Kellen Moore

Detroit Lions quarterback Kellen Moore, right, gives a play in huddle during an NFL football organized team activity in Allen Park, Mich., Wednesday, May 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

(Paul Sancya)

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions will open up Thursday's OTA to the media shortly after 10 a.m., so we'll have all kinds of coverage after practice wraps up.

In the meantime, here's a mailbag to keep you kids occupied:

Q: What are your expectations for the defensive line with the addition of the young guys and and a true teacher in Haloti Ngata in the middle? Better, same or worse than last year? -- BigDNasty

A: Worse. But don't consider that an indictment of the current personnel. To me, it's just the reality of losing a guy like Ndamukong Suh.

We've talked about his impact ad nauseam, so I won't dwell too much on him. But the guy has played at least 900 snaps every season but one, according to ProFootballFocus, and he played 838 in the lone exception.

And he was taking on double teams for almost every single one of them.

Ngata is really good, don't get me wrong. But he's not Suh-good, because no one is. Teams won't have to game plan for the interior quite like they used to, which means the second and third levels can expect their jobs to become harder as well.

The biggest immediate drop-off you'll see is in the pass rush, and Tyrunn Walker is going to be asked to help pick up the slack.

The one positive development I've seen so far is the development of Caraun Reid. He didn't play much as a rookie last year, after going in the fifth round out of Princeton. But the Lions are raving about him now, and he was actually repping ahead of Walker on the first unit during OTAs last week.

That's an important development because the Lions aren't just replacing two bodies in the starting lineup, but also Suh's immense workload. Ngata won't play as much as Suh did, which means reserves will be seeing more action. Reid, Walker and Gabe Wright should all have roles.

Bottom line is I expect an inevitable dropoff up front, which is a difficult thing for that defense. Everything in that scheme is predicated on generating pressure and disruption up front, which the Lions did exceedingly well last year.

Will this defense be just as good with a less-imposing line? That's a difficult question, and one the Lions must consider.

Q: Does the offense look more in sync and cohesive as Golden Tate suggested? We know it's just OTAs, but give us something. -- copper1267

A: From one day in the middle of May? No, the offense did not look more cohesive and in sync.

But, again, it's one day in the middle of May. No one is in pads. There's no contact (for the most part.) Guys are in shorts. So don't read much into anything at this point.

Yeah, Eric Ebron dropped three passes during the OTA that was open to the media. And, yeah, Matthew Stafford was pretty inconsistent with his accuracy. The whole production looked disjointed.

But this just isn't real football yet. Get back to me if the offense still looks like this in August.

Q: Kyle, who was the third receiver running with the ones the most in the open OTA session? -- LKP

A: I saw Jeremy Ross there mostly, but I also didn't watch this on every rep, so I can't tell you who else was there. But I do expect Lance Moore to make a serious push for that job. Everyone's raving about the guy right now, and his grasp of the offense.

Q: Who has the inside track at No. 3 and No. 4 receiver? -- Dan Kerwin

A: No one. Receiver, along with nickel, are the biggest free-for-alls of the offseason. Jeremy Ross, Lance Moore, Ryan Broyles, Corey Fuller and TJ Jones could all make pushes to win one of those jobs. And any of them could be cut if they don't. Cut throat stuff in that room.

Q: Serious question Kyle: Weren't you at least a little afraid that Ebron would deck you for asking the impertinent question about how some fans think he is a bust? Wouldn't you be a little ticked if I told you many fans think YOU are a bust? -- Goodrich

A: Two things. First, another reporter asked that question. And second, it is our job to ask tough questions. We're not paid to protect these guys' feelings, you know?

In Ebron's case, he's coming off a disappointing rookie season, and every time I write about him -- every ... single ... time -- I see commenters calling him a bust, and killing Martin Mayhew for making the pick.

Now the Lions say Ebron is getting better, and they expect him to be their No. 3 pass-catcher this year. But then the first time we got to see him, he dropped three passes and really didn't look very good.

Given all that, we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we walked up to Ebron, asked him how his day was going, and then carried on like nothing happened. You know?

We asked about his offseason. We asked about how he's developing. We asked about the drops. And, yes, we asked him how it felt to be called a bust, since, you know, lots of fans are calling him a bust. Every single time we write about him.

I don't think he liked the question very much, but he handled it with total grace. And if you ask me, that's as good of a sign as any that he might be different this year. He didn't handle criticism well last year at all. He was sort of immature, and even he would admit that.

But he seems to be putting a lot of that behind him.

Q: The competition to see who will be the Lion's starting nickel DB will be one of the more interesting to watch during training camp. Who do you think has the advantage? Can the new draft pick unseat Bill Bentley? Will Bill Bentley be the same after that gruesome injury last season? -- ChuckLongWillSaveUs

A: The nickelback competition will be a five-man cage match throughout much of the offseason. I wouldn't say anyone is a leader for that job, and that includes Bill Bentley, even though he's the returning starter.

He's missed 30 games to injury the past three seasons, and is in a contract year that includes no guaranteed money. If the Lions have a better option, they could very well cut ties with Bentley.

He's a decent player, when healthy. But he's rarely healthy, and there are concerns within the organization about whether he'll ever be able to stay on the field.

I think Nevin Lawson and Quandre Diggs will get long looks, as well Josh Wilson, an eight-year veteran with lots of experience in the nickel.

Q: I'm struggling to find a position for Kyle Van Noy in our defensive scheme that isn't a gimmicky subpackage. Can Kyle fit into our actual base packages and get meaningful time playing in order to develop properly coming off the injury-plagued season, or is he doomed to get minimal snaps and ultimately is a waste of talent? -- BigDNasty

A: His best hope to see the field is to beat out Tahir Whitehead for the starting job at strong-side linebacker. But even if he wins that job, I'm not sure how much he'll see the field because Detroit is in subpackages so much these days.

I honestly don't have a good feel for what Van Noy's role will be this year. But at this point I don't see him getting a ton of snaps, unless he proves he has ability to line up on the line as well.

Detroit Lions OTAs - June 4, 2015 40 Gallery: Detroit Lions OTAs - June 4, 2015

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