Three Things To Watch in Lions 2026 Preseason Opener With Bengals

The Detroit Lions are set to kick off their 2026 preseason slate of games Thursday night in Cincinnati.

While preseason outcomes ultimately do not matter, the exhibition opener offers a prime opportunity to evaluate players fighting for starting jobs, roster spots and increased playing time.

Here are three things to closely watch when Dan Campbell’s squad squares off with the Bengals Thursday.

How OT Blake Miller handles the pressure

It will be intriguing to watch how the Lions’ first-round pick this past April performs and meshes with the rest of the offensive line Thursday night.

Along with that, it’ll be important to observe whether he outperforms his competition for the starting right tackle job, particularly veteran lineman Larry Borom.

Miller’s play will be ultra critical to the performance of the Lions’ offensive line in 2026. And there is now additional pressure on him to acclimate quickly to the professional ranks with the recent injury suffered by center Cade Mays.

Do the Lions have secondary depth?

The secondary is a big question mark for the Lions entering their preseason opener Thursday.

The team’s outside corner job opposite D.J. Reed and nickel corner gig are still very much up for grabs, and the play of several of the team’s secondary members will be closely watched. This includes the likes of offseason acquisition Roger McCreary and rookie Keith Abney II, a fifth-round pick of the organization this past April.

The depth of both the safeties and cornerbacks will be challenged against the Bengals. And with that said, it’ll be interesting to see which defensive backs step up in Detroit’s first exhibition tilt of the 2026 preseason.

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Can Luke Altmyer actually compete for backup QB job

Altmyer is in line for a healthy number of reps in his preseason debut Thursday.

The Illinois product has received a significant number of second-team reps so far in camp. Yet, his chances for the backup job have taken a significant hit by the signing of veteran QB Josh Dobbs. Dobbs is now expected to be the Lions’ backup entering the 2026 regular season.

However, it doesn’t mean that Detroit’s exhibition opener – and the rest of the preseason – won’t be an important showcase for the undrafted free agent. In my eyes, it very much will be, and his performance this preseason will go a long way toward determining whether Detroit carries three quarterbacks on its season-opening roster.

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