It’s only preseason, but the Detroit Lions are back in action tonight with their first exhibition game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
Detroit’s defense struggled last year as the Lions missed the playoffs. It’s had its fair share of complications this offseason, whether it’s injuries to star players or the release of a projected starter stemming from an arrest.
CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
Rakestraw isn’t exactly on the roster bubble, but his role in the defense is totally up in the air. The Lions reportedly haven’t been too impressed with how he’s looked in camp— inconsistency has been an issue.
“He's had some ups and downs,” head coach Dan Campbell said of Rakestraw. “He needs to string a few days together here of some good stuff, but he can do that and he's gifted. Now that being said, look, we're always looking to upgrade the competition.”
Rakestraw’s career has been addled with injury and this season looks like his first real shot at playing time. The Lions brought in veteran cornerback Trevon Diggs for a workout last weekend, and though they didn’t sign him, it’s not exactly a glowing endorsement of their 2024 second round pick.
Rakestraw is fighting to earn the trust of this coaching staff and prove he can be a meaningful contributor on this defense. The Lions need someone to look like a starter as their No. 2 cornerback, and a strong preseason from Rakestraw could help earn him some more opportunities. But if he continues to struggle, his future in Detroit is very much in doubt.
DL Mekhi Wingo
Wingo, a sixth-round defensive tackle in 2024, got some decent playing time as a rookie before an injury cut his season short in November. His only two appearances in 2025 were in Week 2 and Week 18, with 14 straight DNPs in between them.
The Lions drafted defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard in the sixth round this year, who has a similar skillset to Wingo. Detroit lost some members of its interior line this offseason with the departures of D.J. Reader and Roy Lopez, so there’s still a chance for Wingo to make the rotation.
But if he can’t provide much of the interior pass rush that made him an intriguing dart-throw two years ago, Wingo’s fate as a Lion could be sealed. He’ll need to impress in the preseason in order to make a case for the 53-man roster.
Wingo has reportedly missed some time in camp with a groin injury but is expected to play tonight.
DE Ahmed Hassanein
Hassanein has reportedly been trending up during camp. The sixth-round pick from Boise State has made his presence felt with his high motor and… hard-to-miss presence on the practice field.
Ahmed Hassanein just took a knee after a redzone period, puked, yelled at the top of his lungs and sprung to his feet for the next drill. Crowd loved it lol
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) August 10, 2026
The Lions like the way he plays. Campbell said Hassanein doesn’t take any plays off and has had “a really good camp.”
“We’ve got to rein him back in a little bit, sometimes he gets out of his mind and goes a little rogue on some stuff,” he said. “But you'd rather it be that way and pull back on him than the other where you're constantly having to prod him. So, he's really grown.”
Hassanein was waived with an injury settlement last season but reappeared on the practice squad. This year, he’s competing with Tyler Lacy for the “big end” job in Detroit’s defense– an edge rusher who lines up on the strong side, focuses on stopping the run and kicks inside when needed.
He’s still very green in terms of NFL experience— he’s never appeared in an NFL game— but a good preseason could give Hassanein a clear role on this defense. He’s an ascending player to watch.
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LB Devin White
The Lions signed White at the beginning of the month after rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder went down with an injury that’s expected to keep him out for “a while” according to Campbell.
The former All-Pro spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders where he racked up a ton of tackles but was an absolute liability in pass coverage. But so far in camp as a Lion, he’s been turning heads.
“He looks like a different guy than what we saw in Vegas last year on tape. He’s moving well, he’s thumping, pretty smart,” Campbell said. “He still has that speed. And what I’m seeing right now, that’s what I remember in Tampa Bay when I was in New Orleans. That was the guy, he was a headache.”
White was an absolute missile with the Buccaneers, with his athleticism and nose for the ball earning him All-Pro status in 2020. His career since then has been a different story, but if he keeps this up in Detroit, he could become a great signing for the Lions.
Detroit doesn’t need White to regain All-Pro form, though it would certainly be nice. But he can come in and be their first linebacker off the bench— think the Zach Cunningham role from last year— it gives the Lions so much more defensive flexibility.
Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez are locked in as the Lions’ three starting linebackers. If any of them wind up injured, however, and White is able to keep the middle of the defense going without missing a beat, it could be a monumental August pickup for this team.
His next chance to prove he’s a different guy than the one in Vegas will come tonight.
CB Keith Abney II
Our lone rookie on this list is Abney. That’s because he’s in the mix for two different starting jobs that are both very much up for grabs— the No. 2 cornerback and the nickel spot.
Widely hailed as a steal when the Lions got him in the fifth round out of Arizona State, Abney is an undersized corner but has inside-outside versatility. He plays with a certain fire and had plenty of ball production in college– picking off five passes and defending 21 in his last two years at ASU.
Abney’s a rookie cornerback in the NFL— which means teams are going to throw at him a lot. This preseason, if he can show off the same strong coverage skills and knack for getting his hands on the ball he did in college, he could really make some noise.
The Lions are unlikely to start a fifth-round rookie right off the bat in Week 1. But if Abney puts together a strong preseason where he plays bigger than his size and beyond his years, it’s gonna be hard for Kelvin Sheppard to keep him off the field.
Sheppard has spoken this offseason about reemphasizing the nickel package as a big part of Detroit’s scheme. Abney could really benefit from that.
"I just love the way the room's set up right now, the way it's structured," Sheppard said. "We've built a system we feel like that's adaptable and that it's not just, 'Oh, you have to have this player to run this play.' We're trying to build this thing to where it's just plug and play as we go. And that's what this has allowed us and allotted us."
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