The Lions will likely give rookie first round pick Javhid Best every chance to win the starting job in training camp over Kevin Smith who disappointed them last year.  Best has the speed to go the distance every time he touches the ball but the Lions should have a hit count for him do to his size and past problems with concussions.  Still, Best has by far the most upside over any of the other backs on the Lions’ roster.

23-year old Kevin Smith isn’t going to give up his starting job without a fight.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for the Lions last season in which he carried the ball 217 times for 747 yards (3.4 ypc) with 4 TD grabs and he also caught 41 passes for 415 yards (10.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Smith was playing through injuries last season but that was no excuse for his performance.  Smith has now played in 29 games (25 starts) for the Lions and he has carried the ball 455 times for 1,723 yards (3.8 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He also has caught 80 passes for 701 yards (8.8 avg) with 1 TD grab with the Lions. 

30-year old Maurice Morris has always been a backup RB in the NFL and that will continue in 2010 for the Lions.  Morris played in 14 games (3 starts) for the Lions last season and he carried the ball 93 times for 384 yards (4.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 26 passes for 210 yards (8.1 avg) last season.   Morris has now played in 115 games (25 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 697 times for 2,996 yards (4.3 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 100 passes for 763 yards (7.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his NFL career.

24-year old Aaron Brown showed some promise as a rookie last year for the Lions.  Brown played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Lions last season and he carried the ball 27 times for 131 yards (4.9 ypc).  He also caught 9 passes for 84 yards (9.3 avg) with a TD grab and he returned 42 kickoffs for 951 yards (22.6 avg).  Look for Brown to help out in 2010 as a backup RB and special teams player.

25-year old De De Dorsey has signed on with the Lions.  He last played in a regular season game in 2008 with the Bengals.  Dorsey has played in 29 games (2 starts) in his three years in the NFL in which he has carried the ball 26 times for 191 yards (7.3 ypc).  He has also caught 6 passes for 68 yards (11.3 avg) in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS RBs in 2010:  C

The Lions have signed 26-year old kicker Justin Medlock.  Medlock has played in 1 game in his NFL career (2007 with the Chiefs) and he connected on 1 of 2 field goals good for three points.  The Lions likely signed Medlock to help limit Jason Hanson’s workload in training camp and the pre-season which is a good idea as Hanson’s getting up there in age.

UPDATE:  (6/29/2010) – The Lions have released Justin Medlock.

22-year old Matt Stafford showed glimpses of huge potential last season when he wasn’t getting drilled in the backfield.  He also showed incredible toughness against the Browns going back in at the end of the game with a separated shoulder and then completing the game winning two point conversion with a pass.  Stafford played in 10 games as a rookie for the Lions last year and he completed 201 of 377 passes (53.3%) for 2,267 yards with 13 TD passes and 20 INTs (61.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 108 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career.  Stafford was 2-8 (20%) last season as a starting QB for the Lions.  I don’t say this often about a player but Stafford reminded me a lot last season of a young John Elway.  Hopefully the Lions put a line around him to protect him so that his career isn’t cut short.

30-year old Shaun Hill was acquired from the Niners for a 7th round pick and he will be a huge upgrade behind Stafford.  Hill played in 6 games for the 49ers last season and he completed 87 of 155 passes (56.1%) for 943 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  Hill also carried the ball 8 times for 70 yards (8.8 ypc) last season for the Niners.  Hill has now played in 19 games in his NFL career and he has completed 322 of 522 passes (61.7%) for 3,490 yards with 23 TD passes and 11 INTs (87.3 QB Rating).  Hill has also carried the ball 46 times for 197 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Hill might not have the strongest arm around but he knows how to win as evidenced by his 10-6 (62.5%) career record as a starting QB.

26-year old Drew Stanton is lucky that he went to Michigan State or the Lions would have gotten rid of him by now.  He played in 4 games for the Lions last season and he completed 26 of 51 passes (51%) for 259 yards with 0 TD passes and 6 INTs (26.1 QB Rating).  Stanton also carried the ball 9 times for 33 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run last season.  Stanton has now played in 7 games in his career with the Lions and he has completed 35 of 68 passes (51.5%) for 378 yards with 1 TD pass and 6 INTs (36.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  Stanton is 0-1 as the starting QB for the Lions.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS QBs in 2010:  B-