Top candidates to be the Detroit Lions' training camp and preseason fan favorite in 2025

USA Today

14-07-2025

There's one every year, and this year's could very well come from this list...
It happens every summer. No Detroit Lions training camp is complete without it. And it is bound to happen again when Lions camp kicks off later this month in Allen Park.
One Lions player will emerge as the training camp darling. The apple of the fans' eyes. The roster hopeful that the masses rally behind and exaggeratedly cheer during practices and preseason games. Make no mistake, it's going to happen in 2025.
But who will it be?
That's not an easy question in 2025. Some of that is due to the fact the Lions have a pretty well-established roster. There are legitimately only a handful of spots up for grabs, and many of those are being fought out by veterans or recent draftees. For the ghost of Andrew Peacock, Tommy Kraemer, Cole Wick, Kalil Pimpleton, Starling Thomas, Beau Benzschawel, Adrian Martinez, et al to appear in 2025, it's going to take some powerful conjuring from the fan base. There are some candidates, however.
And no, Tom Kennedy can't count as a candidate anymore as he enters his seventh season in Detroit...
In alphabetical order, these are early choices for the players who will become fan favorites during the upcoming Lions training camp and preseason.
DaRon Gilbert
Gilbert had some moments last summer as an undrafted rookie linebacker blessed with a lot of speed and upbeat energy. It helps Gilbert's cause that he's a local; Gilbert is from Brother Rice High School and brought with him a vociferous hometown cheering section to practices.
A safety in college at Lafayette and then Northern Illinois, Gilbert is remaking himself as a coverage-oriented linebacker. He's got the speed and twitch for it, though his hands are not ready for primetime. Gilbert is capable of making plays in the passing game that other LBs on the Lions cannot, and that sets him up nicely to earn some fans in camp.
Ahmed Hassanein
I struggle with the idea of putting a drafted rookie on here, but after watching Hassanein through a handful of rookie camp practices and OTAs, it's darn near impossible to not see his incredible fan appeal. Detroit is going to love Hassanein. A former Egyptian CrossFit champ as a youth, Hassanein is relatively new to football. That shows in his game from time to time, no doubt. But the sixth-rounder from Boise State's college tape was littered with hustle plays and a magnetic energy, and that has shown throughout the spring in Detroit. That Detroit has a considerable Middle Eastern population and he proudly represents his father's home country (Hassanein is a native-born American), can definitely get a major group of fans behind Hassanein.
More: Dan Campbell likes what he sees from Lions rookie Ahmed Hassanein
Ian Kennelly
Kennelly checks a couple of boxes right away for a camp darling. He's a local (Utica Eisenhower HS) and a small-school phenom (Grand Valley State). Other than pure straight-line speed, Kennelly is also the most athletically gifted safety on a roster that has some pretty impressive athletes, too. In college, Kennelly was a very active playmaker who also wasn't afraid to go for the killshot from time to time. That's about as Detroit fan-friendly as you can ask for...
Colby Sorsdal
Sorsdal has a shot to win the fans over with a different sort of angle than the others here. A 2023 fifth-round pick from William & Mary, Sorsdal's first two seasons have been frustratingly underwhelming. He's bounced from tackle to guard and back again, and now appears to be in the mix to replace Frank Ragnow (or backup Ragnow's replacement) at center in his third year. Sorsdal is an eminently likeable guy who still has a chance to morph into a feel-good project, and he's closer in that regard than fellow 2023 draft disappointment (to this point) Brodric Martin.
Anthony Tyus
Another undrafted rookie with local ties, Tyus is a big running back from Portage Northern HS in the Kalamazoo area (and Ohio University and Northwestern collegiately). Tyus brings size and attitude (though not a lot of speed) as a runner; he's got some Joique Bell to his style, not fun to try and tackle and also blessed with surprisingly soft hands as a receiver. It's easy to see the affable Tyus winning a lot of fans with a 12-carry, 77-yard performance in the Hall of Fame Game, or delivering a boss-like stiff-arm to a Dolphins defender in a joint practice.
Raequan Williams
Williams brings the "oh yeah, I remember that guy" angle to Lions camp. A former standout defensive lineman at Michigan State, Williams is trying to resurrect his NFL career after not playing in the league since 2021. Williams looked to be in the best shape of his football life over the spring, earning a spot on the 90-man roster and with a threatening chnace to usurp some players ahead of him on the Detroit depth chart. Michigan State Spartan fans haven't had a lot of Lions representation recently, and Williams has the potential to harness that green and white energy in Honolulu Blue.