ALLEN PARK >> There are no questions at the top of the Detroit Lions‘ depth chart at safety.

Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph were spectacular in 2024, with the former earning his first Pro Bowl nod and the latter receiving All-Pro distinction as a member of the first team. The pieces behind that tandem, however, are in flux, with Ifeatu Melifonwu in March leaving for the Miami Dolphins.

Melifonwu, though he dealt with injuries, was the Lions‘ top option under Branch and Joseph. Avonte Maddox, a Detroit King product who signed with the Lions earlier this offseason after spending seven campaigns with the Philadelphia Eagles, is primed to take over in that role.

With elite personnel up and down the roster — general manager Brad Holmes has built a team lacking many glaring holes — there’s likely only one spot left available at safety on Detroit’s 53-man roster (two, if they’re lucky), and there are a handful of contenders hoping to complement Branch, Joseph and Maddox: Erick Hallett II, Dan Jackson, Ian Kennelly, Morice Norris and Loren Strickland.

“We’ve got five guys fighting for their NFL lives,” safeties coach Jim O’Neil said May 15. “It’s going to be highly competitive.”

Norris and Strickland were signed as undrafted free agents in 2024 out of Fresno State and Ball State, respectively, and they stuck around with the Lions during their rookie seasons. Norris started on the practice squad but was moved to the active roster late in the season. He played 21 defensive snaps in Detroit’s divisional round game against the Washington Commanders after he logged just one defensive rep (and 33 on special teams) during the regular season.

Strickland, meanwhile, made Detroit’s initial roster following training camp, but he was waived and signed to the practice squad in December. He never appeared in a game defensively, though he did register 78 snaps on special teams.

“I’m just looking to see where his jump goes (in) Year 2,” O’Neil said of Strickland. “Because, usually, as a football player, that’s your biggest jump, is going from Year 1 to Year 2.”

Another UDFA, though in a different draft class, is Kennelly, the Grand Valley State standout who was a member of the GLIAC’s all-conference teams in 2023 and 2024. Kennelly, an unranked prospect in the Class of 2019 out of Utica Eisenhower, was invited to Detroit’s local Pro Day in April. O’Neil said Kennelly “crushed it,” and special-teams coordinator Dave Fipp and head coach Dan Campbell gravitated over asking, “Who is this kid?”

The kid, who O’Neil tabbed as a “great developmental player right now,” was someone who posted 180 tackles, 19 pass breakups and eight interceptions over his 49-game career at Grand Valley State. He also recovered three fumbles and forced two more.

“We went back and we watched some of the tape, and some of the stuff we saw at the local day was showing up; physical, could run, could obviously track the ball,” O’Neil said. “So, we’ve been impressed with him. He’s in a little bit of a blender right now, mentally, because of how much defense we’ve thrown at him and what he’s used to at Grand Valley. But when we’re in the position drills, you can see the athletic ability, (and) you can see him track a ball.”

Hallett and Jackson were both drafted, with Hallett coming off the board to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round in 2023 and Jackson being picked by the Lions as a seventh-rounder in 2024. Hallett, signed to the practice squad last August following the Jaguars waiving him, has yet to appear in an NFL game, though he impressed during his five collegiate seasons at Pittsburgh. He was a semifinalist in 2022 for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the country’s top defensive back.

Jackson was one of college football’s best stories last season. He became a starter on Georgia’s star-studded defense in his sixth year with the Bulldogs, and that was after he initially began as a walk-on in 2019. He’s known for his hard hits and abilities on special teams, which will be huge for whoever makes Detroit’s roster; that fourth safety needs to be tied to Fipp’s hip during training camp.

“We talk about grit around here, there’s probably not a player that’s kind of gone through more of that in his college career than this guy,” O’Neil said of Jackson. “… He was kind of the alpha in the back seven (at Georgia) that did most of the communication. Very, very football smart. Got to make sure he’s not thinking too much, because, again, we’ve thrown a lot at him, and we’ve done that on purpose to kind of force some of these guys to sink or swim. But I’ve liked what he’s shown out there so far in the week that we’ve had him.”

The fourth safety on Detroit’s roster won’t be at the top of many’s minds, but the five-man race for that spot is on, and it’ll only ratchet up, with offseason team activities (OTAs) beginning Wednesday and training camp less than two months away.

“We’ve got five young, unproven, hungry guys. There’s one spot. Go earn it,” O’Neil said. “It’s exciting to see those guys compete. … We’re waiting on one of them to pop. Hopefully, two or three of them pop and we end up in a great situation.”