Detroit Lions release first unofficial depth chart of the 2022 season

The Detroit Lions released their first unofficial depth chart of the 2022 season. While this can feel like a significant moment in the offseason, there are two things to keep in mind: first, the roster is very much in flux this time of the year, and second, this depth chart is developed by the Lions’ communications department, not the coaching staff or front office.

Now, the Lions’ communications department is out at practice every day, and they did a pretty good job with nailing the starting lineup—save a few minor details. For example, I would have had Aidan Hutchinson and Charles Harris flip sides, and probably put Jeff Okudah in the starting lineup over Will Harris, but that battle is tight, so I can’t fault them that much.

But let’s face facts here. When you get deep in the weeds of a 90-man roster, and you have a boatload of work that requires your attention beyond who the third thing right guard is—it’s Kevin Jarvis, a UDFA from Michigan State, if you were wondering—it’s easy to make educated guesses and lean on players you know. And that’s a lot of what we see in the deeper parts of this chart. When you get beyond the starting lineup, there is a preference given to returning players and veterans.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at what the Lions released to the media ahead of Pre-season Game 1 against the Atlanta Falcons:

Now, for the die-hards who do want to know all the details of where players fit on the Lions' depth chart, it’s probably better to turn to those of us that are obsessed with the details surrounding the team. So, based on what we have seen during training camp practices, we released our own version of a Lions 2022 depth chart ahead of last weekend’s scrimmage at Ford Field. There has been a roster move on the offensive line since the publishing of that article, so I took it upon myself to Tweet out an updated depth chart on Twitter.

Here’s a look:

The Lions still have another open training camp practice before Friday’s game against the Falcons, and after that, we will once again release an updated version of the depth chart ahead of the game. And like last season, we will continue this practice of updating the depth chart ahead of each game, so fans can have the most up-to-date look at where the team sits on any given week.