With the quarterback depth chart pretty much set, I didnt pay a heap of attention to this position group. Nevertheless, David Blough got a reasonable quantity of playing time, and I need to confess he looked a lot better than when we saw him last. Completely 11-on-11 drills, he tossed an outright rope to novice tight end Hunter Bryant, and followed it up a couple plays later with a nice goal pass to Quintez Cephus (more on him later).
The Detroit Lions took the field once again Tuesday morning on a warm day with a good little breeze running through the Allen Park field. As it was my very first day at training school, my focus was a bit less on how the players carried out and a bit more concentrated on where they were.
Undoubtedly, I tried to do both where possible, but given this is just the teams 2nd padded practice, I attempted to be understanding that efficiency wasnt at the type of level it would typically be at this point in the offseason. Plus, it can often be more telling where these people are playing and who theyre repping with.
Not much else to state about this group. Jamal Agnew had one great rep on one-on-ones and one failed end around. Meanwhile, Marvin Hall spent some time with the very first team.
Here are my position-by-position observations from Day 2 of Lions training school.
Back throughout the NFL Combine, Jeff Okudah stated that the very best receiver he went up against in college was Quintez Cephus. Well, Cephus proved him right on Tuesday, beating Okudah on back-to-back reps during one-on-ones.
Mentioning first-team representatives, the Lions actually shook things up on Tuesday. Ty Johnson saw a great deal of action, while Kerryon Johnson was extremely restricted (Note: Matt Patricia clarified that Keryrons day was a scheduled “upkeep” day). After taking a shot from Jalen Reeves-Maybin in the individually coverage drills, Bo Scarbrough got up gradually and didnt appear to do much the remainder of the day.
Running backs
Tight ends
Didnt enjoy a lot of tight ends on Tuesday, however T.J. Hockenson pulled in one touchdown pass throughout 11-on-11s, and Bryant had the previously mentioned big pickup a couple plays earlier.
Quarterbacks
Wide receivers
Offense
Youve probably already seen every Lions beat guy Tweet about how rookie DAndre Swift looked absolutely uncoverable as a receiver on Tuesday, and theyre all appropriate. Of course, the drill everyone is referencing– individually paths versus Lions linebackers– greatly favors the offense. Still, Swift clearly distanced himself from everybody else going through that drill, and he even showed some remarkable burst in the running game during a fair amount of first-team reps with the offense.
That was just the suggestion of the iceberg on Cephus monster day. The Lions fifth-round pick was primarily working with the 2nd group, he made at least two huge catches on the day during team drills, consisting of a red zone goal catch in the back of the end zone. Plainly feeling it, Cephus hurled the ball high in the air after scoring and let out an audible scream that was quickly spoken with the media bleachers on the total other side of the field.
Offensive line
Absolutely nothing of note to state about Matthew Stafford, besides the truth that he chewed out an unknown receiver after there was some sort of miscommunication between the 2.
In Spite Of what Matt Patricia said about rotating who would start at ideal guard throughout camp, it was novice Jonah Jackson once again starting on Tuesday. The 2nd and very first team lineups (on average, as there was some rotation) were as follows:
First group: (from left to right): Taylor Decker, Joe Dahl, Frank Ragnow, Jonah Jackson, Halapoulivaati Vaitai
2nd team: Tyrell Crosby, Oday Aboushi, Logan Stenberg, Kenny Wiggins, Dan Skipper
In addition, Stenberg notably had a hard time at the center position, both in regards to snapping the ball and blocking. Often, he d be replaced by Jonah Jackson as the second-team center, as the team continues to look for a backup behind Ragnow with Beau Benzschawel still sidelined.
Protective line
Defense
A couple notable things from the 2nd team: Oday Aboushi was almost exclusively a right guard in 2015, so the Lions are clearly trying to cross train him (he has plenty of experience in his profession on the left side).
As a system, the team actually carried out rather well in running drills, creating rushing lanes for Ty Johnson and DAndre Swift. Jackson, particularly, landed the very first (and just?) pancake of the day, and continues to look remarkably comfy for a rookie.
When the Lions went with four defensive linemen, heres the general lineup they kept up:
Safeties Didnt see much from the securities on Tuesday, however they were lined up precisely as you d envision. Duron Harmon was playing deep many of the time with Tracy Walker browsing the middle of the field.
Jarrad Davis had a very up-and-down day. He struggled in private blitzing and protection drills, but when it came to group drills, I thought he bounced back quite well.
I desire to discuss Okwara a little more, because he was going to be my main concentrate on Tuesday. During specific drills, Okwara was mostly repping with special groups and not the linebackers. He got a fair quantity of second and/or third-team jack linebacker representatives, but it appears the Lions are trying to get him prepared for a special groups function initially and will rotate him into the routine defense later on.
I very, really, very quickly saw a little bit of #LONGSNAPPERBATTLE 2020. Thats all I got.
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Cornerbacks
Other fast notes from the linebackers: Reggie Ragland got a long time at jack linebacker, while Miles Killebrew saw a handful of first-team reps at will. Jamie Collins Sr. was playing primarily on the interior and looked very comfortable in the defense.
Linebackers
As kept in mind above, the protective line was bested by the offensive line in running drills. However, in one-on-one pass rushing drills there were a few defensive standouts. Okwara showed some good speed by beating Halapoulivaati Vaitai around the edge, while DaShawn Hand easily won an associate against Jonah Jackson. Joe Dahl easily dealt with Shelton on back-to-back reps, however Detroit likely isnt expecting much pass rush aid from the 335-pound nose tackle.
First string: Nick Williams – Danny Shelton – DaShawn Hand – Trey FlowersSecond team: Frank Herron – John Penisini – Olive Sagapolu – Romeo Okwara
Possibly the most significant surprise of the day for me was seeing Christian Jones as the groups main jack linebacker for the day. That was a function numerous were anticipating either Austin Bryant or novice Julian Okwara to take control of. Bryant stays on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and the Lions are bringing Okwara along slowly.
Its not like hes getting soundly beat deep on any team drills, but he was bested a couple of times during one-on-one drills. Its too early to start having any issues, and reasonable that hes still repping with the second-team.
The Lions fifth-round pick was mainly working with the second group, he made at least 2 huge catches on the day during team drills, including a red zone touchdown catch in the back of the end zone. Possibly the biggest surprise of the day for me was seeing Christian Jones as the groups primary jack linebacker for the day. During private drills, Okwara was mostly repping with unique groups and not the linebackers. He had a hard time in individual blitzing and protection drills, but when it came to group drills, I believed he bounced back quite well. Its not like hes getting peacefully beat deep on any group drills, however he was bested a couple of times during one-on-one drills.
Amani Oruwariye has actually looked somewhat comfy with the first string. Agnew beat him easily during an individually drill, however he reacted perfectly with a pass separation against Victor Bolden, then another break up throughout group drills while defending Marvin Jones Jr
