Grading Lions' 2022 53-Man Roster

The Detroit Lions' initial 53-man roster for the 2022 season has officially been released. And with it, comes both some highly expected and rather surprising decisions.

In one of the more shocking moves, second-year running back Jermar Jefferson was kept on the roster, instead of recent free-agent acquisition Justin Jackson.

Jackson, who played the first four years of his career with the L.A. Chargers, outperformed Jefferson all preseason long. He accumulated 109 yards on 18 carries in three exhibition contests, equating to an average of about 6.0 yards per carry. He rushed for a game-high 54 yards in Week 2 of the preseason against the Indianapolis Colts. Plus, he produced a game-high 44 rushing yards in Detroit's preseason finale this past Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Meanwhile, Jefferson rushed for 72 yards on 22 carries during the preseason (just 3.3 yards per attempt).

When looking at the rest of the Lions' season-opening roster, the team appears to be weak at backup quarterback (David Blough) and on the defensive side of the ball, specifically at linebacker and in the secondary.

I don't exactly trust the team's linebacking unit, spearheaded by Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez. It doesn't exactly possess a bonafide play-making linebacker. 

Rodriguez, a sixth-round pick of the Lions this year, has been a preseason darling, however, and perhaps can grow into that type of linebacker with time. 

Additionally, Detroit doesn't possess a ton of great depth at either cornerback or safety. The verdict is still out on what third-year pro Jeff Okudah can do starting opposite Amani Oruwariye. 

Also, there's a huge question mark about what the Lions will get out of the safety position, after you move past Tracy Walker III on the depth chart.

Those concerns are enough to question the strength of the Lions' defense heading into the start of the '22 campaign.  

Despite all of that being said, Detroit's roster is still vastly improved -- especially at wide receiver and EDGE rusher (via the addition of 2022 No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson) -- when compared to last season's.

At this juncture, I'm willing to give the Lions' initial 53-man roster a "B" grade.