When the Detroit Lions visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night in the 2026 preseason opener for both teams, most of the big-name Lions won’t take the field. Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Aidan Hutchinson, Jack Campbell and most veteran players who a casual fan can name aren’t expected to suit up in Cincinnati.
That creates a lot of opportunity for the younger players, the fringe roster candidates and the upstarts looking to make a bigger name for themselves. That’s what the preseason opener is all about–game-testing the rookies and sorting out the bottom of the depth chart.
The Bengals, by the way, are expected to play most of their projected starters, including QB Joe Burrow. Which means the Lions’ “starters” in Thursday’s game will be playing against legit NFL starters and not second-stringers bumped up.
Here are 15 Lions players who I will be focusing on during the game and in the post-game film room.
QB Luke Altmyer
Altmyer figures to play most, if not all, of the game after the Lions had to sign Josh Dobbs on the fly following Teddy Bridgewater’s retirement on Sunday. The undrafted rookie from Illinois has had some positive moments throughout the offseason. Two areas where Altmyer has struggled will be the focal point: getting the ball out on time and hitting layered throws over the middle. The Lions offense features a lot of precise timing and intricate route combinations that require pinpoint placement in between defenders. Jared Goff thrives at these. Altmyer still has a way to go, but there is legit promise. We’ll see how much promise shows right away…
RB Kye Robichaux
With the power backs ahead of him on the depth chart, Isiah Pacheco and Sione Vaki, each out with injury, Robichaux gets a chance to show what he can do against a Bengals defense that was miserable against the run last year (5.2 YPC–31st) and earned the third-lowest PFF tackling grade (29.5). Robichaux offers zero subtlety as a runner, but he’s a load to bring down and has shown decent vision in training camp. That style should work against a Bengals defensive front that starts two smallish second-year LBs and is incorporating an overhauled DT spot.
WR Cedrick Wilson
WR Malik Cunningham
WR Tay Martin
Three for the price of one here, as this trio all appear to be competing for the same one (potential) roster spot of a depth receiver with some size.
Wilson is the savvy veteran of the bunch, and he’s had a very good summer. His leaping snag of Dobbs’ first throw in team drills on Tuesday is the blend of reliable hands and athleticism that commands attention. Wilson has also proven to be a solid run blocker.
Cunningham is still transitioning from college QB to NFL WR. The athletic ability is obvious, and his route-running has shown considerable improvement. He and Altmyer have developed a nice rapport in practices, and I’m interested to see if that translates to playing against a foreign defense for No. 15.
Martin earned unprompted praise from Dan Campbell before Tuesday’s practice for his playmaking and his special teams. True to Coach Campbell’s word, Martin dominated his 1-on-1 reps in practice and also scored a nice special teams win. No. 17 is making the most of what could be his final realistic NFL shot; the 28-year-old has bounced around practice squads for several years.
Technically, Tarik Black and Lucky Jackson are also in this rough grouping, but they appear to be trailing the trio entering the game — though that is certainly subject to changing quickly…and Jackson is coming off a strong practice week himself.
OL Miles Frazier
I’ve been a vocal advocate for Frazier since before the 2025 NFL Draft, when the Lions tabbed the LSU lineman in the fifth round. So it gives me no pleasure to report that Frazier’s progress, or lack thereof, has me openly wondering if he makes the team in 2026. Tuesday’s pit drill, where he lost all of his reps, was a microcosm of why he’s not had a promising summer.
No matter what position he’s playing–and Frazier has taken series of practice reps at every spot but center in camp–Frazier has been too stiff-legged and also slow with his recoil after his initial punch. His best reps in camp have come at right guard, though Frazier’s clearest path to making the roster appears to be as the fourth tackle who can sub in at guard in a pinch, a la Kayode Awosika the last few seasons. To this point in the offseason work, Frazier has not proven to be an upgrade over Awosika.
I’m also curious where the Lions have him playing initially in this game, because that’s a likely tip of their hand in how they view Frazier.
C Seth McLaughlin
It’s McLaughlin’s time to shine, against the team that he spent his rookie season of 2025 on their I.R., no less. Thrust into the starting center role because of injuries to Cade Mays and Juice Scruggs, McLaughlin has a golden opportunity to prove himself in Cincinnati. Can he handle the quickness and physicality of a group of Bengals DTs who are all locked in a fierce positional-sorting battle?
