Detroit Lions 53-man roster and depth chart prediction after Week 1 of the preseason

The Detroit Lions are three weeks through training camp and now have their first preseason game out of the way. It was not a pretty one, but we did get to see a few things that made some big changes to our projections. Here is what  we thing the Lions 53-man roster and depth chart look like at this time:

Quarterback (2)

Starter: Jared Goff
Backup: Hendon Hooker

Out: Nate Sudfeld

Initially we thought there was a really good shot the the Lions would carry three quarterbacks because it just felt like Hooker wasn't ready yet. That's still the feeling despite some nice scrambles on Thursday night. But Sudfeld is not the guy that you want to put in at QB2. The Lions might want to go shopping.

Running Back (4)

Starters: Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery
Backups: Sione Vaki, Craig Reynolds

Out: Zonovan Knight, Jermar Jefferson, Jake Funk

Vaki had a great night on Thursday. It's a shame we only got to see a little bit of him in the game instead of seeing a lot. Maybe next week. Reynolds was fine and so was Jefferson and Knight, but Vaki was the guy that shined the most.

Wide receiver (6)

Starters: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Daurice Fountain
Backups: Kalif Raymond, Isaiah Williams, Kaden Davis

Out: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tre'Quan Smith, Jalon Calhoun, Tom Kennedy, Antoine Green, Maurice Alexander

The Lions really need some receiver help. I'll keep bringing it up until I'm Honolulu blue in the face. Thursday night really showed it. Only one guy really had good night and that was undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams. We saw nothing encouraging from anyone else and that's a problem. They're looking for someone for a starting spot at WR3 here. The comfort level is low.

Tight ends (4)

Starter: Sam LaPorta
Backups: Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra, Parker Hesse

Out: Isaac Rex, James Mitchell, Sean Mckeon

I once again hated to make the call of letting James Mitchell go. At the end of the day the Lions have to make blocking and special teams a priority when you get to the lower depth. Shane Zylstra has shown that he can be better than Mitchell there and he's been a pretty good pass catcher too. Parker Hesse showed that he can do a lot of different things and that matters.

Offensive line (10)

Starters: Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler, Penei Sewell
Backups: Colby Sorsdal, Giovanni Manu, Christian Mahogany, Kayode Awosika, Dan Skipper

Out: Connor Galvin, Kingsley Eguakun, Michael Niese, Netane Muti, Matt Farniok, Duke Clemmens, Bryan Hudson, Ike Boetgger, Jake Barton

Was really hoping Connor Galvin would be in this spot, but unfortunately he was carted off the field on Thursday night. Colby Sorsdal didn't look too good and that's opened the door for Dan Skipper to get back in. Don't be surprised if the Lions go looking for tackle help soon. Nobody has looked all that great at swing tackle.

Defensive line (9)

Starters: Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeil, DJ Reader, Marcus Davenport
Backups: Mehki Wingo, Levi Onwuzrukie, Brodric Martin, Josh Paschal, Isaac Ukwu

Out: James Houston, Mathieu Betts, John Cominsky, Nate Lynn, Chris Smith, Kyle Peko, David Bada, Pat O'Connor

Fans are going to hate this section the most. Look, Mathieu Betts is struggling to nail down his position and James Houston has been struggling for while with the same problem. We didn't see a lot to be excited about from either on Thursday night or in the first few weeks of camp. Ukwu, on the other hand, showed out Thursday night and never slowed down. That's the kind of guy you give a spot to.

Linebacker (5)

Starters: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes
Backups: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Malcolm Rodriguez

Out: Mitchell Agude, DaRon Gilbert, Ben Niemann, Malik Jefferson

DaRon Gilbert had a really good night, but it's hard to see him making the roster with these five linebackers in front of him. The Lions are just kind of stacked in this spot. He should be practice squad guy for sure though.

Cornerback (6)

Starters: Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson
Backups: Ennis Rakestraw, Steven Gilmore, Khalil Dorsey,

Out: Morice Norris, Emmanuel Moseley, Kindle Vildor,

Amik Robertson had a solid preseason debut for the Lions. He had multiple pass breakups and showed some solid coverage out of the slot. The Lions corners looked good on Thursday night.

Safety (4)

Starters: Brian Branch, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Kerby Joseph
Backups: C.J. Moore

Out: Chelan Garnes, Loren Strickland, Brandon Joseph

The safety spot seems pretty set, but Brandon Joseph is putting in the work to make the team consider carrying a fifth guy into the season, but I just couldn't pull the trigger on that today. Loren Strickland is another to watch. He looked really good on special teams Thursday night.

Special teams (3)

Starters: ?, Jack Fox, Scott Daly

Out: Jake Bates, Michael Badgley, Hogan Hatten

Bates made a 53-yard field goal, but he's not out of the woods yet. He's going to have to do more than that and that includes being better during camp as well. The Lions are still very likely to bring in competition for him soon. He needs to earn the spot.

Related: 6 winners and 4 losers for the Lions in their preseason game against the Giants, undrafted rookie edge has huge night