3 Players Who Could Fall on Lions' Depth Chart
On an annual basis, players rise and fall on an NFL team's depth chart during training camp.
This happens for a variety of reasons, and the performance of other players certainly plays a factor.
Without further ado, let's take a look at three individuals who are in danger of falling down the Lions' depth chart.
CB Quinton Dunbar
The offseason acquisition hasn't practiced much this summer, and when he has suited up, he's been seen with the third-string defense.
It's not a good sign for Dunbar, who's already behind Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye on Detroit's cornerbacks depth chart.
Meanwhile, Mike Ford has been observed taking most of the first-team reps at slot cornerback, and rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu, as a third-round draft pick of the organization, also stands in Dunbar's way.
At this point, Dunbar's roster spot is anything but a lock.
OG Logan Stenberg
The Lions' offensive line seems to be taking shape, and Stenberg doesn't appear to be a part of it.
Drafted by the previous regime, the Kentucky product played in only two games a season ago, and now he's tasked with trying to prove his worth all over again to head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes.
“There again, this week's going to say a lot. It's going to tell a lot about Logan," Campbell said Monday. "We like what's in there. We like his ability. He's somebody that we feel like -- Look, he's a pup. He just is. He's such a young buck right now. He's got a lot of room to grow. He's also got a ways to go, too. That's the reality of it.
"I think the question for him is, ‘How quickly can he get better and develop?’ He's getting better, but it's like, ‘Man, it's got to come.’ These pads are where it's going to start for him. We need to see him be able to drop his weight and get under guys and get movement. This will be a huge week for him.”
If this week was supposed to tell Campbell & Co. a lot about Stenberg, then, it definitely puts the 24-year-old's roster spot in jeopardy.
On Wednesday, he was a part of the second-team offensive line that got destroyed by the first-team defensive line.
The second-year pro will need to pick up his level of play, if he wants to guarantee a spot for himself on the Lions' season-opening 53-man roster.
LB Derrick Barnes
The rookie has been dealing with a tight hamstring injury to open up training camp, which has been lingering since the spring.
It's cost the Purdue product invaluable practice time during the first two weeks of camp, and has allowed fellow linebackers Shaun Dion Hamilton, Anthony Pittman and Tavante Beckett to garner extra reps.
This has no doubt hurt Barnes' standing on Detroit's linebackers depth chart. Consequently, he now has a lot of work ahead of him to make up for the lost time.
