Pressers and scrums: OC Ben Johnson offers insight on WR3 and TE3 competitions

Allen Park — It’s taken a little getting used to, but there just aren’t many starting jobs up for grabs on the Detroit Lions’ roster. In terms of camp competitions, we’ve mostly been monitoring the battles for backup and rotational roles.

But one job that remains in flux is the third receiver position, to complement All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown and breakout candidate Jameson Williams. Even though the team ranked in the bottom half of the league in three-wide sets in 2023, they still utilized 11 personnel more than 60% of the time last season.

If you asked me a month ago — and someone did in my final mailbag for the Detroit News — Kalif Raymond was the front-runner. Listening to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson Thursday morning explain football IQ and reliability as the top items on the checklist, it’s easy to understand why Raymond gets the vote.

But Johnson added one more trait, more of a wish list item, that would be an ideal addition to WR3’s profile.

“If we had to be picky, we want a little bit of length, just so it rounds out those three guys that we’re anticipating entering the season with,” Johnson said.

That explains why the Lions re-signed Donovan Peoples-Jones this offseason, and more relevant to recent developments, given Daurice Fountain extended opportunities with the first-team offense. They both bring that length, the ability to high-point the football and win jump-ball situations.

But can they be as reliable and consistent as Raymond? That remains to be seen. Fountain, who appears to be ahead of Peoples-Jones at the moment, is having a strong camp, but also had one glaringly bad day with a couple drops. He’s since bounced back, but the Lions are tracking it all as they search for the right solution.

“We’re charting every single day who’s the most reliable, mental errors, who’s catching the ball, who’s dropping the ball,” Johnson said. “These guys see it, they get the feedback every single day. They know what’s going on. They know they’re in the midst of the battle right now.”

Even a leader emerges through the remainder of camp and the preseason, the role will likely be shared. Williams, Raymond and Marvin Jones, before the team parted ways ways with him early in the season, all saw at least 15% of the offensive snaps. Antoine Green, a seventh-round pick who is on the fringes of the current conversation, could still easily best his 9.0% workload from a year ago, as well.

● Another battle, but one that might not have the same week-to-week impact during the regular season, is the third tight end spot behind Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright.

Johnson raved about the options on the roster, calling it the best tight end room he’s been around in 13 years. He noted the team is putting a premium on versatility in their search for a complement to the top of the depth chart.

“That room, the competition is lights out right now,” Johnson said. “In terms of the third spot, I think coach (Dan) Campbell, myself, (GM) Brad (Holmes), that spot needs to be able to wear a ton of hats because you just don’t know. You got LaPorta with his skillset, you got Wright with his skillset, and that third spot needs to be smart enough to fill in either spot if need be.

“So the versatility is at a premium. (Special teams coordinator Dave) Fipp certainly needs help there on special teams, and so that plays a part also. But we need a smart player that can wear multiple hats. It’s a bonus if we can get some backfield work, if he can do some fullback-type jobs, or if he can split out wide. The more you can do increases your value right there.”

Any of the remaining options could end up the choice. Former fifth-round pick James Mitchell has been the guy the past two years, but he’s being pushed by Shane Zylstra, who is a more dynamic pass-catcher, and Parker Hesse, the block-first veteran who drew praise for his showing in the early padded practices from Campbell.

● Johnson was complimentary of some of the young depth battling for offensive line jobs, both on the roster and the practice squad. One who netted particularly strong praise was undrafted rookie Kingsley Eguakun

“Kingsley’s a guy that stands out,” Johnson said. “He’s doing a great job at center. We load our guys down, our center’s down, so he’s able to make the calls. He’s also cross-training at guard, he’s doing a really nice job.”

The 6-foot-3, 307-pounder was hindered by an ankle injury his final season at Florida, but had a string of 26 starts prior to that. During the entirity of his college career, he allowed just one sack.

● Asked about the performance of the run game through the early stages of camp, Johnson instead turned the spotlight on Detroit’s blossoming defensive line.

“Shoot, I think our defensive front’s going to be pretty darn good is what I think,” he said. “After two days, we’ve had more runs stuffed than what we have had in the past few training camps.”

Johnson raved about Alim McNeill’s ability to anchor, while guard Kevin Zeitler doubled down on the praise, also extending it to Levi Onwuzurike.

“I think we’re gonna have two $20 million+ d-tackles soon, the way they’re playing right now,” Zeitler said.

At this rate, McNeill absolutely has a chance to earn that kind of contract. Meanwhile, Onwuzurike might having a $20 million camp, but obviously has so much to prove, in terms of both availability and production, before anyone is going to commit a multi-year deal at even a fraction of that annual average value.

To be fair, Zeitler’s comments came on the heels of Onwuzurike giving him fits on the field.

● Last season, the Lions safeties played more traditional strong and free roles. In camp, they’ve been playing sides and adjusting their assignment based on the alignment of the offensive personnel that snap, according to Ifeatu Melifonwu.

That’s great for cross-training and evaluation, but it doesn’t mean the Lions won’t eventually end up slotting their three starting safety options — Melifonwu, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph — back into specific assignments that best fit their skill sets, instead of allowing the offense to dictate what they do.

● To address some injury-related depth concerns, the Lions signed defensive end Pat O’Connor and offensive lineman Jake Burton ahead of Thursday’s practice. If O’Connor sounds familiar, it’s because he was a seventh-round pick for the team in 2017, after playing collegiately at Eastern Michigan.

He never appeared in a game for the Lions, but went on to spend seven seasons in Tampa Bay, appearing in 68 games for the franchise. His biggest role for the Buccaneers was on special teams.

● The Lions announced former wide receiver Golden Tate will join play-by-play voice Jason Ross Jr. and sideline reporter Dannie Rogers on the preseason broadcast team. Tate will serve as an analyst.

"When I signed with the Lions 10 years ago, I remember being impressed with the vision of the organization, and now I'm blown away by it," Tate said in a statement. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the preseason broadcasts with Jason and Dannie to tell the stories of this Super Bowl-caliber group and share my experiences with the fans."

Tate spent the better part of five seasons in Detroit and had the best production of his 11-year career, tallying 416 receptions for 4,741 and 22 touchdowns in 71 games.