number one guy. Let me read something off to you. Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, CD Lamb, Puka Nua, and Devonte Adams, AJ Brown, Malik Neighbors, Mike Evans, Terry Mccclure, DK Metaf, DJ Moore, Jerry Judy, and Rasheed Rice. That’s who TA is going to have to cover this year. So, our He’s going to be busy. That’s a pretty good group. And uh so that’ll be fun. So I, you know, again, uh, second year, uh, he has got so much upside. Uh, he is, he’s, he’s got that just enough cockiness to where, uh, you know, he’s going to back it up. And if and he’s going to work and he’s going to he’s going to work as hard as he possibly can to back it up. And I and and I’m just excited about that. We know what Robertson’s all about. Uh, you know, undersized, under man, not big enough, but, you know, he’s got a chip on his shoulder. Reed is so happy to be here. And then uh they you know Enus Ringstraw is the one that they say should have a big step this year you know again injuries and stuff like that last year and you know Dorsy I mean see we got you know that’s it’s that again deeper than it has been in a long time and and I think we have some guys that are going to be able to uh to man people up and it’s going to be exciting to watch these guys uh uh bang with people. All right. Yeah. And you know, we have no drop off in losing, you know, our number one defensive back. At least, you know, I put the guy in the same category, James. And RAW, coach, we’re all hoping he’s going to take a big second step. I mean, you forget he was a second round draft pick last year. So, as far as defensive backs go, and you brought in multiple veterans here, this is about as good of a defensive back room as we think we’ve had again since this team took over as far as Sheila, Brad, and and Dan. And so, you know, what’s your make of all this here as well, James? The the corners. I I’m kind of repeating myself. I love the dep the depth that they’ve assembled at this position unit. uh Arnold Reed, Robertson, Raikst Straw, Dorsey, and Yas in at corner. I think that Maddox is gonna be more of a safety um than a corner, but he can also play there. He can he’s he’s kind of a poor man’s Brian Branch and that he could play wherever you put him in the secondary. Uh you know, he has experience playing everywhere. He can play high safety, he can play low safety, he can play outside, he can play nickel. Uh so, uh you know, and he’s and he’s a veteran, so he he knows what he’s doing. I think that’s a great addition, kind of a great surprise addition that nobody’s talking a ton about really. Um, in that he’s just such a versatile guy and and Jackson at safety is is going to be another one too. But Rocky Asin is, you know, is a good good veteran. I mean, he’s your sixth corner and that’s not if you count Maddox as a corner. Uh, so the the depth here is just great. It is. And we’re going to need it because coach pointed out all those guys that Terion’s going up against or DJ Reed will be going up against is it you know we we know the schedule and so it’s going to be a gauntlet and yeah but it’s not just talent we’ve got youth I mean Terry and Arnold Enis rastraw right second year in the league for each of those guys and so this is exciting this is a great step in the right direction this is the secondary that they’ve been trying to build for four years now it’s capped off with two amazing safeties, Kirby Joseph and Brian Branch. I mean, you can’t ask for a better safety duo than that. The area that you wonder about though has to be the backup for safety. And Ivante Maddox may be your answer to that. James brought him up. More uh Maurice Norris, Eric Howlet, Lauren Strickland, and they drafted Dan Jackson. Uh coach, uh I think the the starters go for them speak for themselves. The depth I think to me screams a little bit of question there just in case you need somebody. we saw with Iffy, you know, being out a lot of the season last year. Um, you know, fortunately, we had two other guys, but break down the position. How you feeling about safety spot? Well, I mean, we we know what we have there with the with the two starters and and James alluded to it. You know, uh, Maddox could be that guy that’s going to play that iffy position or come in when they want to bring Branch down into the box. Strickland had a great camp last year, you guys, and and so he’s kind of one of the ones that we don’t talk about. And then Dan Jackson, the guy walked on to become a captain at Georgia. Come on. You know, that’s another one of those guys that and he’s got some upside. I mean, you know, he he’s he’s a hitter. He he wants to he wants to hit. He wants to make sure uh he he jars you loose to the ball. Um so, um I I you know, again, the depth concept. Yeah, it’d be nice to still have Iffy back there, but we didn’t have him really at all last year. Uh who who stepped in? You know, I think Strickland’s going to have that second year thing. Jackson, of course, has got to go, but I’m gonna I’m gonna definitely back up uh James on the the Maddox thing. I think they brought him in for that reason. Uh and and another veteran guy to help these young guys that we just talked about. So, and of course, Joseph and Branch, what more can be said? But they’re they’re the best duel in in the in the game, hands down. Again, people want to argue, let’s go. I’ll I’ll let’s put film on. Ain’t happening. All right, James, what do you want