Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has been excited about the battle at the end of the wide receiver depth chart. However, it takes him a while before he mentions the name of the second-year draft pick Dominic Lovett.
As John Whiticar of Pride of Detroit points out, Lovett has hurt his roster chances in the preseason. Whiticar pointed out that Lovett only capitalizes on three of his eight targets, mostly due to drops.
“Lovett tied for the team lead in receiving with three catches for 28 yards, but he left a lot to be desired,” wrote Whiticar. “His three receptions came on a team-high eight targets, but the second-year receiver failed to haul in more than half of them, two of which were dropped.”
To make matters worse, his special teams impact was not impressive.
“He was largely unimpactful on special teams as well, bobbling one of his two punt returns,” added Whitcar. “Lovett is competing for both a wide receiver role and a special teams role, and given the competition at both, he needs to separate himself from the pack to justify a roster spot.”
Right now, it is easy to see his play in the preseason and the talk of Campbell and assume he is clearly outside of the roster bubble with a couple of weeks until roster cutdowns.
Detroit Lions Former Seventh Round Pick is Outside of Roster Bubble
GettyDominic Lovett #19 of the Detroit Lions
The top four receivers appear to be set on the roster. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are the big names. Isaac TeSlaa is expected to do big things in his second year, and Greg Dortch is sticking around because he will return kicks. He is also familiar with new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
It leaves one, but likely two, spots for a large group of wideouts.
Detroit signed Cedrick Wilson this offseason, and given that he has made a roster in every season since 2019, he is going to make things tough. Tom Kennedy has been with the Lions since 2019. While he was only active for six games last season, he has shown his value.
Tay Martin continues to get the praise of Dan Campbell for his work on offense and special teams. Beyond that, Tarik Black had a strong performance in the preseason with a 24-yard touchdown reception.
Considering all of this depth, Lovett is going to have a hard time making the roster.
Dominic Lovett Could Get Cut in Second NFL Season
Lovett was a seventh-round pick coming out of Georgia last season. He made the team as a rookie and was active for 12 games. However, he did not record a single catch and was only on the field for 14 offensive snaps. He was blocking for every snap.
He had 50 special teams snaps, but not as a return option, which gives him a path to the roster. However, Kennedy and Martin have flashed on special teams as well.
If Wilson takes the fifth job, the sixth job might come down to who is best on special teams between Kennedy, Martin, and Lovett. Of those three, Lovett has had the worst offseason. The draft status could carry him but he could be outside the roster.
Lions Second-Year Draft Pick Losing Roster Battle