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We’re a week into Detroit Lions training camp and although the pads are coming on for the first time on Tuesday, we’ve already learned a lot from this team based on the first four practices. Some players haven’t managed to make it on the field, while others have worked their way into higher reps than initially believed.
So after a week, we’re going to take a closer look at the players who entered training camp on the bubble. Without a preseason game played yet, nothing at all has been decided yet, but first impressions have been made and initial plans from the coaching staff revealed.
So based on that, we polled the Pride of Detroit staff to see which players they believed have helped and hurt their cases after the first four practices of camp. Here are the players who are trending up and down on the offensive side of the ball.
Detroit Lions Bubble Watch Week 2: Offense
| Player | Jeremy Reisman | Ryan Mathews | Mike Payton | Hamza | Alex Reno | Erik Schlitt | John Whiticar | Jerry Mallory | TOTAL | Change from last week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Jeremy Reisman | Ryan Mathews | Mike Payton | Hamza | Alex Reno | Erik Schlitt | John Whiticar | Jerry Mallory | TOTAL | Change from last week |
| QB Tim Boyle | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | 0 |
| QB David Blough | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | 5 | +2 |
| RB Jermar Jefferson | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | 0 |
| RB Dedrick Mills | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 | 0 |
| FB Jason Cabinda | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | 0 |
| TE Alize Mack | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | +1 |
| TE Hunter Thedford | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 | 0 |
| TE Brock Wright | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 | 0 |
| WR Geronimo Allison | OUT | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | IN | 2 | 0 |
| WR Victor Bolden | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | +3 |
| WR Quintez Cephus | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | 0 |
| WR Kalif Raymond | IN | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | OUT | 6 | +1 |
| WR Sage Surratt | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 | -3 |
| OT Dan Skipper | OUT | OUT | IN | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 1 | 0 |
| OT Tyrell Crosby | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | 0 |
| G Logan Stenberg | IN | IN | OUT | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 7 | 0 |
| G/C Drake Jackson | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 8 | +5 |
| C Evan Brown | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | OUT | 0 | -1 |
Trending up
QB David Blough (+2) - Perhaps convinced by the team’s kind gesture of throwing a watch party for Blough’s wife Melissa Gonzalez, Blough has suddenly won over more than half our staff to keep a third quarterback. To be fair, though, there are football reasons, too. Blough has split second-team reps with Tim Boyle all of camp, and he had his best practice on Saturday.
WR Victor Bolden (+3) - Bolden has had a pretty solid start to camp. Getting some reps both at the slot and on the outside, his versatility could land him a roster spot. Though he’s still repping behind Kalif Raymond when it comes to returner reps, the staff—including myself—appears more open to keeping both around on the 53-man roster.
WR Kalif Raymond (+1) - Speaking of which, Raymond has held onto his position as lead returner, and even gotten some play with the first-team offense in the slot at times. Raymond’s speed is immediately obvious on the field, which is backed up by his solid return statistics in the NFL.
C Drake Jackson (+5) - With no Evan Brown or Evan Heim, Drake Jackson has gotten a lot of playing time as the second and third-team center. All of that could change in an instant if either of the Evans makes their way back onto the field. Additionally, it’s hard to really assess how well Jackson has been playing when the pads haven’t been put on yet. However, Jackson is a solid center prospect and he’s got a week's heads start on his competition.
Trending down
WR Sage Surratt (-3) - An undrafted rookie that Dan Campbell said he’d do backflips to sign, Surratt has had a very quiet start to camp. He’s clearly far down on the depth chart—as expected this early in camp—but hasn’t separated from that bunch yet. He’s also struggled at times with drops, and even muffed a kickoff on Saturday.
Evan Brown (-1) - He may have played a little center for the Lions last year, but if he can’t make it on the practice field, it’s hard to see how he’ll make the final roster.