The Detroit Lions roster bubble on defense is enormous. As of right now, we\u2019ve got a total of 25 players fighting for a roster spot on the defensive side alone. And with the constant shifting due to injuries, strong play, or early struggles, our weekly predictions on who is in and who is out are fluctuating pretty drastically.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s winners, however, were clear: Devin White and Nick Whiteside.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s break down every position battle on defense with our Week 3 Bubble Watch picks:<\/p>\n
Assumed in: Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Wonnum, Derrick MooreAhmed Hassanein: 11 \u201cIN\u201d votes (up 1)Payton Turner: 0 votes (down 1)Anthony Lucas: 0 votes<\/p>\n
The staff is now completely aligned, with Ahmed Hassanein continuing his impressive camp, while Payton Turner remains sidelined with an injury. This is getting dangerously close to being settled completely at this point.<\/p>\n
Assumed in: Alim McNeill, Tyleik WilliamsNew to bubble watch: Levi Onwuzurike: 11 votesTyler Lacy: 11 votes (no change)Skyle Gill-Howard: 10 votes (up 2)Chris Smith: 5 votes (up 1)Mekhi Wingo: 2 votes (down 4)Tyre West: 0 votes (no change)Aidan Keanaaina: 0 votes (no change) <\/p>\n
This week, I brought down Levi Onwuzurike to the bubble after being an \u201cassumed in.\u201d Onwuzurike has been primarily repping with the second and third teams this training camp\u2014well behind Alim McNeill (and even Mekhi Wingo) at the three-tech, and comfortably behind Tyler Lacy at the big end position. Despite all of that, we all still have him in, but I think his spot on the roster is up for grabs.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Wingo drops a few votes, likely having to do with him missing a few days due to injury. However, he returned to practice on Monday (after votes were submitted), so this may have been a bit of an overreaction.<\/p>\n
Still, Gill-Howard\u2019s rise is warranted. He\u2019s started to climb the depth chart\u2014regularly getting reps with the first and second team\u2014and has made a fair amount of plays, as well.<\/p>\n
Assumed in: Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm RodriguezDevin White: 11 votes (up 5)Trevor Nowaske: 10 votes (no change)Damone Clark: 10 votes (no change)Jimmy Rolder: 0 votes (down 3)Troy Reeder: 2 votes (down 2)Erick Hunter: 0 votes (down 1)Joe Bachie: 0 votes (down 1)<\/p>\n
After a pretty impressive first week of training camp, Devin White has jumped all the way to a unanimous vote. He\u2019s been the clear top replacement for injured Malcolm Rodriguez in the starting lineup, and has consistently been making plays. It hasn\u2019t been perfect\u2014play-action has gotten him several times\u2014but he looks comfortable in a starting role.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, it appears our staff is now convinced Rolder will start the season on injured reserve after suffering an injury a couple weeks back.<\/p>\n
And while Erick Hunter lost his one vote from last week, I will say that in these past few practices, he\u2019s starting to make some noise, and it wouldn\u2019t shock me if he replaced one of the veteran special teamers we currently have in\u2014especially as Damone Clark continues to miss time with an injury.<\/p>\n
Assumed in: DJ Reed, Rock Ya-Sin, Ennis Rakestraw, Keith AbneyNick Whiteside: 11 votes (up 5)Khalil Dorsey: 10 votes (up 2)New to bubble watch: Roger McCreary: 5 votes<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with Whiteside, whose meteoric rise has been one of the biggest surprises of training camp. He started Bubble Watch with just one vote, but after a strong opening week to training camp, he got promoted to starting reps with D.J. Reed sidelined. He\u2019s clearly jumped Ennis Rakestraw on the depth chart, making it tempting to drop the Lions\u2019 2024 second-round pick onto the roster bubble\u2026 but I\u2019m not there yet.<\/p>\n
I did, however, drop veteran Roger McCreary down to the roster bubble. While McCreary has been getting a fair share of first-team nickel reps, coach Dan Campbell accurately called his camp thus far \u201cup and down.\u201d With only $800,000 in guaranteed salary, it\u2019s fair to wonder if Whiteside\u2019s rise means McCreary\u2019s fall. After all, Detroit has several other options at nickel, including Christian Izien, Avonte Maddox, and Rakestraw.<\/p>\n
Dorsey continues to dominate on special teams. In my opinion, it\u2019s not even a question that he\u2019s the best special teamer on the roster.<\/p>\n
Assumed in: Christian Izien, Avonte Maddox (NEW), Chuck Clark (NEW)Thomas Harper: 11 votes (no change)Brian Branch: 3 votes (down 1)Kerby Joseph: 0 votes (down 4)Dan Jackson: 0 votes (down 1)Loren Strickland: 0 votes (no change)<\/p>\n
First off, we\u2019ve moved Avonte Maddox and Chuck Clark off the bubble and onto the \u201cassumed in\u201d category, because both had taken essentially every starting snap of training camp until Maddox\u2019s absence on Monday. More and more, they not only look safe, but the likely Week 1 starters.<\/p>\n
The other shifts involve both Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Despite some optimism surrounding Branch\u2014including his first on-field work with trainers\u2014most of the staff believes he will start the season on PUP. Now everyone believes Joseph is headed for that fate after he\u2019s been neither seen nor heard from in the past week. After some vigorous training in the first week, it\u2019s been all silent on that front.<\/p>\n