Detroit Lions roster bubble watch: Big shifts at skill positions

The Detroit Lions offense had a pretty successful day against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. While the team will want to be better in the red zone, they produced five scoring drives on nine possessions, while only punting twice on the day.

Their success was thanks largely in part to the strength of the team’s offensive line, but there were also big performances from Detroit’s skill position depth. Detroit got big plays out of their running backs, their tight ends have shown much improvement, and their wide receivers are suddenly more diverse than expected. A lot of these players shined on special teams, too.

Those good performances, however, have put the Lions’ front office in a tough position. Cuts this year are going to be much harder than last year, but as coach Dan Campbell said, that’s a good problem to have.

“It makes it harder, but that’s really a good thing, inevitably,” Campbell said after Saturday’s game. “That means we’re getting better. Our talent is getting better, our players are getting better. Roster-wise, that’s a good thing. It’s hard. You wish you could keep all of them, but I think that means we’re trending in the right direction.”

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the guys on the roster bubble on offense, and where they stand five weeks into training camp.

Quarterback

• David Blough — 9 “IN” votes (no change)
• Tim Boyle — 1 “IN” vote (no change)

After fairly decent, but unassuming performances from both quarterbacks against the Colts, not much has changed for the backup battle. Boyle had the better overall day than Blough, especially after showing poise on Detroit’s final, go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to sway anyone on staff.

Running back

• Craig Reynolds — 9 (no change)
• Godwin Igwebuike — 5 (up 1)
• New to bubble watch: Justin Jackson — 4 (N/A)
• Jermar Jefferson — 0 (down 1)

Justin Jackson burst onto the scene this week after a fantastic performance against the Colts. Jackson was the best Lions back on Saturday, rushing for 54 yards on just seven carries, and he also got in on a few special teams snaps. While Jackson is still relatively new to the Lions, he isn’t to the NFL. He had four years of meaningful contributions with the Chargers (over 200 rushing yards in each season) before landing in Detroit.

What’s interesting is that Jackson’s addition has come at the expense of no other running back. That means several people on staff believe the Lions’ running back room is talented enough to warrant four or five roster spots. The injury to Jason Cabinda could give the Lions temporary room there.

Tight end

• Brock Wright — 9 (no change)
• James Mitchell — 8 votes (down 1)
• Shane Zylstra — 6 (up 6)
• Devin Funchess — 0 (down 2)

Off Bubble Watch: Garrett Griffin (cut)

Garrett Griffin got a lot of votes last week, and all of them slid to Shane Zylstra after a solid performance from the second-year player. Zylstra was only modest as a receiver (five catches, 34 yards), but he shined as a run blocker. That’s where he needed to grow the most, though, so he is truly starting to look like a two-way player the Lions are looking for at tight end.

Meanwhile, Devin Funchess’ injury has him sliding off the bubble completely. That final preseason game will be huge for him, assuming he can make his way back onto the field.

Wide receiver

• Tom Kennedy — 8 (up 6)
• Quintez Cephus — 6 (down 1)
• New to bubble watch: Maurice Alexander — 2 (N/A)
• Trinity Benson — 2 (down 6)

Tom Kennedy isn’t going away, and the POD staff can no longer ignore it. It’s not just about Kennedy continuing to produce, but he’s clearly growing in his role, too. He continues to get most of his reps on the outside, and his two red-zone touchdowns showed that he’s much more than a shifty slot guy. Throw on top of that some special teams snaps, and Kennedy is starting to look like a player who can—and will—do anything you ask of him.

It’s interesting to see his roster spot mostly come at the expense of Trinity Benson, who continues to improve and had a nice game of his own on Saturday—leading the team with 44 receiving yards. Meanwhile, Quintez Cephus has yet to even play in this preseason. Obviously, though, Cephus has proved more in the regular season and plays a physical style that the rest of Detroit’s reserves lack.

Offensive tackle

• Matt Nelson — 9 (no change)
• New to bubble watch: Kendall Lamm — 1 (N/A)
• Dan Skipper — 0 (no change)
• Obinna Eze — 0 (no change)

Kendall Lamm is introduced to Bubble Watch due to a couple of strong practices, and higher reps in Saturday’s preseason game. But while he seemed to be trending in the right direction, his game against the Colts was rough, especially when tried at left tackle. Nelson still seems like the clear, best option to be the primary backup for both tackle positions.

Guard/Center

• Tommy Kraemer — 9 (no change)
• Logan Stenberg — 5 (no change)
• Kevin Jarvis — 0 (down 1)

Despite a fantastic game from Logan Stenberg, he sees no movement in Bubble Watch. The debate isn’t so much Stenberg vs. Tommy Kraemer, but Stenberg vs. keeping a ninth offensive lineman, joining Nelson, Kramer, and Evan Brown with the reserves.