to add to this about the safety group? Yeah. I don’t know. Did you guys see the tweet from DJ Reid about just how happy he was to be playing with with Brian Branch and Kirby Joseph? Like he couldn’t believe it that he’s playing with two safeties this good. Yeah. I mean that’s that’s just great. And I think Maddox and Jackson are pretty solid depth at at safety. So, you know, four is what you need. You’ve got Strickland who showed a lot of potential. Um you know, this is another position that I think is is is deep. not maybe as deep, but I mean you got four guys for two spots essentially at safety, which is the same as you got six guys at corner for three spots. Um, you know, cuz we didn’t talk a whole lot about Khil Dorsy, but I mean, he took a step last year. And they started really trusting him with playing a lot more coverage than just being a special teams guy, uh, just before he got hurt. Um, he was he was getting into a lot of those sub packages. Um so uh and and his injury is a broken leg. So he should come from back from that pretty good. Um so this the secondary again really really deep you know barring a historically injuryprone injury played year like last year and that’s what they’re that’s what they’re giving themselves an insurance plan for. Yeah. Yeah. And and again it’s not an embarrassment of riches. Maybe it is, but this is a well constructed roster. I mean, it’s it’s it feels like a broken record to keep saying it, but sometimes you just don’t realize how good it really is. And we have to talk one more one more group because, you know, coach day fit probably would not appreciate if we left them off the list. But we got to talk special teams because we know it’s important to the Lions. You got, you know, the surprise kicker of the year last year, Jake Bates. You got Jack Fox, the uh one of my favorite punters, and then you got Hogan Hatton as the long snapper. Um it looks like those three are going to be the three. You know, they might bring in a leg, but I don’t think they brought in another kicker yet for camp. And they often bring in a second one. I haven’t seen that they have. Um but I expect those three guys to be the the guys. I know they recently, I think last year they extended Jack Fox, which I like because I love the fact that the guy can play quarterback or he he did play quarterback. We don’t want him, you know, Jim Arnold used to be the emergency quarterback for the Lions back in the day, the punter, right? But I just like the fact that we can do fake punts and throw the ball. I’m not looking for Jack Fox to get in any reps under center. Uh but special teams wise, then kick returners, you’ve got Reynolds back there as your main kick returner. We’ve talked about who that second guy is going to be because we saw it, you know, Craig Reynolds or Tom Kennedy at times. And I I think we’re looking to see who can emerge as that second um kick returner. And then punt returning, you’ve got Raymond back there. And I guess I don’t know if St. Brown’s also listed, although I don’t see St. Brown doing any returning. Um so coach, what are your thoughts on on the the kicking and the the snapping or the returning? Well, we thought, you know, Fox flips the field every game and especially in a critical situation. We, you know, we know that he’s probably he’s he’s he’s up there. He’s if not the best, he’s number two. You know, Bates, it’s just going to keep getting better and better for him. We saw how they how Campbell and the staff and Flip used him the year, how he, you know, as the year went on, he started kicking longer and longer and longer and longer field goals and and we know that he can make a clutch. And uh you know, Hogan’s a good special teams, you know, long snapper, recovers well. So yeah, we’re very deep there. The return thing will be be interesting. You know, that’s when that Dominic Love it. I kind of look at him. I wonder if he ever returned because he’s got some juice in his feet. Man, does he have some shake and and some of those guys they brought in. So, you know, that that may be a way for some of these guys, you know, as backup backup wide receivers and become become those return guys. Um, so, uh, you know, again, we want we want two guys back there, especially on kickoff return. Um, especially with the way they changed it that, uh, we want a threat, not like what happened last year in the playoff game. Yeah. Yeah. Because you you I think I said Reynolds and Dorsy maybe, but yeah, Raymond, I mean, it’s going to be interesting to see who they have back there. I expect Raymond be your punt returner and your kick returner. Uh, punt returner, I don’t see St. around doing that at all unless there’s a time you just want someone to make a fair catch or something and you just want him to catch the ball cuz you know he’s pretty good at doing that. Uh James, uh thoughts on special teams? Yeah, I mean the the three specialists are pretty obvious. I think that they’re all pretty much locked. Um uh I you know I think your second returner is probably is Dorsey at this point. I mean we saw in the Titans game last year what he could do when unleashed there in the return game. Um, and then, uh, I think Lovevet is is a guy that they’re going to look at being that return guy. He didn’t do it a whole lot at at Georgia, but just because he had guys in front of him kind of kind of thing that I think he’s got the perfect skill set for it. Uh, so I I