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One thing you can count on with the Detroit Lions is that they are never, ever boring. Follow the latest news including injuries, roster moves and more here daily from Oakland Press beat writer Paula Pasche. Plus you'll find regular commentary about the team.

6/18/2013

Detroit Lions: Top five position battles looming


 (Until training camp starts at the end of July, Lions Lowdown will post five times a week using the list format.)

 With more turnover in all three phases than last season, training camp will feature good competition. Here are the top five competitive positions.

1. Right cornerback opposite Chris Houston. Darius Slay was drafted in the second round, but he’s not been 100 percent yet due to knee surgery. He should be ready to go by training camp where he will battle veteran Ron Bartell and three corners who were rookies last season — Bill Bentley, Jonte Green and Chris Greenwood.

2. Linebacker to replace Justin Durant who was not re-signed. Expect Ashlee Palmer to have the edge due to experience but he’ll have to fight off second-year linebackers Travis Lewis and Tahir Whitehead.

3. Right tackle will be a battle between Corey Hilliard and Jason Fox. Hilliard has five starts in his career which is five more than Fox who is finally healthy.

4. Right guard is a toss-up right now. Bill Nagy should be a favorite but still hasn’t recovered from ankle injury last season. Strong contenders include Larry Warford, Leroy Harris, Jake Scott, LaAdrian Waddle and Austin Holtz.

5. Plenty of wide receivers on the roster, but it’s wide open after Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Ryan Broyles. If Patrick Edwards can stay healthy and has a training camp like last season he should nail down one of the spots. He was a standout at OTAs (organized team activities).

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)

1 Comments:

Blogger MilesMonkMingus said...

Is Raiola a lock at center or is there an opening for Nagy?

4:18 PM 

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