The Detroit Lions completed the fifth day of their 2019 training camp, and rookie linebacker Jahlani Tavai continues to make noise, coming away with the play of the day.
Tavai makes the play of the day
The Lions have mixed in more zone coverage options than they have in the past and in this red zone situation it paid off for the defense.
On first down with the defense in man coverage, Matthew Stafford found Marvin Jones. Then he completed another pass (I didn’t to who because I was locked in on the Tracy Walker vs T.J. Hockenson matchup and the pass went the other way) to move the ball. The next play the Lions defense showed man coverage once again but instead executed a zone coverage disguise concept and Tavai jumped in front of the path of the ball.
Tavai deliberately tipped the ball to himself, with a gentle tap — something that’s not easy to do with a Stafford fastball — and then made a much easier catch for the interception. You can see the play below:
Tavai has shown well every day in camp so far and these kinds of plays speak to his intelligence. Pre-training camp, I suggested that he would likely fight for reps and by the end of the season, could earn roughly 50-percent of the snaps by the end of the season, but at this rate, I’m not sure how you can take him off the field.
More defensive observations
With Da’Shawn Hand among the players not participating today, it was undrafted Kevin Strong stepping into his hybrid defensive lineman role. This is a well-earned promotion for a player who balled out last week and is making a name for himself in camp.
No Damon Harrison opened the doors for John Atkins to start, while Eric Lee continues to play (and start) at down defensive end while Trey Flowers (PUP) and Romeo Okwara (injury) miss time. Despite Atkins starting, I liked more of the reps I saw from PJ Johnson, who’s stock is on the rise.
When the team added a 3-technique, it was A’Shawn Robinson — who made his training camp debut — taking on the starting role with the three players above. Mike Daniels should be in the mix for that same spot as early as tomorrow.
With Devon Kennard, Austin Bryant and Malik Carney out with injuries, and Lee at defensive end, the Lions turned to Garret Dooley as their starting JACK linebacker. Dooley is a bit of a sleeper as he can play all four linebacker spots and was recently profiled by Lions Wire’s Max Gerber in his long shots series.
After getting burned by Marvin Jones in one-on-one deep routes last Sunday, Teez Tabor found himself pushing even on both their intermediate route reps today.
Justin Coleman saw some expanded duties today, receiving reps in both the slot — his primary position — and on the outside. If the Lions don’t feel confident in either Rashaan Melvin or Tabor in certain situations, having Coleman capable of flexing outside is a real advantage. In one-on-one drills today, he held Danny Amendola and Jermaine Kearse in check.
When Coleman shifted outside, it was Jamal Agnew getting primary slot reps. In one-on-ones with Amendola, they split wins. There is a role for a second slot receiver on this roster.
Andrew Adams is still within my 53-man roster projections, but he looks to be a deep safety only after watching him in one-on-one drills against the tight ends group. T.J. Hockenson, Jessee James and Jerome Cunningham all got wins against him today.
In addition to Tavai’s interception, the only other ball the defense came away with was a Tracy Walker interception on David Fales. Could be Fales didn’t see him or maybe Walker snuck in late, but it was an absolute gift of a turnover.
Offense line back to original starters
The offensive line was back to its normal rotation with guards Graham Glasgow and Kenny Wiggins back in the starting lineup. While Glasgow has been rotating with the second team guards throughout camp, it’s important to make one thing clear — Glasgow has easily been one of the best offensive linemen in camp and is locked into a starting role.
When offensive linemen face off against the defensive linemen in a stunts/picking up stunts drill, Glasgow was the only offensive lineman to perfectly execute all his reps.
Wiggins, Taylor Decker, Rick Wagner, Tyrell Crosby and Luke Bowanko also earned plus marks, while Oday Aboushi, Beau Benzschawel and Ryan Pope all struggled. Pope’s guaranteed money got him onto my original 53-man roster prediction, but he doesn’t appear to be adjusting to the switch from right to left tackle and unless he makes some massive strides by my next roster stack, he will be on the outside looking in.
Offensive skill players
Kenny Golladay has had a steady, solid camp but hasn’t truly stood out during the first week. We were reminded of how good he can be after a strong performance today. In one-on-one drills, he absolutely owned Melvin, earning oohs and ahs from both the crowd and offensive players on the field.
Rookie Travis Fulgham continues to show he is still learning the position, while also showing he’s probably too talented to not keep on the 53-man roster. In one-on-ones, he beat Dee Virgin cleanly but then dropped the pass, then on the next rep, won a contested catch against Mike Ford.
In 11-on-11s, Fulgham ran a 9-route and was bracketed by Tabor and Walker, but still managed to elevate and win the contested catch above both defenders. It drew the second loudest cheer of the day from the crowd.
I said it on last night’s interactive Periscope broadcast recapping Week 1, Kearse is expected to be the Lions fourth wide receiver, but if he struggles and is replaced, it would likely be by Brandon Powell, who the Lions continue to utilize successfully as a gadget player.
Tight end Isaac Nauta is getting a little bit better every day and the Lions are expanding his range of responsibilities, seeing snaps at fullback for the first time in camp.
Special teams
The Lions worked on a lot of kick return drills today and are starting to ramp of the energy levels in these drills. Primary kick returners today were Agnew, Amendola, Brandon Powell and the much-anticipated appearance of speedster Ty Johnson. Tommylee Lewis, who is still on the PUP list, joined the group trying to absorb as much information as possible.
This is the second practice in a row that Miles Killebrew has forcefully dislodged a pass from a running back while playing linebacker. While he may not ever be in that situation on defense, it’s the same technique that he will be asked to do on special teams. These types of plays help his cause, regardless of where he makes them.
Post-practice
Kelly Stafford found her way to Allen Park to partake in today’s activities. She had their twins in tow and were caught on video by the Lions’ media department playing with Matthew on the field.
