![\"DETROIT,](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/07\/17204826\/GettyImages-2185320864-1024x683.jpg?width=1920&quality=70&auto=webp\")
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When your roster is as strong as the Detroit Lions\u2019 is, there are fewer holes to fill and questions to answer before a new season. GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have done an excellent job drafting and developing this group, in an effort to ensure sustained success. The environment they\u2019ve created, in turn, creates constant competition. It\u2019s what this regime prefers.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve seen jobs won and lost. We\u2019ve seen growth in training camp translate to the regular season. It\u2019s helped guys solidify their roles and get paid.<\/p>\n
With camp set to begin Sunday, it\u2019s a good time to look at players who could benefit the most from strong performances.<\/p>\n
QB Hendon Hooker:<\/strong> It\u2019s Year 3 for the former third-round pick, and Hooker finds himself amid a battle for the QB2 job. It would be surprising if Hooker loses to veteran backup Kyle Allen, but Hooker needs to show development now that he\u2019s had a full season. If he looks more comfortable throwing with timing and rhythm this training camp, it\u2019ll go a long way toward him solidifying the job.<\/p>\n RB Sione Vaki:<\/strong> The Lions drafted Vaki in the fourth round a year ago, with Holmes touting his upside as a running back after primarily playing safety in college. He was a major contributor on special teams as a rookie, but he flashed skills as a pass-catcher in the preseason and could earn more looks offensively as he continues to learn the RB position. The Lions trust Craig Reynold\u2019s knowledge of the playbook and their protections, but Vaki feels like the upside option. Is he ready to challenge for the RB3 job this season?<\/p>\n WR Jameson Williams:<\/strong> We\u2019re putting Williams here \u2014 not because he\u2019s on the bubble or the verge of losing his spot, but because a strong training camp could set him up for a productive season, and perhaps a lucrative contract extension. Williams is under contract for two more seasons, but he could either price himself out of Detroit or prove himself too valuable to lose with another 1,000-yard season \u2014 while staying out of the off-field spotlight. Coaches have raved about him this offseason, and Williams now has a year of production. Let\u2019s see if he can prove them right.<\/p>\n WR Isaac TeSlaa:<\/strong> The Lions traded some meaningful draft capital to trade up to No. 70 for TeSlaa\u2019s services. Holmes said he was his favorite WR in the draft, which speaks to how he\u2019s viewed in the organization. In many ways, TeSlaa\u2019s development could be tied to Williams. If he picks things up fast, it could make a potential Williams trade easier to swallow if the money becomes an issue. TeSlaa is a quick study \u2014 transitioning from wing-T high school QB to SEC WR in a matter of years. But the NFL is a different ballgame. If he performs well in camp, the Lions could trust him enough to see the field as a rookie, which could position him for a more meaningful role in 2026.<\/p>\n G\/C Graham Glasgow:<\/strong> The Lions value the experience and versatility of Glasgow, but they\u2019ve stocked their interior offensive line with young talent in recent years. That puts pressure on him to perform \u2014 even more so when you consider he\u2019s coming off a season allowing the sixth-most pressures among guards. Perhaps the best way to maximize the young talent at guard and Glasgow\u2019s experience would be to move him to center full-time as Frank Ragnow\u2019s replacement. The Lions could start Christian Mahogany and rookie Tate Ratledge at guard and allow Glasgow \u2014 who doesn\u2019t love moving positions frequently \u2014 to settle at center and work directly with Jared Goff. He\u2019s a cerebral player whose mind could be more serviceable there than at guard. We\u2019ll learn in training camp if that\u2019s the plan for him.<\/p>\n T Giovanni Manu:<\/strong> Manu was already going to be on this list, but given the news that Taylor Decker will start training camp on the PUP, there will be even more eyes on Manu in training camp. The Lions can activate Decker at any point, but his absence should open more practice snaps for Manu. He spent much of his first season developing behind the scenes, and Manu said he believes he\u2019s grown tremendously since. The Lions know what they have in Dan Skipper as a reserve tackle, but now that it\u2019s Year 2, it will be interesting to see if the Lions trot out Manu with the first-team offense in camp to get a true sense of that growth. He has a chance to be a key piece of the future. This will be a good temperature check for him.