The 2020 NFL season is fast approaching, which means Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn will have some important decisions to make in the coming weeks. Before week 1, the team will have to reduce its roster from 80 players to just 53.
With four years of experience with grid building, it’s much easier to see which positions and types of players Quinn prefers, and we can understand his process much better when it’s time for austerity cuts.
I looked back at every season that Quinn has been with Detroit, and broke every roster for every game in that team. Looking at every position and archetype of players he used in those four seasons, it became clear that Quinn has a set blueprint for how he builds his rosters.
Here’s a breakdown of how I expect the Lions to officially look in 2020:
Quarterback
Quinn’s history with the Lions points to the team holding only two quarterbacks on his active roster. This leads him with quite the dilemma: does he play it safe with veteran Chase Daniel, or does David Blough keep the young project with a lot of upside?
Looking at his history with back-up quarterbacks, it’s a throw-up of who he can love. In 2016 and 2018, Quinn went with veteran backups Dan Orlovsky and Matt Cassel, respectively. In 2017 and 2019, he will keep young developers like Jake Rudock, Brad Kaaya and David Blough.
Looking ahead to the 2020 season, his decisions for the quarterback position will boil down to the health of Matthew Stafford. Quinn has only kept more than two quarterbacks on his rosters twice. But based on how the 2019 season went, it looks like he may choose to keep both backups just in case.
Prediction: Stafford, Daniel, Blough
Run back
Quinn has maintained an average of four running backs on his rosters through his entire time in Detroit, and that is not expected to change this season.
If we look at the types of rushers he remains, it’s clear he likes certain players for specific roles.
Kerryon Johnson and D’Andre Swift are locked in the top two spots as all-backs. That leaves two final spots left to fight over by Ty Johnson, Jason Huntley, Bo Scarborough, Wes Hills, and Jonathan Williams.
Johnson and Huntley will be in direct competition with each other for two reasons. The first is their skill set: they are the two fastest running backpacks on the Detroit roster and both would be heavily used in the passing game. The other competition between the two young players is their ability to contribute to special teams. Johnson has the skills to be the Lions primary kick returner, but Huntley has proven himself during his time in college, with 1,521 yards and five touchdowns over his four seasons at New Mexico State. Huntley may have the upper hand because he was a more recent draft pick, both in the year and round.
The other battle will be between Scarborough, Hills, and Williams for power as a short yardage role. The three big-bodied runners all come into training camp with limited NFL experience and a lot of upside. This will probably come down to who makes the most impression over the next few weeks.
Hills and Scarborough both spent some time with Detroit in 2019 and are more aware of the crime, but it has been reported that Williams, who was signed at the start of training camp, is already making a case for a roster spot.
Prediction: Johnson, Swift, Huntley, Williams
Fullback
Quinn has only rostered a true fullback in a little over half of his time in Detroit. Even these players were used only on a limited basis, so the future of the position in Detroit is uncertain.
At the moment Nick Bawden remains the only fullback on the roster after the release of rookie Luke Sellers, but the team has used tight end Isaac Nauta in that role and has apparently had linebacker Jason Cabinda take some snaps there as well .
The saving grace of Bawden is his ability to deliver to special teams, especially against proceeds from kick and point. If Bawden can stay healthy during camp, the task is to lose him. If Nauta or Cabinda perform well enough in that role, do not expect the fullback position to exist on the Lions offensive line.
Prediction: Bawden
Wide receiver
The Lions have kept anywhere from four to six receivers on their roster during Quinn’s tenure as general manager, but the recent trend points to the team holding five.
The top three spots are locked up with Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola as starters. The battle for those last two spots will come down to the type of receiver a player is. In the past, the Lions have wanted receivers who can contribute more to special teams, but that has not been the case in recent years.
They will probably want to keep one backup for each outside and the positions of the lock receiver.
Fighting for a place on the outside are Geremy Davis, Marvin Hall, and Chris Lacy. Hall proved himself to be a deep threat last season, averaging just 37 yards per reception in his nine games as a Lion. Lacy has been with the team for two seasons, but has done nothing too significant for offense. Davis has been in the league since 2015 and usually has a special teams employee. Hall also has point return options, which further help his case for a roster spot.
In the end, rookie Quintez Cephus will have to contend with Jamal Agnew, Tom Kennedy and Victor Bolden for the backup role. Cephus has been there looking for a strong candidate for the job during training camp, and will likely emerge as the winner in this competition.
Prediction: Golladay, Jones, Amendola, Hall, Cephus
Close
Only twice has Bob Quinn opted to keep more than three tight ends on his roster, so expect the team to carry three in 2020.
Currently, TJ Hockenson is set to be the starter and Jesse James is the clear veteran backup. With that, three young players, Isaac Nauta, Hunter Bryant, and Matt Sokol let it out for that last place.
The thing to remember about this role is that whoever wins the job is expected to contribute more to special teams than to crime.
Nauta brings, as mentioned earlier, some versatility to the team, as he can play fullback as needed. While contributing only two receptions for 13 yards in 2019, he took the field for 18 percent of the snaps from Detroit’s special teams.
Bryant comes to Detroit as a highly regarded undrafted rookie who would be used in more of a receiving role. He’s the smallest of the tight ends on the Lions at 6’2 ”, so he may have more of an uphill battle as special teams and blocking are what the Lions are looking for.
Sokol, a former Michigan State Spartan, is a pure, big-body blocking tight end whose skill set seems better equipped for a role of special teams. Although his name is not as well known as Bryant’s as Nauta’s, he is not yet known.
Prediction: Hockenson, James, Nauta
Offensive Line
Quinn’s track record points to him holding a total of nine offensive lines: four tackles and five inside lines.
In approach, the starters are lined up with Taylor Decker manning the left side of the line, and Halapoulivaati Vaitai on the right. Behind them, Tyrell Crosby will likely be the primary backup.
With this, Dan Skipper and Matt Nelson let it fight for that last place. Both players have experience with the Lions offensive line; Skipper played in 2017 in Detroit and Nelson was on the training team for the entire 2019 season.
This is a battle that will depend on each player’s performance during training camp, but Skipper’s greatness and playing experience can help make his case for a spot on the 53-man roster.
In the interior of the offensive line, Lions seem to have Joe Dahl, Frank Ragnow and rookie Jonah Jackson as the starters on left-back, center and right-back respectively.
Behind her, rookie Logan Stenberg of the fourth round is an almost certain lock for one of the two remaining spots. The final spot will be held by either Kenny Wiggins, Oday Aboushi, Caleb Benenoch, or Beau Benzschawel.
Wiggins, Aboushi, and Benenoch all have initial experience waiting in the NFL, but Benzschawel is currently the team’s only backup center. Wiggins has practiced at that position in previous years and has many times started on guard in Detroit, so he currently has the upper hand.
Prediction: Decker, Dahl, Ragnow, Jackson, Vaitai, Crosby, Skipper, Wiggins, Stenberg
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