Detroit Lions: Michael Roberts poised for breakout year

In his first year with the Detroit Lions, tight end Michael Roberts didn’t get many opportunities. But he may be able to earn a much bigger role in 2018.

The 2017 NFL season was chock full of exceptional rookie performances. From running backs Leonard Fournette and Alvin Kamara racking up yardage for their respective teams, to even wide receiver Kenny Golladay showing flashes of potential for the Detroit Lions.

With all the great first-year players showing out last season, it was sad to see that Michael Roberts wasn’t really one of them. Although the 2017 fourth-rounder appeared in 15 games, he only caught four passes for less than 50 yards, proving to be a non-threat in the passing game.

Part of the reasoning for this was the fact that Roberts didn’t have a lot of opportunities last year. He was buried on the depth chart behind Eric Ebron and Darren Fells, and when he did see the field, he was mainly used as another blocker in the running game.

But Ebron and Fells are both on different teams, leaving a bit of a window for Roberts to prove himself this season. Although the Lions signed Luke Willson to be the likely starter this season, Roberts could be the tight end on the other side of the line.

With more time to get comfortable with the offense, Roberts can prove that he is a formidable option in the passing game. It was only two years ago that he turned in the MAC. In his senior season with Toledo, Roberts posted more than 500 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns in only 13 games.

After this first week of training camp, Roberts has a great mindset and feels like this year is his perfect chance to flourish in the offense. here’s what he told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

"“This year could change my life. I believe that the moves they made brought faith in me, so I expect to be a household name, I expect to give my best and just continue to grow.”"

Roberts made a commitment to improving himself athletically this offseason, running four miles daily in his hometown in Garfield Park, Ohio. He started off only running a mile a day and walking the rest, slowly running more and more each day and building up his stamina for this season.

Because of all this running, Roberts reported to camp earlier this summer in significantly better shape than he was as a rookie. After killing all the conditioning tests, Roberts really sees a difference in himself and truly believes he can make this happen.

Roberts did get a minor setback, injuring his leg in a drill and missing three days of practice this past week. But he should be back to 100 percent this week, and with his new mindset, Lions fans should be excited to see how good this guy can be.

As long as Michael Roberts can stay in great shape, stay healthy, and prove to be a dependable pass catcher, he should see some drastic improvement and could potentially have a breakout year in 2018.