The Detroit Lions’ first preseason game of the 2026 season is in the books, and it’s time to check in on the players who helped or hurt their stock against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Attendance
The Lions rested 32 players (including 18 starters) along with another three on injury lists (PUP/NFI).
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Let’s take a quick look at the roster with our game-day depth chart, noting that the players without a position color did not play in this game. Additionally, if a player’s name is written in red, they came into the game injured; if they were injured during the game, their name is boxed in black.
Quarterback
Stats:
If you didn’t watch the game and only looked at the box score, you’d be pretty underwhelmed by the Lions quarterbacks’ performances, but of course, stats don’t tell the whole story.
Altmyer got the start and played roughly two-thirds of offensive snaps, and while his numbers show below-average plays, the moment never looked too big for him. Yes, he made mistakes you’d expect from an undrafted rookie, but he was efficient from a communications standpoint, stayed poised in the pocket, and trusted his teammates—even after being let down on previous plays.
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You can also give Altmyer a bit of grace on his turnovers, as the first interception bounced off Issac TeSlaa to a defender, the second pick was a result of him forcing the issue late in the game trying to make a play (though he did sail the ball too high), and the fumble was due to a wet ball on the handoff. Those are errors he’ll need to overcome if he wants to make the 53-man roster, but as coach Dan Campbell pointed out after the game, they also present learning opportunities.
“I thought Luke did a really good job for a young guy,” Campbell said. “I’ve got to be careful; I don’t want to give him too much sugar and tea time. But what you see in practice—the composure, not too big for him, the accuracy, those deep balls—he’s got a touch about them. I felt like he showed up. The mistakes that he did make, they’re great. You have to have those to learn from, in any position, but especially his. I felt like it was a good debut for him.”
Running back
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Stock down: Kye Robichaux
In the battle for RB4, Saylors took a massive step forward on Thursday night, leading the team in rushing attempts, yards, average yards per carry, receptions, and receiving yards. He got involved in the offense in a variety of ways, was decisive as a runner, looked shifty in his movement, and produced results on different routes. A very complete game overall.
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“He was probably our most potent player on offense, Campbell said of Saylors post-game. “He made a lot of plays for us. He’s a steady workhorse.”
Blackshear showed some promise that is worth investing in—including a sweet 24-yard run—while Robichaux continues to look strong as a downhill runner, but doesn’t offer much beyond that.
Wide receiver
While Campbell continues to hype the receiving room, I feel like I am continually left wanting more. Maybe I’m spoiled by getting to watch Amon-Ra and Jamo so often, but there’s room to grow for everyone who played on Thursday night.
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TeSlaa’s rough preseason continued against the Bengals. He was targeted three times, failed to catch a pass, and one bounced off his helmet, deflected in the air, and led to an interception. Campbell insists that he isn’t worried and that TeSlaa will “be fine,” but he needs to start stacking wins soon if he hopes to be involved in the offense early in the season.
“I remember what those days were like. You want everything to come early; you can come into your second season and place a lot of pressure on yourself. You want to be great. Just stay the course,” Campbell empathized after the game.
In the race for WR5, Dominic Lovett and Tay Martin got the first (and most) opportunities on the field amongst the reserves, but it was Lovett who took a bigger step forward. While Martin hauled in his only target for 14 yards, Lovett was targeted eight times (catching three for 28 yards), illustrating his ability to get open quickly in his routes.
Veterans Tom Kennedy and Malik Cunningham each had one reception, but both look like they may be falling behind in the competition for a roster spot.
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Tight end
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Stock down: Thomas Gordon, Zach Horton
Conklin and Meeks got the start, with the veteran securing two receptions and the WR-convert producing a 17-yard reception, picking up 16 of those yards after the catch. Meeks was believed to be in a competition with Thomas for a TE4 role, but Meeks was clearly favored by the coaching staff in this game and looks to be ahead.
Offensive line
Offensive line is the hardest group to evaluate during a live game—which is why the second unit almost all landed in the “neutral” group—but the main takeaway I had from watching this game was that most of the Bengals’ pressure was generated up the middle and not on the edges, a good sign for Miller and Borom.
