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Ryan Broyles was on the bubble when camp opened. Now he leads the Lions in receiving yardage through two games. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jim Caldwell was pleased with Ryan Broyles' yards after the catch against Cleveland.

Then the Detroit Lions receiver one-upped himself against Oakland, taking a 2-yard pass and turning it into a nifty 34-yard gain after making a guy miss.

The play came on third-and-10, and turned what would have been a punt into a Nate Freese field goal to close the first half of Friday night's 27-26 loss against the Raiders.

"You're just happy for the kid," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "He's worked so hard, overcome so many injuries, just always kept the same attitude, the same positive demeanor -- and showed up and made some plays tonight."

Broyles is coming back from an Achilles tendon injury that ended his 2013 season after six games -- the third consecutive season-ending injury he has sustained, dating to his senior season at Oklahoma.

The former second-round pick looked like he was firmly on the roster bubble when camp opened, perhaps even on the wrong side of it. He was repping mostly with the reserves, and spent most of training camp on the "B" field when Detroit splits into two groups.

Yet he's looked good in practices, and now turned in two excellent performances in games. He had three catches for 27 yards against Cleveland, two of which achieved first downs. He had two catches for 42 yards against Oakland, both of which achieved first downs.

Halfway through the preseason, Broyles leads the Lions with 69 yards receiving and looks like a favorite to make the team.

"It feels good to go out there and not worry about your health or anything," Broyles said. "You can go out there and play ball with a free mind, so it's exciting."

Broyles' strong camp is creating a logjam at the position, which of course is a first-world problem.

Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate are safe, and Jeremy Ross provides enough on special teams to be considered safe as well. Beyond those guys, though, all bets are off on which guys earn the final two or three jobs.

Kevin Ogletree continues to rep with the first team, and has started both games. Kris Durham has started both games as well, in the place of Calvin Johnson, and pulled in an acrobatic touchdown pass against Oakland despite his man illegally applying hands to his face.

Corey Fuller caught the game-winner against Cleveland and continues to impress in practice. And of course, there's Broyles doing his thing.

At least one of those guys -- Ogletree, Durham, Fuller, Durham and Broyles -- will be out of a job, despite a strong camp. Possibly two. And that's not even including undrafted rookie Andrew Peacock, who actually leads the team in receptions (six).

"I think this is the deepest group of receivers that we've had since I've been here," Stafford said. "I'm confident in our coaches and the guys upstairs to make the right decisions at the appropriate times, but right now I'm having a bunch of fun throwing to all of them and watching them play."

Stafford is having a strong camp. He's completed 11 of his first 14 passes, despite two Reggie Bush drops, and sprayed those 11 completions to five pass-catchers. And he's done all of it without the luxury of Calvin Johnson.

This could indeed turn out to be the deepest receiver unit of Stafford's career. That makes roster cuts difficult, but is a first-world problem he'll happily take.