We’ll get our first taste of Detroit Lions football Thursday when the team plays the Cincinnati Bengals on the road in its preseason opener.
Detroit’s loaded offense looks set up to again be one of the NFL’s top units. While most of the offensive starters are expected to sit Thursday night out, there are several intriguing depth pieces fighting to carve out reserve roles on this year’s team.
Here are five Lions offensive players who need to impress in this year’s exhibition games to make a good case for the 53-man roster:
TE Jackson Meeks
Meeks is fighting for Detroit’s third tight end job with veteran Tyler Conklin. Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright are penciled in as the top two.
A converted wide receiver, Meeks moved to tight end this offseason and bulked up 25 pounds to 235. It’s a big-time move that requires players to not only put on weight, but adopt a whole new level of physicality and toughness.
While a tight end in name, the Lions are planning to use Meeks in a new hybrid position.
“We want to find out if there's something in there where he can be this hybrid H-back, tight end, big slot or big skill player,” head coach Dan Campbell said.
Last preseason, Meeks led Detroit in receiving with 176 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches. He’s fighting an uphill battle against a proven veteran like Conklin, but his potential versatility could offer intrigue. If he can block in space but still run routes like a wide receiver, it gives the Lions a weapon they can’t find anywhere else.
With another productive preseason where he also shows a knack for blocking defensive ends and linebackers, Meeks could make the Lions think twice about cutting him for the second year in a row. All of a sudden, it looks like there might be a role for him.
C Seth McLaughlin
The Lions’ offensive line took a major hit when it was announced its top free agent addition, center Cade Mays, will miss 8-10 weeks with a wrist injury. As of now, offseason trade acquisition Juice Scruggs is set to start in his place.
But Scruggs has already missed time in camp with an ailment of his own. Though he’s expected to return soon, all the injuries have got to have Detroit thinking even harder about its depth.
That makes Seth McLaughlin a very important piece now. He signed with the Lions in January after one year as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals.
McLaughlin also won the 2024 Rimington Trophy at Ohio State for the nation’s best center. If he can show he’s fully recovered from his ruptured achilles injury suffered that season, he becomes critical depth for a Lions offensive line that needs all it can get in that department.
He’s already taken first-team reps in practice with Scruggs out, and has another chance to impress in the preseason.
“Coming off the injury, getting back to moving full speed, I’m finally feeling 100% this camp,” McLaughlin said.
WR Dominic Lovett
A seventh-round pick in last year’s draft, Lovett made the 53-man roster last year as the Lions’ sixth receiver. He saw 14 offensive snaps and 50 special teams snaps in his rookie season.
But the only stat he recorded in 2025 was a 22-yard kickoff return. He didn’t make much of an impact on special teams and was behind a slew of proven veterans on offense. The Lions drafted wideout Kendrick Law in the fifth round this year, but he’s out for the season with a torn ACL
Detroit’s top four receivers appear locked in as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa and offseason pickup Greg Dortch. The final two spots seem between Lovett, veteran Cedrick Wilson Jr., Lions staple Tom Kennedy, converted quarterback Malik Cunningham and UFL imports Tarik Black and Lucky Jackson.
The fact that Lovett made the roster last year still likely gives him the edge. But he’ll need to continue impressing in camp, limit the drops that have been an issue for him and actually show something on special teams. He didn’t play a lot of that in college, and was not a productive blocker or tackler on those units as a rookie.
He’s in a good place, but will definitely need to fend off some interesting competition, especially if Wilson takes the No. 5 receiver spot.
RB Jacob Saylors
Saylors is gunning for the fourth running back job. He could, however, open the season as the third back if Sione Vaki continues to either miss time with a broken nose or doesn’t get enough reps to be considered ready to play.
Saylors is a hard runner who returned 33 kickoffs for the Lions last year. Special alone could earn him a roster spot, but Dortch has experience in that area as well and is essentially a lock to make the team.
To ensure the Lions keep him on as a return man and potentially third running back (since Vaki’s career, injured or not, is off to a tough start), Saylors could use a productive preseason at running back. He has a lot to gain this preseason, even if his roster spot looks relatively safe.
“He knows the system, and he's a smart guy,” Campbell said of Saylors. “He's conscientious, and that's always going to help when you come into camp and you're like, "Now I know why we're doing what we're doing, what we're asked to do, the calls, all of that.' He looks much more comfortable, and he's got ability. You see it. It's a great opportunity for him."
QB Luke Altmyer
The Lions are unlikely to bring three quarterbacks onto their opening day roster, and it looks like veteran Joshua Dobbs is set to be the No. 2 in place of the recently-retired Teddy Bridgewater.
But that doesn’t mean the undrafted rookie Altmyer can’t make it worth pondering for Detroit. At the very least, he needs to show this preseason that he’s worth developing, stashing on the practice squad and potentially using as their emergency No. 3 quarterback.
Altmyer’s head is surely spinning as an undrafted rookie thrust into the NFL, but he’s reportedly shown promise in camp. Campbell has said the Illinois product needs “a million reps” before he’s ready for primetime, but this is still a great opportunity for him to turn some heads.
A disastrous preseason would hurt his chances of becoming a long-term project for the Lions, but even a little bit of promise would really help him.
"I thought he did some really good things," Campbell said of Altmyer's training camp so far. "He was put in some really tough positions for a young player that you absolutely have to be put in, you just do. You've got to be thrust in it and really you need to fail, you need to make mistakes so that you can grow.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google