Frazier landed in my stock down section because of three holding penalties in the first half while playing right guard, but I considered moving him out of this section after he looked solid at left tackle in the second half. McLaughlin also landed in the down section after an up-and-down performance and what I saw as a few communication issues, but he flashed some good reps that point to potential improvement over the next two weeks/games. It also didn’t help that Niese, his depth competition, looked solid with the second team.
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Defensive tackle
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Stock up: Skyler Gill-Howard*, Chris Smith
One of the big winners of the night was rookie Gill-Howard, who continues to ascend up the depth chart. While he is currently repping third or fourth at the 3-technique, he is getting mixed in with the second team and making plays when given the opportunity. On the night, he had two of the defense’s top-5 plays, both drive-ending plays: generating a pressure on fourth down that resulted in intentional grounding, and running down QB Josh Johnson on third down to stop him short of the sticks. He also added in a pressure/QB hit for good measure.
“Watching Skyler (Gill-Howard) get to the quarterback there, it was a critical fourth down to get the offense the ball. That takes a tremendous amount of effort, but that’s what is expected; that was awesome,” Campbell said post-game.
Fellow rookie, West, saw just four snaps in the game and has a lot of work to do to get in reach of a roster spot.
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Defensive end
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Stock up: Ahmed Hassanein, Anthony Lucas*, Eric O’Neill*
The no-doubt, biggest winner of this preseason game was Hassanein, who Campbell called “disruptive” in his post-game presser, and that somehow seems to undersell the edge rusher’s performance.
The first play Hassanein stepped on the field resulted in him beating the Bengals’ starting offensive line with a dip/effort move inside and sacking quarterback Joe Burrow. He followed that up with another quarterback hit in the next series, and then got another sack later in the game which resulted in a fumble.
“Just the way Ahmed (Hassanein) played, the things he’s able to do, you felt like it would translate, certainly with this preseason. It was good to see; it was maximum effort. He’s been disruptive, and he’s going to learn from this,” Campbell said.
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Lucas and O’Neill had impressive NFL debuts, flashing against the Bengals second team and showing more athleticism than anticipated. There are traits worth developing here.
Linebacker
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Stock neutral: Erick Hunter, Amen Ogbongbeniga
With the starters resting, White and Nowaske got the start, with White operating at the WILL and Nowaske opening as the MIKE, later shifting to SAM in base formations. Both look like they are on the right side of the roster bubble and are the leading candidates for the LB4 and LB5 roles. Additionally, while neither played special teams in this game, I see that as a positive sign that they know what they have in these two and gave those reps to players fighting for a spot.
Among the veterans, Bachie is ahead of Reeder, but neither did anything to separate them from the rest of the pack, despite both showing well in training camp practices.
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Cornerback
Whiteside and Abney each made impact plays and showed real promise to be able to contribute as they continue to develop. Whiteside showed good recovery skills to force a pass breakup after he was beat, while Abney also got a PBU and tracked down a fumble recovery in the first half.
Rakestraw continues to leave you wanting more. Not only was he injured and forced from the game early—he’ll reportedly be ok—but he gave up multiple receptions. He did have a nice pass breakup, working through the arms of the receiver, but it may have been the only positive play that stood out in this game for him.
McCreary was first up to replace Rakestraw after his injury, but he quickly gave way to Dorsey and played well into the fourth quarter. It looked like an up-and-down performance to me, though it’s worth noting that he did get praised by Campbell after the game.
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Safety
Harper looked very solid at safety in this game, starting at one spot opposite Clark—who only got his feet wet in this game—then shifting between the safety spots when playing with the reserves. Izien saw limited snaps at nickel (starter) and safety (reserve) in this game as he continues to get mixed in all over the field.
Strickland looked overaggressive at times and eventually exited with an injury, while Brown was injured and returned, but he failed to stand out. Jackson was the last safety on the field, but did end up getting quite a bit of snaps as he replaced Strickland.
Specialists
Bates successfully kicked from 46—which was nullified by a penalty—41, and 52 yards, as this trio looked sharp.
