Lions Bubble Watch, Week 4: New opportunities open up on defense

The injury bug has officially hit the Detroit Lions defense yet again. In just the past week, the Lions have placed Dan Jackson and Ennis Rakestraw on injured reserve—two players most of us expected to make the team’s 53-man roster. Beyond that, several players still remain on pre-training camp injury lists, including Josh Paschal (NFI), Khalil Dorsey (PUP), Alim McNeill (PUP), Malcolm Rodriguez (PUP), and Mekhi Wingo (PUP).

While a couple of those players could come off the list before roster cuts, the reality is Detroit will be a little shorthanded to start the season. However, that does open up some opportunities for players who would’ve otherwise been practice squad candidates to not only make the 53-man roster, but also contribute early in the season.

Our staff made their predictions for who those players may end up being in our Week 4 edition of Bubble Watch.

See our latest predictions on offense here.

Edge defender:

• Assumed in: Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport

Voting:

• Ahmed Hassanein: 11 “IN” votes (no change
• Al-Quadin Muhammad: 10 votes (no change)
• Josh Paschal: 10 votes (down 1)
• Nate Lynn: 5 votes (up 4)
• Mitchell Agude: 0 votes (no change)
• Isaac Ukwu: 0 votes (no change)

After a short-but-promising 2024 preseason, Nate Lynn has returned this year and put on a show in two preseason games. He leads the NFL in preseason pressures with seven. And while he’s had the benefit of an extra preseason game, seven pressures in just 29 pass rushing snaps is pretty darn impressive. The question is: how can you fit him on the roster?

There are several options. One is to keep Josh Paschal on the NFI list to start the season. Another is for Lynn to win the job over someone else—like Muhammad or Hassanein. Another would be to sacrifice another player at a different position, perhaps at…

Defensive tackle:

• Assumed in: DJ Reader, Tyleik Williams, Roy Lopez
• Assumed out: Alim McNeill (PUP), Levi Onwuzurike (PUP/reserve)

Voting:

• Pat O’Connor: 11 votes (no change)
• Mekhi Wingo: 7 votes (down 3)
• Keith Cooper Jr.: 1 vote (up 1)
• Chris Smith: 1 vote (up 1)
• Brodric Martin: 0 votes

We’re getting close to the end of the preseason, which means Detroit will soon face a tough decision on second-year defender Mekhi Wingo. He remains sidelined with a torn meniscus, even though there was early hope he’d be ready by camp. Four of our staff members have Detroit keeping him on the PUP list to start the season, opening a roster spot somewhere along the defensive line.

Keith Cooper remains the most intriguing undrafted rookie. He’s shown off his versatility by playing multiple roles, but he had a relatively quiet preseason game vs. the Falcons. Chris Smith has been equally as versatile, and has the benefit of having been in Detroit’s defense for a year (and playing five games last season).

It’s worth noting that while Brodric Martin flashed...