Detroit Lions rookies flash potential against Houston Texans
The Detroit Lions are halfway through their slate of preseason games with zero victories, but their rookies are flashing potential while on the field.
Ahh, the preseason is halfway over for the Detroit Lions. We’re two weeks closer to the much-more-important regular season. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford hasn’t played a snap yet. Young players are fighting for roster spots and people are already trolling the Lions on Twitter.
Yes, you’ve gotta love the preseason. While many think it’s a waste and only a risk for player injury, there are players out there trying to show their potential and land a roster spot. One such player is rookie Lions wide receiver Travis Fulgham.
Fulgham made a few nice plays this past weekend against the Houston Texans, including a nice grab of 30+ yards. He was a sixth-round draft pick, but not necessarily a lock to make the roster. Which is why flashing his potential by catching three of four targets for 52 yards is significant.
Fulgham is showing the coaching staff that he’s an asset that can’t be left off the roster, even though he’s solidly behind three Lions receivers: Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola. For the team, this shows great depth at the position.
Switching to the tight end position, Lions first-round draft pick T.J. Hockenson is showing why he was selected in the top 10 picks. This was his only catch of the day, but the dump-off pass that he caught near the line of scrimmage was taken for a 22-yard gain. That’s a solid pick up after the catch, something the Lions will welcome to this offense.
Those are just two examples of rookies that jumped out from the game tape of the Detroit Lions most recent preseason game. While the games themselves may not be as exciting for the fans to watch, they remain useful to the team in evaluating talent and are certainly helpful for the players to make an impression on the coaching staff.
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While Hockenson is a lock to make the roster, Fulgham is ensuring he sticks with the team and many others are fighting for their careers in the NFL. Showing their potential in the preseason helps them make the team and helps the team know what they have on the roster. After all, it might be very useful down the stretch of a 16-game season.