The Detroit Lions officially closed out their offseason program this week, with the team holding its final practice of organized team activities after finishing up their three-day mandatory minicamp the week prior.
Detroit actually saw its offseason program shortened by a day after the team had to forfeit one of its last practices of OTAs because of a rules violation that had to do with on-field physical contact the week of May 27.
With the offseason program in the books, the Lions will now get a month-plus break before training camp begins in late July.
With that in mind, we're taking a look at a starting defense projection. First, we'll provide our projection, and then we'll dig into the details beneath that.
Lions starting defense projection
DE: Aidan Hutchinson
DT: Alim McNeill
DT: D.J. Reader
DE: Marcus Davenport
LB: Alex Anzalone
LB: Jack Campbell
CB1: Carlton Davis
CB2: Terrion Arnold
CB3 (slot): Amik Robertson
S: Brian Branch
S: Kerby Joseph
Analysis
No surprises along the defensive line or at linebacker. Campbell is having a great offseason so far and was a standout at minicamp, notching a pair of interceptions during one of the practices. He was also getting first-team reps over Derrick Barnes.
As expected, Arnold was lining up opposite Davis in practice, so those two are the clear favorites to start on the boundary. It remains to be seen if Detroit will actually move Branch to safety full time, or if he'll be there part time or at all, but the Lions made it clear they're at least looking for him to play there more in 2024.
For now, we have Branch going to safety, which opens the door for Robertson or Ennis Rakestraw Jr. to play in the slot. Considering the rookie was limited during the spring and Robertson was seeing reps in the slot with Branch sidelined and has more experience overall, it only makes sense to give the nod to the veteran there.
With Branch at safety, that knocks Ifeatu Melifonwu to a backup role, which gives the Lions a significant boost to their depth at the position. Bear in mind, there will be sub packages that will change things up, but if we're picking a starting 11 based on what we saw and heard at minicamp, this is the group we'd roll with.