OG Melvin Priestly
An undrafted rookie, Priesty was Altmyer’s left tackle in college at Illinois. He’s bumped inside to guard, and the 6-foot-4, 316-pounder has quickly proven to have an NFL-caliber punch. Priestly was once guilty of over 20 penalties in a single college season, so I want to see clean enough technique to score some wins that are legal in the eyes of the NFL. Some of his early wins in training camp came sans officiating, and I want to see if that can persist. He’s been better than anticipated going against fellow Lions. Let’s see what No. 74 can do against some different cats…
DL Skyler Gill-Howard
DL Tyre West
To this point in training camp, I would not project either of the Lions’ Day 3 rookie DL to make the 53-man roster. That can certainly change, and a strong game in Cincinnati would be a nice place to start for both Gill-Howard and West.
Gill-Howard has shown some ability to win as an interior pass rusher, but it’s been inconsistent. No. 50 got dominated in a pit drill rep on Tuesday when he couldn’t win with his first step, a recurring theme. He’s extremely undersized (listed at 6-0/280 and that passes the eye test) for the role otherwise, so scoring wins as a disruptor on the inside is the only way Gill-Howard really contributes.
Aside from one nice series in team drills over a week ago and one pit drill win on the first day in pads, West has been completely invisible on the third-team defense. Time is running out in a crowded field for both, in a group that also includes Mekhi Wingo, Ben Stille and Myles Adams, all sub-300-pound DL who all appear to be fighting for no more than 2 roster spots, if even two.
LB Devin White
A recent signee, White has simultaneously shown why he was once an All-Pro off-ball backer and why he’s now on his fifth team in a little over two years. He’s the fastest LB the Lions have had in years, and White’s ability to close on the ball is very impressive. White’s block avoidance has been better than advertised, too. I’ve loved watching his willingly coachable intensity in practices, as well.
But then there’s the coverage. My God, the coverage! He still hasn’t seen a play-fake from any Lions QB that he won’t bite hard on, and the missile-like straight-line speed becomes a serious detriment for White when the receiver (or TE or RB) isn’t also running straight. That’s what got No. 45 quickly run out of good defenses in Philadelphia and Houston. To his credit, White’s tackling–also an issue in prior stops–has been sharp thus far in Lions camp.
With Malcolm Rodriguez still sidelined, White is putting his best foot forward to seize that spot as the early-down LB when the Lions put a third backer in. How he performs under the lights against a different type of offense could say a lot about White’s eventual role in Detroit.
LB Erick Hunter
The undrafted rookie from Morgan State gets better every day. Just ask Dan Campbell–and we did prior to Tuesday’s practice. I’ll let Campbell’s answer set the table for the incredibly athletic Hunter for Thursday night,
“It’s better every day, gets better every day. And really his deficiencies come because he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know yet, just from where he came from. I mean, he learns something new every day that he’s just never known, never been taught, no idea. And that comes sometimes playing in a smaller school. But man, he’s athletic and he takes notes, he listens, he works his tail off in practice. And every day he’s kind of another one of those guys that makes plays every day. And he certainly makes plays every day in special teams. Every day he’s making a block or he’s making a tackle. And you just see growth on defense. You see growth. So, we like him. He’ll be another one, excited to see him play.”
Special attention to special teams with Hunter, as the Lions have an odd surplus of special-teams-only vet LBs (Damone Clark, Joe Bachie, Troy Reeder, Amen Ogbongboniga) on the roster. Hunter will need to prove them all expendable to advance higher than the practice squad in 2026.
CB Ennis Rakestraw
He’s healthy and seeing a combination of first-team and second-team reps both inside and outside, as the Lions hope to finally see what they’ve got in their 2024 second-round pick. Training camp hasn’t really revealed a defined answer, unfortunately.
In my eyes, Rakestraw has been better in camp in the slot than outside. But a strong set of reps in one-on-ones this week, including a wonderfully patient shutdown of Jameson Williams on Tuesday, shows “Rake” still has potential outside.
Getting through a full game healthy–I expect him to play a lot–and positively contributing in run defense and in coverage that isn’t press (he’s much better pressing than not) would go a long way for Rakestraw’s chances.
CB Roger McCreary
Over the weekend, I wrote this about McCreary’s camp to that point:
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.
After two more humdrum days of practice, that concluding sentence seems even more pertinent. He’s the type of veteran who could want to be released after this game if his writing on the wall doesn’t read more positively in Detroit, in hopes of quickly latching on somewhere else. Yet a strong night against Cincy’s starters can immediately rewrite McCreary’s story with the Lions, too.
S Thomas Harper
Harper had a very nice Monday in practice and followed it up with a better Tuesday, picking off a Jared Goff pass by being savvy and quick to the ball. No. 12 has seen work at multiple safety spots (box, single-high, slot) and acquitted himself nicely. Harper has been more up-and-down on special teams, which leaves the door open for Loren Strickland or (more likely) Dan Jackson to threaten him. Come for Harper’s defensive work, stay for his special teams work if he gets any in Cincinnati.
