4 Detroit Lions players who are vulnerable to being replaced in the 2023 NFL Draft

1. TE Brock Wright

If the season started today, Wright would likely be the No. 1 tight end for the Lions. Second-year man James Mitchell could change that he enters the offseason fully healthy, and he has the most upside on the depth chart currently (it’s not close, frankly).

The Lions set the franchise record for touchdowns by tight ends last season, without T.J. Hockenson for over half the season after he was traded. Fans like to note that, while talking up Wright and Shane Zylstra in particular, but those are the same kind of folks who said there was no chance running back Jamaal Williams would leave in free agency.

It’s regarded as a historically deep rookie class at tight end this year. To that end, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reported the Lions are likely to add to the position in the draft.

In terms of names from the incoming tight end class, Michael Mayer (Notre Dame), Dalton Kincaid (Utah), Darnell Washington (Georgia), Sam LaPorta (Iowa), Luke Musgrave (Oregon State), Luke Schoonmaker (Michigan), Tucker Kraft (South Dakota State) and Zack Kuntz (Old Dominion) are easy to tie to the Lions within the first 3-4 rounds of the draft.

Mayer, Kincaid and Washington are potential first-round picks, but it’s unclear if the Lions would go there to take a tight end.

In any case, the Lions’ tight end depth chart is begging for a talent injection. Wright is already on thin ice atop said depth chart, or at least he should be. A drafted tight end would seal his fate to drop down to his rightful place as a backup.