Stock report: Lions' rookie receivers keep rising, backup QBs remain on opposite trajectories
Detroit — Here are the players trending up, down or holding steady coming out of Saturday’s preseason game with the Miami Dolphins.
Stock up: Quarterback Kyle Allen
Allen is grabbing the brass ring. The veteran joined the Lions as something of an afterthought; more a device to push Hendon Hooker than someone who could unseat the incumbent. Allen continues to make a decisive case that he’s the man who should back up Jared Goff.
It wasn’t as clean as last week’s showing, with a few misfires in the opening quarter. Still, Allen settled down to complete 14-of-17 for 124 yards and two touchdowns. He now has a passer rating of 147.9 over the past two games.
Regardless of how close things have appeared on the practice field between the two contenders for the role, if the games carry extra weight and Detroit runs a true meritocracy, there’s no debate about the winner.
Stock down: Quarterback Hendon Hooker
If you’re looking for excuses, Hooker was playing behind a third-string offensive line that included two players who signed this week and a struggling undrafted rookie at a new position. That’s a recipe for disaster, and the QB certainly dealt with his fair share of pressure.
Still, you’d hope Hooker could make at least a little lemonade with the lemons. Instead, he ate the same number of sacks as he had completions through his first five series, before he led a reasonably effective two-minute drive that ended with an unbelievable interception.