ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions added nine players in the NFL draft, many of whom project to play right away. And that means there are some veterans who woke up Sunday very much on the hot seat.

Here’s a look at four players who have work to do to make the 53-man roster:

LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin: He’s been a square peg in a round hole since the arrival of Matt Patricia. He can fly, nobody disputes that, and there was a need for that speed in the previous defense. But Matt Patricia puts a premium on size in his system, and that’s especially true at linebacker, where the Lions spent big on Devon Kennard (256 pounds) last year and then drafted Jahlani Tavai (250 pounds) in the second round this year. Reeves-Maybin, on the other hand, is the smallest of Detroit’s eight linebackers at just 230 pounds. With starters like Jarrad Davis and Christian Jones also back, the linebacker mix is getting crowded and its unclear how Reeves-Maybin -- a smart, instinctual player who just doesn’t have the girth Detroit has targeted for the new system -- fits in.

TE Michael Roberts: Nobody questions the ability. There were days in training camp last year where he looked like Detroit’s best pass-catching tight end. But then there were days where he put too many balls on the ground and blew too many assignments. He scored three touchdowns last year, but also caught just nine passes overall and finished the season on injured reserve. The club is growing restless with the inconsistency, and Roberts is in danger of losing his roster spot in the Lions’ rebuilt tight end rotation. They spent big on Jesse James in free agency, then took T.J. Hockenson higher than anybody’s drafted a tight end since 2006. They weren’t done yet, either, adding Isaac Nauta in the seventh round and signing two more in undrafted free agency, including a 6-foot-8 pass-catcher out of Stetson named Donald Parham. Roberts is talented enough to earn a place on the roster, but he’s going to have to iron out the inconsistencies or he might find himself on the outside looking in.

CB Teez Tabor: He was always going to face a battle to make the team. That’s what happens when you barely play in Year 1, and play like one of the worst cornerbacks in the NFL in Year 2. Detroit was desperate for someone to step up in the secondary because of injuries, yet eventually had to bench Tabor anyway because he was so bad. Like, allowing-a-perfect-quarterback-rating-for-the-season bad. ProFootballFocus would have ranked him as the worst corner in the league, had he played enough snaps to qualify. Among the 196 cornerbacks who played at least one snap, only Davon House earned a worse grade (and Green Bay pulled the plug after 28 snaps). The Lions will do the smart thing and give Tabor one more offseason to develop. But with new additions aboard like Justin Coleman, Rashaan Melvin and now fifth-round pick Amani Oruwariye, he faces a difficult path ahead.

S Tavon Wilson: The Patriots drafted Wilson in the second round in 2012, when Bob Quinn was in their front office and Matt Patricia was calling their defense. Then Quinn came to Detroit in 2016, and his very first signing was -- yep, you guessed it. These guys like Wilson a lot, and he’s played an important role in a Patricia defense that leans heavily on big-safety packages. So it just wouldn’t be a surprise to see Wilson back in 2019. Then again, it seems like Quandre Diggs and Tracy Walker are headed for starting jobs. The Lions also signed Andrew Adams in free agency, who was a turnover machine in Tampa last year, then asked Wilson to take a paycut from $2.15 million to $1 million. And then they gave up a sixth-round pick to trade up for Will Harris in the third. Again, Wilson has a shot to make this team because this team likes him and values his experience. But he has work to do too.