The Detroit Lions held their first of three days of mandatory minicamp and as always there was plenty to observe and report. Practices last a little longer today, roughly 30-minutes more than the previous offseason training activities, and NFL officials were in attendance to help the players understand when they make plays outside the current rules.
The team spent their first week of OTAs working on red zone plays, then last week on first and second downs, which led into today’s practices that focused on third downs and special teams.
Of the players on the team’s 90-man roster, 77 were able to fully participate in today’s practice, with notable limitations from expected starters Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay, Trey Flowers and Justin Coleman, along with absences from Darius Slay and Damon Harrison.
Linebacker movement
With no pads on, it’s difficult to get an accurate read of the offensive and defensive lineman but that has opened the door to get a much deeper look at the linebacker positions. Today we saw both three and four linebacker formations and a steady rotation of players alternating between the spots.
For the most part, things remain the same among the starters with Jarrad Davis at the MIKE, Devon Kennard at the JACK and Christian Jones at the WILL, but Jahlani Tavai continues to get looks with the first unit sending Jones to the bench or into another role. Tavai looks more and more poised to take on starter level snaps, even if he isn’t listed among the starters on the depth chart.
When Tavai is on the field with the second team, he is joined by Jalen Reeves-Maybin as the second off-the-ball linebacker and both can alternate roles — though it looks like Reeves-Maybin is lining up at the MIKE more often in these third down situations. With Steve Longa injured, third team MIKE reps went to Garret Dooley who spent his rookie season on the practice squad injured reserve list last year.
Things get a bit more interesting at the second team JACK spot as it has Eric Lee who has stepped up into this role after playing at the down defensive end all of last year. Last week he was spotted with the linebackers during their extra work period post-OTAs and this experience could go a long way to him making the 53-man roster. With Austin Bryant not participating, the third team JACK reps went to undrafted rookie Malik Carney.
Defensive backs reside in Pick City
With the team focused on 3rd down situations they spent a lot of time today showing six defensive backs sets and that means they had both a third corner and a third safety on the field at once. These extra defensive backs meant there was a lot more speed than their base defense and that resulted in more turnovers.
Quandre Diggs kicked off today’s practice with an interception he picked up off his shoelaces, reacting to a tipped ball intended for a tight end (I didn’t catch the number).
Teez Tabor got yet another interception (his third of OTAs) and caused a pass breakup while covering Andy Jones on a pass from Stafford. He continues to make plays and not get burned this offseason and the hype train continues to pick up steam. He even spent some time with coach Matt Patricia getting some one-on-one attention after a big play.
Tavon Wilson got in on the action jumping a short crossing route and intercepting a pass intended for a tight end. Wilson saw an expanded role today, splitting time with Will Harris in the slot but also getting extra work in at the single-high safety position.
Jamal Agnew closed the day down with an interception of his own, pick-sixing Connor Cook, which drew a loud celebration from the defense. It’s worth noting that with Coleman out and Agnew with the first team, it was Andre Chachere who took the field as the next slot corner on the depth chart, something we didn’t see last week.
Overall, it was a rough day for the offense as most of the day featured some sloppy decisions and loads of rust. Despite the difficulties, there were some positive takeaways to be had.
No changes on the first team Offensive Line
The first-team offensive line once again trotted out the same combination of players as they have all of OTAs featuring (from left to right across the line) Taylor Decker, Kenny Wiggins, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow and Rick Wagner.
On the second team, center Leo Kolomatangi and left guard Joe Dahl switched positions in a cross-training exercise today and despite Dahl having experience in the middle, he was forced to run a lap today for a false start penalty in which he didn’t snap the ball on time.
The undrafted rookies didn’t get much playing time, but the only one that stood out was Ryan Pope and that was because he was running a lap after his own false start.
Skill Players
T.J. Hockenson looked to have split first-team reps with Jesse James, as they have throughout OTAs, but this time it was the rookies turn to standout. Hockenson is so efficient in his routes that after a silky smooth catch and run, one beat writer briefly thought he was a slot receiver before seeing the No. 88 on the back of his jersey.
There was a lot of tight end usage today, including sets that featured three at a time. Considering today was all about third downs, it could have just been situational football, but it’s entirely possible they will be featured in abundance often regardless of down.
The wide receivers had their ups and downs today but it was another standard day for a group missing their top superstars. Danny Amendola again showed his reliability and looks to be getting more and more comfortable with Matthew Stafford. Andy Jones and Chris Lacy continue to hold down the starting positions next to Amendola.
Rookie Travis Fulgham had another solid play today that illustrates his potential but he really needs to start completing catches on these plays or it won’t matter much in the long run. On the play, he ran a crossing route where Amani Oruwariye attempted to jam him at the line, but Fulgham beat him to the punch and out-leveraged him to gain separation. Oruwaryie closed the gap quickly but needed to grab Fulgham (it was called pass interference on the field) in order to prevent the catch.
The running backs got more work than usual today, but with no pads or tackling, there’s not a lot that can be ascertained other than a nice reminder of how smooth Kerryon Johnson is.
It’s still worth noting that when the team switches over to special teams, Johnson, Anderson and Riddick continue to do work with running backs coach Kyle Caskey instead of participating in the third of phase of the game.
Lots of Special Teams work
As big a leg as Ryan Santoso has, he still can’t touch the accuracy of Matt Prater and Sam Martin. If Santoso can gain consistency, he could find himself on an NFL roster in the fall, even if it’s not likely to be Detroit’s.
Special teams can make or break a player spot on the roster bubble and despite it only being June, I was paying close attention to the battles at one of the most important spots: the gunner. The gunner role is usually reserved for wide receivers and defensive backs due to their size/speed combination and most of the players competing for reserve roles at their positions were also getting looks here.
Of this large group of players the ones who stood out the most were names fans are likely to recognize, including Charles Washington (who locked down one of the two gunner positions last year), Jamal Agnew and Mike Ford.