<\/p>\n G Colby Sorsdal:<\/strong> A 2023 fifth-round pick, Sorsdal has made the roster each of the last two seasons, but he has his work cut out for him in 2025. Sorsdal was sparingly used as a sophomore after spot-starting as a rookie. The Lions have since added Tate Ratledge, Miles Frazier and Trystan Colon as interior depth. Sorsdal was spotted repping at center in OTAs, so maybe that versatility could help. But there aren\u2019t a ton of available spots along the offensive line.<\/p>\n DT Brodric Martin:<\/strong> The news that Levi Onwuzurike, placed on the reserve\/PUP list Thursday, is set to miss the preseason and at least the first four games of the season is a blow to Detroit\u2019s defensive tackle depth. But while their games aren\u2019t the same, it could help Martin\u2019s chances of making the team. Alim McNeill and Mekhi Wingo are returning from knee injuries, too, so the Lions will need all the help they can get. Martin, a former third-round pick, has yet to earn even a rotational spot with the Lions as he enters his third season. Coaches have said his pad level is too high at time, and you have to wonder how prepared he was to play \u2014 considering the Lions signed practice-squad DTs to play over him when their depth was hit late last year. But team officials knew he was a developmental project when they drafted him. Holmes says it takes three years to properly evaluate a player. This feels like a make-or-break camp for Martin.<\/p>\n Edge Marcus Davenport: <\/strong>If we\u2019re being honest, the regular season \u2014 not the training camp \u2014 is what matters when it comes to Davenport. One could argue it would be better to limit his practice reps in camp, considering his biggest issue has been staying healthy. It\u2019s the reason many would like to see the Lions add more to the edge position. Za\u2019Darius Smith is still unsigned, and he hasn\u2019t shut down the idea of a reunion. If Smith and the Lions reach a deal in training camp, the conversation surrounding Davenport changes. The Lions wouldn\u2019t need him to play a heavy workload, which could help him hold up better \u2014 thus benefitting him. Or maybe the Lions believe he can stay healthy after years of injury-related absences, like Tim Patrick proved was possible last year. He\u2019s worth monitoring. Detroit brought him back for a reason.<\/p>\n CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.:<\/strong> Detroit\u2019s 2024 second-round pick didn\u2019t see the field much as a rookie, as he battled injuries and a lack of opportunity. He\u2019s got inside-out versatility, but the Lions are focusing on developing him as their No. 3 cornerback behind D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold, rather than trotting him out at nickel to compete with Amik Robertson. He\u2019s an interesting one because teammates showed him love in OTAs this spring and was excellent in training camp last year. But there\u2019s no need to rush or force him into action. Depth is valuable, too.<\/p>\n Late-round picks and UDFAs:<\/strong> There is precedent for a drafted rookie not making the roster under this regime. In 2022, James Houston was a sixth-round pick who was cut before sticking around on the practice squad. Not often, but it\u2019s a possibility.\u00a0 That\u2019s why seventh-rounders like Dan Jackson and Dominic Lovett have work to do. Lovett is an intriguing player with his quickness and short-area ability, but the Lions\u2019 WR room has five roster locks already in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Williams, Tim Patrick, Kalif Raymond and TeSlaa. Would they enter a season with six? Certainly possible if Lovett proves his value on special teams. Jackson, meanwhile, has an easier path considering the lack of depth at safety. But he, too, needs to provide value on special teams. Strickland made the roster last year for his special-teams contributions, and 2024 UDFA safety Morice Norris stuck around long enough to earn some defensive snaps late in the year. They\u2019ll be vying for a roster spot, in addition to Grand Valley State product Ian Kennelly \u2014 a 2025 UDFA safety.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While QB Hendon Hooker is a player to watch, DE Marcus Davenport has much to prove in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-28549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n