Under Dan Campbell, the Detroit Lions have become known for their play in the trenches. Thus, it was no surprise when Detroit drafted linemen on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball during the 2025 NFL Draft.
In the first round, the Lions drafted Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams with the 25th overall pick. Then, Detroit took University of Georgia offensive lineman Tate Ratledge with the 57th overall pick in the second round. Since both are already penciled in as starters, neither player suited up for the Hall of Fame game last week.
That said, it sounds like Campbell is considering playing both players on Friday against the Atlanta Falcons. According to Colton Pouncy of The Athletic, on Wednesday morning, Campbell said he would like to play the rookies, but a firm decision hadn't been made yet.
Dan Campbell says he'd like to play rookies Tyleik Williams and Tate Ratledge vs. the Falcons but hasn't made a firm decision yet.
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) August 6, 2025
Tate Ratledge & Tyleik Williams May Make Lions Preseason Debut on Friday
While Lions fans would have liked to see the two rookies play last week, it's understandable why they didn't. Neither the Lions nor the Los Angeles Chargers played a majority of their starters because the Hall of Fame game is typically used to see the rest of the depth chart. Having Williams and Ratledge play would have affected the Lions' evaluation of other players.
Be that as it may, both players could have benefited from seeing the field last week. Playing in the Hall of Fame game would have allowed Williams and Ratledge to start getting their bearings under them in live NFL action. Though that didn't happen, Campbell has the chance to do that this week and going forward.
Opting not to play them in the preseason would be a huge mistake, especially for Ratledge. The Georgia product made the switch from guard to center for Detroit. Despite practice reps being valuable, being the center during a game holds a lot more pressure than it does in practice.
Missing out on preseason reps, solely because the starters don't play, would put Ratledge behind entering Week 1, which would hurt the Lions' offense. Williams, on the other hand, would benefit from facing other offensive linemen who aren't his teammates.
Although the choice to play them may seem clear to Lions fans, monitoring the situation to see what Campbell decides is important.