As the start of training camp looms, it’s a big season for the Detroit Lions. Missing the playoffs, as they did last season, cannot happen again. A last-place schedule this season will help, but some tweaks to the operation were also necessary
In a broad sense, the Lions have gotten younger this year, and thus they’ll be counting on some younger players to step up. In contradiction to the youth movement, they can no longer wait for some players to figure it out as they try to maximize what remains an open Super Bowl window
For these purposes, let’s leave out incoming rookies, since they have not shown enough so far to drive the narrative one way or the other. On each end of the spectrum, here are three young players Detroit should continue to work with and develop, and three others they should be ready to give up on
Isaac TeSlaa clearly tops the list of young players the Lions need to keep developing
TeSlaa showed his potential with six touchdowns on just 16 catches as a rookie last season, and he’s in line for a much bigger role this year. He drew praise this offseason for the work he’s doing to be ready for that role, with a size and speed profile that differentiates him from Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams
The potential fly in TeSlaa’s Year 2 breakout ointment is offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s history of using formations with two or even three tight ends. But otherwise, he’s on an upward trajectory that will easily continue to be cultivated
CB Ennis Rakestraw
After two injury-riddled seasons, which followed an injury-diminished final college season at Missouri that kept him from being a first-round pick, it’s now or never for Rakestraw. The release of draft classmate Terrion Arnold has further opened up an opportunity to start, and he added some weight this offseason in an effort to be more durable
The Lions need someone to step up opposite D.J. Reed. Rakestraw is one of the lastminish Brad Holmes’ status as one of the top-drafting general managers in the league, so the stakes are high for him and the team
DE Ahmed Hassanein
A preseason pectoral injury derailed Hassenein’s rookie season before it started. He was waived with an injury settlement in August, and he chose to come back to the Lions’ practice squad last November despite similar offers from the other 31 teams
Showing a level of commitment to his development, Hassanein was signed to a futures deal after last season. A bolstered edge rusher depth chart seems to push him down the pecking order for snaps, but it’s also fair to say he has a unique athletic profile, with a level of talent/potential others this side of Aidan Hutchinson and rookie Derrick Moore don’t have
Hassanein deserves a mulligan after an injury kept him from playing any games as a rookie. The Lions also seemed committed to seeing what he has to offer, so that process will naturally continue
Give Up
OL Giovanni Manu
Coming out of the University of British Columbia, the Lions inexplicably gave up a third-round pick in the 2025 draft to move up and take Manu at No. 126 in the 2024 draft. He was a project then, and two seasons later (albeit with a lot of missed time due to a knee injury last season), he is still a project now. Looking back, it’s immediately easy to see Manu’s lack of eventual contribution; having that top-100 pick in the 2025 draft sure would’ve been nice
As Manu clings to a roster spot heading into training camp, head coach Dan Campbell has openly talked about trying him at left guard during training camp. That feels like an admission he has not developed anywhere near as hoped; not that any idea he would be Taylor Decker’s successor at left tackle ever had real traction. So let’s try him at guard, as was hinted at right after he was drafted, and see if he can offer any versatility
The Manu experiment in Detroit, which was always unlikely to yield much of anything, is just about over barring something completely unforeseen
OL Colby Sorsdal
Similarly to Manu, Sorsdal was an interesting prospect when the Lions took him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft out of William & Mary. He ended up starting three games as a rookie, but due in part to injuries, he has suited up for just one game in the two seasons since
Sorsdal has a sneaky possible path to sticking around as a versatile backup, with just enough overall depth questions along the Lions’ offensive line to make the case. Training camp and preseason games will be the obvious way he can prove himself
But with Campbell talking like starters will play a noticeable amount in the preseason, against the grain of previous preseasons due to not having joint practices, how much action players of Sorsdal’s ilk will see before the preseason finale lands as a question
In the battle for backup spots for the offensive line, Sorsdal may have a “we’ve seen everything he’s got” element for the Lions’ coaching staff. If he does not stand above the other competitors, the time to give up on his development has a good chance of arriving
RB Sione Vaki
Like Manu, Vaki was also notably invested inons’ running back mix is no easy task, of course, but 27 offensive snaps and seven carries over two seasons (one and one, respectively, last year, by the way) would have been on the low end of expectations when he arrived
Vaki has provided value as a core special teamer, but ideally you’d be getting more from a player you clearly targeted to have on the roster. Anybut eliminated when Isiah Pacheco was signed to back up Jahmyr Gibbs
Stretch the list of young players the Lions should continue to develop to four instead of three, and Vaki would have been a candidate to make it. But he is on the wrong side of that fence, as we legitimately wonder about his place on the roster in Year 3
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