Two guys who tried out at the rookie minicamp last week—wide receiver Kaden Davis and tight end Parker Hesse—were signed by the Detroit Lions on Monday.
As an undrafted free agent, Davis joined the Denver Broncos in 2022 and played a portion of the season on the practice squad. He averaged 25.9 yards on kickoff returns while playing for the Michigan Panthers last season, when he caught eight passes for 83 yards in five games.
Hesse played in 28 games for the Atlanta Falcons in 2022–2023 with eight starts. He transferred to Iowa to play defensive line in college before switching to tight end in the NFL. With two spaces available on their roster of ninety men, the Lions came to training thin at tight end and receiver.
The Lions had just two other tight ends under contract: undrafted free agent Isaac Rex and Shane Zylstra. They also lost their top three tight ends from the previous season, Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, and James Mitchell.
The Lions need more depth at receiver behind starters Kalif Raymond, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jameson Williams. This autumn, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Antoine Green are anticipated to compete for playing time.
In a radio interview last week on WXYT-FM (97.1), general manager Brad Holmes played down worries over the No. 3 receiver post. “We feel really good about the upside and the development of the guys that we currently have,” Holmes stated.
That’s not to suggest we won’t make any additions. This is a position where you have to kind of add a person here or there when attrition occurs because those guys put a lot of yardage on the field, especially when camp rolls around. However, we are quite pleased with the guys we have.”
