We are just days away from the Detroit Lions first preseason game of 2026. Through the first couple of weeks of training camp, coach Dan Campbell’s team has ground through four padded practices and eight total sessions open to the media.
I’ve attended four of those, including the first two days in pads. Between my personal observations, conversations with others on the Lions beat and a handful of exchanges with members of the Lions organization, as well as poring over practice reports from trusted sources from the days I’ve missed, there are a handful of players moving up and down the Lions’ 53-man roster projection. Some have solidified starting spots or prominent roles, while others have squandered opportunities to help ensure their status with the Lions.
Moving up: Christian Mahogany
No, the returning starter at left guard was never really in any roster peril. But after an injury-plagued 2025 where he also didn’t play as well as hoped even before the injury (aside from Week 1), Mahogany’s status as the starting LG was very much in question. Detroit brought in legit competition for his job.
Mahogany has responded. The third-year pro has turned in an outstanding training camp thus far. One play in particular stands out: a screen to the left side in Tuesday’s padded session. Mahogany didn’t give away the play with his initial posturing, then exploded down the field and erased a blocking target in space to free up a few extra yards for RB Jacob Saylors.
The hope going into camp was that the competition for LG, the only real undecided starting spot on the entire offense, would be decided by who was best–not who was the least bad. Mahogany is earning it with great, consistent play, proving he belongs between Penei Sewell and Cade Mays in the starting lineup.
Sliding down: Levi Onwuzurike
Onwuzurike missed the entire 2025 season with a knee injury, causing his one-year contract to toll into 2026. The big defensive lineman’s rust is showing. Onwuzurike is consistently repping with the third-team defense, and his limited opportunities running with the higher units have not gone well. Onwuzurike appears heavier than in the past, which has pigeonholed him more to playing strictly inside at DT. It’s a much more crowded field this year for the reserve DL, and Onwuzurike is losing ground in his quest to come back once again from another major injury.
Being on an expiring contract at 28 years old isn’t apt to help the 2021 second-rounder, not when the competition (Skyler Gill-Howard, Mekhi Wingo, Ahmed Hassanein to name three of more) are all younger, healthier and secured for longer.
Moving up: Tyler Lacy
To put it succinctly, Lacy has quickly proven to be everything the Lions wanted former second-rounder Josh Paschal to become. He’s a positionally versatile power end who holds up well enough against the run inside and can crash the pocket from the outside. Lacy, picked up off the waiver wire from the Jaguars at last year’s roster cutdowns, appears in line for significant playing time in his second season in Detroit even if everyone around him stays healthy.
Falling away: Michael Niese
Not the most familiar name for many fans, but Niese has quietly existed on the Lions roster in some form since the beginning of the 2023 regular season. Bouncing between the practice squad and active roster over a dozen times in the last three seasons, Niese has played in 23 games as a reserve guard/center and on special teams.
This Lions camp shaped up as a stiffer competition for the 28-year-old. To this point, Niese hasn’t proven stout enough to guarantee he sticks around for another year as a seldom-used vet with no real upside relative to his competition (Juice Scruggs, Seth McLaughlin, Miles Frazier). Niese does still show decent lateral agility and vision on the line, so he can’t be written off just yet…
Surging forward: Ahmed Hassanein
Detroit Lions edge Ahmed Hassanein(99) during OTAs at Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park on Friday, May 29, 2026.
A year ago, the seventh-round DE from Boise State was a better story than football player. Egyptian CrossFit champ, enthusiastic and eager young but very technically raw. This year, Hassanein is still bringing the unbridled energy and relentless effort, but he happens to have improved at football things in his de facto redshirt rookie season.
Hassanein is thriving as a heavy DE, notably when playing to the outside of another DE when the Lions go to a bigger package or a 5-man line. His power-to-speed moves, while still fairly straight-linish, are becoming more effective by the day. No. 99’s game could be mistaken for what a healthy Marcus Davenport was capable of doing in his two injury-marred years in Detroit–stout edge setting versus the run, impressive long-arm and bull rushes, and just enough speed to keep blockers from digging their heels in too early. He’s taken advantage of rookie Derrick Moore’s minor injury, no doubt about it.
Bubbling up: Dominic Lovett
Not gonna lie here. Coming out of June’s minicamp, when Lovett struggled to get open and also catch the ball, I didn’t see much of a light for the second-year wideout to make the roster. After a rookie season when the Georgia product played just 14 offensive snaps and didn’t stand out in limited special teams duty, Lovett needed a strong summer…
…and he’s delivering. Lovett’s routes still need polish, but his blend of quick feet and upper body strength is showing progress. His hands and concentration have been on point, and so has his special teams work. He’s locked in a deep, highly competitive battle for WR5/WR6. Entering camp, I had Lovett near the bottom of that combat ladder. He’s now near the top.
Trending down: Roger McCreary
The Lions signed veteran CB Roger McCreary from the Rams with the hope that he’d immediately seize the slot/nickel CB spot. That hasn’t happened. McCreary has not been bad, but he’s failed to distinguish himself in a crowded competition. Christian Izien missed the first week but immediately showed himself more instinctive and reactive in coverage. Rookie Keith Abney, aside from one really bad practice, has been more physical in coverage and active in run defense.
Colleagues who have covered McCreary in Los Angeles and Tennessee warned me that he might wind up being better in theory than in actual practice. Now I get it. Again, McCreary has not been bad; he just might not be good enough to win the gig.
Biggest disappointment: Payton Turner
Saints fans interolping here, this is your chance to shake your head and knowingly smile. Turner has yet to suit up for training camp due to an injury.
It doesn’t even matter what the injury is. The fact is that the former Saints first-rounder who bitterly disappointed New Orleans with an alarming lack of availability and durability is proving the change of scenery isn’t helping. The wonder now isn’t if Turner will make the team — it’s if the Lions pull the plug before he even practices with the team. Sigh…
Biggest winner: Nick Whiteside
When initially discussing potential replacements for deposed CB Terrion Arnold, Whiteside wasn’t typically touted as a serious candidate. The first couple weeks of training camp have proven that Whiteside absolutely belongs in the conversation.
Not bad for a UFL refugee whose only real action a year ago came in the Legion of Whom game against Tampa Bay. Whiteside, a Detroit native, broke up three passes in that game. Those same ball skills and alert coverage have been consistently on display in Allen Park all summer. Whiteside is the biggest CB on the roster (listed 6-0/200, and that passes the eye test) and he plays to his size smartly. Rock Ya-Sin is still above him on the depth chart, but Whiteside looks closer to pushing Ya-Sin for the starting job opposite D.J. Reed than he is to not making the 53-man roster.
