We're only two days away from the Detroit Lions finally playing some somewhat meaningful football again.
That's a wild sentence to be able to write out, and I'm so happy it's true. More than enough has been said about their questions in their secondary, or their depth behind star players like Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs, or their new-look offensive line. Let's actually put those questions to bed, somewhat, with real-life examples.
The Lions have released their unofficial depth chart ahead of that first preseason contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it pretty perfectly reflects what we've been hearing out of training camp so far.
Detroit Lions' first unofficial depth chart
The Lions' unofficial 2026 depth chart, as provided by the Lions' communication team:
OFFENSE
QB: Jared Goff, Luke Altmyer, Josh Dobbs
WR: Jameson Williams, Dominic Lovett, Malik Cunningham, Tarik Black
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Greg Dortch, Tom Kennedy, Lucky Jackson
WR: Isaac TeSlaa, Cedrick Wilson Jr., Tay Martin
RB: Jahmyr Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco*, Sione Vaki*, Jacob Saylors, Jabari Small, Kye Robichaux, Raheem Blackshear
TE: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, Tyler Conklin, Jackson Meeks, Thomas Gordon, Zach Horton
LT: Penei Sewell, Devin Cochran, Giovanni Manu*
LG: Juice Scruggs*, Christian Mahogany, Miles Frazier, Melvin Priestly
RT: Larry Borom, Blake Miller, Colby Sorsdal
RG: Tate Ratledge, Ben Bartch, Mason Miller
C: Cade Mays*, Michael Niese, Seth McLaughlin
DEFENSE
EDGE: Aidan Hutchinson, Derrick Moore*, Anthony Lucas, Eric O'Neill
EDGE: DJ Wonnum, Tyler Lacy, Ahmed Hassanein, Payton Turner
DL: Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, Mekhi Wingo, Skyler Gill-Howard, Ben Stille
DL: Tyleik Williams, Chris Smith, Myles Adams, Tyre West
LB: Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez*, Damone Clark, Troy Reeder, Erick Hunter
LB: Jack Campbell, Devin White, Trevor Nowaske, Jimmy Rolder*, Joe Bachie, Amen Ogbongbemiga
CB: D.J. Reed*, Nick Whiteside, Khalil Dorsey, Ryan Cooper Jr.
CB: Rock Ya-Sin, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Keith Abney II
S: Kerby Joseph*, Chuck Clark, Thomas Harper, Dan Jackson
S: Brian Branch*, Avonte Maddox, Loren Strickland
NCB: Roger McCreary, Christian Izien, Aamaris Brown
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Jake Bates
H: Jack Fox
P: Jack Fox
LS: Hogan Hatten
PR: Greg Dortch, Tom Kennedy
KR: Jacob Saylors, Tom Kennedy
*Players with reported injuries.
Breaking down early depth chart
The Lions' depth chart reveals that the team has Scruggs over Mahogany at left guard ahead of their first preseason game, although, Scruggs has been dealing with an injury ahead of this game. So, we may not see much of him at left guard compared to Frazier, Priestly, or possibly Mahogany.
Larry Borom is also in over Blake Miller at right tackle, but Miller still needs time to develop in training camp before the team considers naming him a starter over Borom by Week 1. Fans shouldn't be too worried about this, though, and just seems to indicate that the Lions' tackle depth has been good enough to interchange so far through camp.
READ MORE: Lions remain favorites in NFC North despite serious questions
Roger McCreary is still ahead of Izien at nickel back despite some struggles in camp, but Detroit will likely experiment in their first preseason game with players like Abney and Dorsey at the slot.
We should expect to see a lot of snaps for Nick Whiteside, who continues to shine in camp in an ongoing battle between himself and Rock-Ya Sin. If Whiteside makes some plays against Joe Burrow - who is expected to play in this contest - that'll help him standout even more as a legitimate starting option next to Reed.
This game is going to be a great way for the Lions to determine their best option at center moving forward with Mays out for a significant amount of time, and to narrow down their ongoing competition at left guard. This depth chart is going to undergo quite a lot of fluctuation, and that's a good thing.
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