think they’re definitely going to be looking at doing that. All right. Well, guys, final roster thoughts here. I mean, it’s still a work in progress, believe it or not, because the season doesn’t start for almost four months, right? They can do minor tweaks. I expect no major moves, but I expect some minor tweaks to happen. You know, some veterans could still get cut by other teams. There could be some cap casualties, and there are still other veterans out there unsigned, right? I mean, there’s one we’re thinking of, Zidarius Smith. I mean, uh, you know, just different guys out there that haven’t signed with anybody yet. Um, so it’s a work in progress, but knowing that it’s a work in progress, coach, uh, any thoughts on it? uh strengths, weakness, concerns or hopes or wishes or just overall analysis. I’m I’m excited about it. We talked about it. I mean, we we went through all those positions and I even at as the pass rushing situation, um if if if we don’t go and get somebody, we got to remember Levi is going to be moving back outside as soon as McNeel comes back. and and we we you know we have some uh you know I think Lopez is a pressure collapsed the uh pocket guy and and so I you know I think Hutch is still going to get loose you know Hutch is going to be a wrecking ball he’s going to be it’s going to be he’s going to be a lunatic out there because he missed all that time I’m just hopeful stay healthy please and so uh you know and then we got some great stuff on the back end so I’m not yeah if we go out and we you know we get a get another edge rusher a guy that we can stand up and come off the edge But again, James already already talked about Barnes. Okay, if Barnes could could be coming off the edge on that, you know, maybe they maybe they were going to work Trevor on that. I mean, there’s we have a ton of pieces if we go into the season right now with whatever 53 man roster they pull off here. I’m going to be I’m pretty excited about it. All right, James, you thoughts? Yeah, I mean, and there’s a couple other guys I think that you know that we didn’t even get to really talk about. The Cooper, the defensive end who made it out of mini camp, I think is a guy who’s definitely a practice squad candidate, maybe even uh somebody who could pressure a guy like Mohamd. He’s got the perfect size that the Lions are looking for at defensive end. I think I’ve mentioned this 10 time in probably the last 10 episodes, how they they like the big defensive ends, especially on the left side. And he’s 6’5, 280, uh you know, and was pretty productive in college. uh looked good in the mini camp, I guess, was like like the kind of the standout player on on defense. Um so he looked good. And then they’ve also got another developmental defensive tackle that that Australian or New Zealand rugby player that they brought in. Um who’s uh Locky Tacsi. Pretty uh pretty catchy name. Um and just a massive human being. Like I can’t I can’t imagine seeing him and Manu going headtohead in practice. like I would almost pay to be able to just watch that because uh TSI is a massive human being and a rugby player so he moves pretty well for that and he also is a free practice squad spot because he qualifies the international player program so they can keep a 17th guy on the practice squad with him. Cool. Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how some of those guys do. And I love the fact that you bring the international guy and you never know what you’ll get on that. Um, I I’ve not been on the bandwagon of the Lions need to draft a defensive end and they need a better defensive end. But I am gonna say this, like if your team is this wellbuilt, you got to find a way to bring Zidarius Smith back. You need to bring a veteran in there that if something happens to Davenport or Hutch again, that you’ve got one more guy already on your roster. And the reason Zarius Smith makes so much sense is you’re not breaking the bank and mortgaging the future to get it done. You can get him at an affordable price, hopefully just a little bit less than what he would have cost you if you kept him. And he seems like a perfect fit. He was already there. He knows the schemes. He knows the locker room. Sounded like he was a great fit. And he gives you one more veteran presence. And Zidarius, I I got to believe he knows how well this team is built and put together that he’s got to have an inkling of a desire to come back. And maybe he’s just waiting to for all the pieces to fill in the puzzle before he comes back. But it just seems like that would be a smart move because even Brad Holmes said it was hard to find a defensive end he could trade for during the season before the deadline. So, stack that up with one more guy, just a one-year contract on somebody that has something in the tank that could be a rotational player. I’m going to say that would be the one smart move I’d like to see them make before the season starts. And that might not be till, you know, July or August, but I hope something happens there. All right, folks. Well, thank you so much for tuning in. Please tell your friends and family about the show. Remember, find us on social media platforms as well as major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube. We’d love to hear your thoughts and get your reviews. You can check out more episodes and content not the same old lions.com. And until next time, stay gritty, my friends. [Music]