Ranking every 2024 Detroit Lions player: Roster bubble, Part 2 (60-51)

Our countdown of the 2024 Detroit Lions roster has reached a critical portion. We’re into the 50s, which is the literal roster bubble of the team, considering they can only carry 53 players on their regular season roster. Some of the players listed below will make the team. Many will not. The Lions have likely somewhere around 20-30 players fighting for the last dozen spots or so, and that may be an underestimate. The roster is that deep.

Without further ado, here is our collective ranking—as calculated by an average of 11 different POD contributors—of Lions players we listed as the 51st through 60th best.

Previously:

• Players 89-81
• Players 80-71
• Players 70-61

60. Nate Sudfeld, QB (Highest ranking: 44, Lowest rankings: 71)

Last year’s ranking: 58 (down 2)

Last year, Sudfeld was the team’s third-string quarterback behind Teddy Bridgewater. However, a preseason injury caused him to lose his entire 2023 season. This year, the Lions’ situation at quarterback is much different. The Lions opted to re-sign Sudfeld, and it’s quite possible he’ll start the year as the backup while Hendon Hooker catches on. Sudfeld doesn’t bring a lot of on-field experience or success, but it’s clear the Lions value his understanding of the offense.

59. Maurice Alexander, WR (Highest ranking: 52, Lowest rankings: 64)

Last year’s ranking: 64 (up 5)

Alexander has now lasted on the Lions practice squad for two seasons, so there’s clearly something they like about him. The man they call “Hard Time” has developed a reputation as a strong worker, but he also can ball. Alexander has some serious returning chops—as evidenced by his preseason punt return touchdown last year and a strong special teams season with the USFL in 2022.

58. Jake Bates, K (Highest ranking: 48, Lowest rankings: 84)

Last year’s ranking: N/A

Speaking of alternate professional leagues, Jake Bates is the new hot thing after a magical season with the UFL Michigan Panthers. Bates hysteria started in his first professional game, kicking a 64-yard game-winner in Ford Field. Bates’ strong leg is tantalizing, but he’ll have to show a little more consistency to win the kicker job in Detroit, as he missed five of his final 11 attempts (including playoffs).

57. Zonovan Knight, RB (Highest ranking: 51, Lowest rankings: 65)

Last year’s ranking: N/A

Last year, the Lions added Knight to the practice squad before the season began, and he briefly got his chance on the field. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious injury after two game appearances and only a handful of snaps.

But Knight had a decent season for the Jets in 2022, and he’s fully cleared to play from his injury. So he could be a dark-horse candidate for the RB4 role on the team, behind (presumably) Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, and Sione Vaki.

56. Steven Gilmore, CB (Highest ranking: 50, Lowest rankings: 66)

Last year’s ranking: 76 (up 20)

Gilmore jumps up significantly in our roster rankings this year simply because he made the 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie last year and managed to stay there the entire season. We don’t have a great idea of his progress, seeing as he played just two defensive snaps and 12 special teams snaps. This year, he’ll face a much deeper cornerback room, but the Lions still clearly value him, so he’ll have a chance to beat the odds again.

55. Giovanni Manu, OT (Highest ranking: 50, Lowest rankings: 64)

Last year’s ranking: N/A

Interestingly, Manu—Detroit’s fourth-round pick—is the first 2024 draft pick to make the list. Obviously, the hope is that Manu could develop into a long-term starter, but it’s clear from our votes that we believe he has the longest developmental route of Detroit’s rookie class. Coming from the University of British Columbia, Manu will have to adjust to a huge jump in competition.

54. Brandon Joseph, S (Highest ranking: 42, Lowest rankings: 67)

Last year’s ranking: 74 (up 20)

Like Gilmore, Joseph jumps 20 spots in our rankings purely from sticking around all of last year. However, Joseph's’ entire rookie season was spent on the practice squad—only getting two temporary call-ups due to injuries at the safety position early in the year.

So why is he higher than someone like Gilmore, who was on the 53-man roster? Likely because Joseph was taking first-team reps with the defense in the spring, and has a clearer route to the roster given a relatively thin safety room. These comments from coach Dan Campbell also point to solid development from Joseph:

“Boy you wish you could’ve gotten him up (to the 53-man roster), though,” Campbell said. “There was a comfort level by the end of the year like, ‘Man, this guy we think could probably go in there and hold his own a little bit.’ So that’s a good sign. There has been noticeable growth from him last year. I would tell you even in this spring he’s improved. He’s a young guy that we like a lot. He puts the work in. He’s smart, he’s crafty.”

53. Hendon Hooker, QB (Highest ranking: 42, Lowest rankings: 67)

Last year’s ranking: 39 (down 14)

After essentially redshirting last year, Hooker drops 14 spots in our rankings this year. The Lions are clearly trying to get him to be ready to be the backup this year—as evidenced by him taking every second-team rep in the spring, and a ton of third-team reps, too. However, it was clear he is both still rusty and working through some significant changes in the mechanics of his game, particularly his footwork.

The game has yet to slow down for Hooker. That said, he’s almost guaranteed a roster spot, and if he can show significant progress in training camp, the Lions will have an extremely intriguing backup option for 2024.

52. Mathieu Betts, EDGE (Highest ranking: 43, Lowest rankings: 65)

Last year’s ranking: N/A

Last year, Betts won CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors after producing 18 sacks in 18 games for the BC Lions. He comes to the Lions as a second chance in the NFL after fizzingly out as a UDFA for the Bears in 2019. A more developed player now, Betts will be in a tight competition for a part-time role as a SAM linebacker.

51. Michael Badgley, K (Highest ranking: 34, Lowest rankings: 60)

Last year’s ranking: 62 (up 11)

Badgley will likely enter training camp as the favorite to win the kicking job, but it won’t come easy. Though Badgley has earned this coaching staff’s trust through two seasons with the team, there is a reason they have been consistently bringing in competition. Badgley may have improved his distance kicking this offseason, but he doesn’t have the leg that Bates has, so he’ll have to win the camp battle by displaying high levels of accuracy.