4 Detroit Lions who weren't on many people's radar are suddenly making serious noise at training camp. A cornerback, a defensive lineman, a running back, and a linebacker are all forcing their way into the roster conversation.
The Detroit Lions are in Week 2 of training camp, the pads are on, and players are hitting each other. It's live football. Look, I know it's only been six days, but there are some guys who came into this camp under the radar, guys I honestly didn't think were going to make this roster, who are out there making a name for themselves right now. These are players you need to start paying attention to as Detroit gets closer to whittling this thing down to 53 guys.
I've talked about Nick Whiteside a ton already, but I want to drive it home. I had him on the bubble, firmly on the bubble, in danger of getting cut to start training camp. Now I'm starting to wonder if this guy could maybe be a starter. That's honestly going through my head.
I asked Lions coach Dan Campbell about it on Monday, and he said things were about to get interesting. Campbell talked about how Whiteside has made a play every single day, how there has not been a day where Whiteside didn't make a play.
I will be honest. On Monday, the first day in pads, I didn't see Whiteside make a play. But I also didn't see him get burnt. I didn't see any pass breakups, any interceptions, anything crazy. But previous to that, whether on defense or special teams, anytime you saw Whiteside on the field, a play was made. This guy has taken himself from "I don't know if he's going to be on this roster, maybe he's a practice squad guy" to "watch out, Rock Ya-Sin ; watch out, Ennis Rakestraw ." Saginaw Valley might be in the house. It would be one of the biggest come-from-behind stories in training camp history.
I'm firmly locked in on him simply making the roster at this point. But now the question is whether he can make the jump from good depth guy to getting some looks at starter. The problem is that Sin and Rakestraw both look good too, so we'll see where that goes.
The next guy is Tyler Lacy. Edge rusher, defensive tackle, big end. I don't know what you really want to call him. He can kind of do it all at this point.
I thought at OTAs and mandatory minicamp that the Lions were just throwing him in there with the first team to get some looks. But this guy is showing it. He is a mountain of a man. When he gets out there, you know it's Tyler Lacy. He's bull-rushing dudes. What I saw him do to rookie offensive tackle Blake Miller on Monday was pretty impressive. He pushed the man into the quarterback. That's the kind of thing I believe he can bring.
I know Lacy can set the edge in the run game. I've watched him doing it. I didn't know he had some pass rush juice. Now, temper your expectations on the pass rush section of this. I'm not saying Lacy's going to come in and get 10 sacks this year. I'm saying he can get something like four sacks. He's not a starter, but he's going to be able to rotate in on early downs, be really good against the run, and maybe get you some pass rush production while eating space. There's so much versatility to this guy's game.
I've been wondering all offseason who's going to be that third guy on the interior behind Alim McNeill and Tyleik Williams . Right now I think it's Lacy. I'm also starting to think that the Lions aren't going to carry a guy who only plays nose tackle behind those two. The goal seems to be versatility: everybody plays everywhere. Lacy's the leading scorer in the league of that ideal.
Jacob Saylors, the running back who was All-UFL in spring 2025 with the St. Louis Battlehawks, came in and earned a spot on the 53-man roster last year as the kick returner. At this point, he might be that running back 3.
Coming into camp, we all thought Sione Vaki was going to have that role. Vaki is still going to have an opportunity, but he's dealing with injuries. On Monday he got hurt in a freak accident, getting poked in the eye and breaking his nose, and it's going to take some time to heal.
Jahmyr Gibbs has not been at practice and has not been practicing, as we know. So Sailors is getting first-team reps, and he looked like he was handling his business. He had two really big plays on Monday, two 40-to-50-yard touchdowns, one from a run and one from a pass.
Now, if you hear that and go, "All right, well, if Jacob Saylors is good, then we can just get rid of Jahmyr Gibbs, we don't have to pay him," that is firmly not what I'm saying. Jahmyr Gibbs is Jahmyr Gibbs, and he's not replaceable. Get that out of your mind right away. But Saylors looks really good as a running back 3 with the first team.
Going forward, Saylors is going to get a lot of first-team reps until Gibbs comes back, which I think will be relatively soon now that Bijan Robinson has his deal done. But when Vaki returns, he has a lot of work to do. It's getting to a point where you can't say special teams is the thing anymore, because if you're just a special teamer, you still have to be able to do something else. If you find yourself behind Saylors, the Lions could say they have plenty of good special teamers. You don't want to do it, but you start thinking about cutting Vaki. If Sailors proves he's better, it might just be another sad story for the 2024 draft class. You hate to see it, but you have to have the best 53 guys you can have.
Michigan State Spartan legend Joe Bachie is the last guy I want to highlight, and I have to frame this the right way. I don't think Bachie is going to make the 53-man roster. But I've been impressed enough with him where I could totally see the Lions grabbing him and putting him on the practice squad. He's gotten a couple sacks, and he's done good work in the run-stopping game, though it's been third-team, second-team type reps. He's not repping with the first team.
I came into this camp thinking Bachie was just a camp body. My Spartans guy is getting it done. He's showing up, and I'm starting to look at him like there's a spot for him in Detroit. It's not a starting spot, it might not even be a spot on the 53, but it's probably a practice squad spot. That's a good veteran to have on your roster.
Before I wrap up, a few more guys catching my eye, though not at the level of the first four. Lawrence Keys has looked fun as a special teamer and is making some plays as a receiver. Jabari Small, a running back Campbell brought up the other day, is showing some things. Anthony Lucas, the undrafted rookie out of USC, has shown some ability as a pass rusher, though I'm still waiting to see it translate everywhere else. Ahmed Hassanein has impressed me so much he shouldn't even be included in this section. He should get his own breakdown. And De'Shawn Rucker, the undrafted cornerback, showed me some stuff on Monday.
We'll see where this all goes, but I'm locked in on those first four guys. Let's see how it plays out.
Detroit Lions News
Mike Payton 2 hours ago
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