Pride of Detroit
Our staff makes their predictions for the players on the roster bubble after the Detroit Lions’ preseason opener.
Preseason games can make all the difference for players on the roster bubble. Displaying to a coaching staff that when the lights come on, you can ball out can be one of the most valuable parts of the evaluation process.
And while the Detroit Lions, as a team, did not play well against the Los Angeles Chargers in Thursday’s preseason opener, there were a few players on offense who saw their stock rise and their roster chances increase.
Let’s go through them all in this week’s version of Bubble Watch: Offense.
Despite poor showings from both quarterbacks—and Hooker having a far worse statistical day—our view of the backup quarterback battles remains the same. With Hooker expected to start on Friday against the Atlanta Falcons, the third-year quarterback has an opportunity to either create distance between him and Kyle Allen or have our staff reconsider where things currently stand.
Craig Reynolds’ solid preseason performance only further establishes that there isn’t much of a competition in this room.
Dominic Lovett’s preseason game was a mixed bag. He caught five passes, but had a drop, gave away a ball for an interception, and looked hesitant on kick return. But all of that is more than you could say for Detroit’s depth behind him. The other four receivers on Bubble Watch all combined for a single catch, taking some gas out of the hype machine.
While Zylstra got the first looks in the preseason game, the other two tight ends had solid showings against the Chargers. Yeboah, while suffering a minor injury, looked sound in his blocking assignments and earned a 71.4 PFF run blocking grade. Horton showed off his versatility as both an in-line tight end and fullback, and didn’t look out of place in either spot.
I think Zylstra came into the game with a healthy lead on the TE3 job, but I sense it’s tightening up.
Interestingly, Dan Skipper played nearly the entire first half of the preseason opener, perhaps seeding some doubt about his roster safety. It...
