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Detroit Lions - Team Notes

Snippets from Chris Burke's rookie camp article on the Athletic:

A few observations on how it looked:

? No. 2 NFL Draft pick Aidan Hutchinson comes with a reputation of never taking reps off. And that was on display even in this (relatively) relaxed setting. When the D-line was working to the side on agility and bag drills, Hutchinson was popping the tackling dummies at every swipe. After one rep, defensive line coach Todd Wash even came up and tossed an arm around him as if to tell him to keep up the good work.

?This is what I do at the end of the day,? Hutchinson said. ?All that talk ? I hate the talk. It?s been a lot of months of talking, a lot of rah-rah. But now we?re out here getting the work in, which is what I do.?

? It was interesting to watch Hutchinson and second-round pick Josh Paschal go through those agility drills back to back because there was a clear contrast in styles. Both were at max-effort levels, but Hutchinson showed far more bend than Paschal in slicing through the bags.

That fits the scouting reports and likely usages for the Lions? rookie defenders. Hutchinson will play almost exclusively off the edge, with an occasional inside rep; Paschal figures to see most of his 2022 snaps as an interior pass rusher (where he won?t need that bend as much), but with the versatility to help elsewhere.

?I think I fit as that guy ? a big guy, a big defensive end,? Paschal said. ?That?s what we?re calling it. I feel like I can play across that front, but particularly on the edge, or even if I need to kick inside for the run game. I can do that, too, and for the pass game.?

? Wide receiver Jameson Williams acknowledged it?s been hard to pace himself this week as he continues to rehab his January ACL injury. During a couple of brief interludes Saturday, he stood in place and had Antwaan Randle El and then Campbell toss passes to him.

Williams carried a football around with him for the entire two hours or so. In the other hand: the Lions? offensive script for the day so he could stay on top of the calls.

?Oh, he?s engaged now,? Campbell said. ?We put him out there on the grass, and that?s his domain. He?s very much engaged. He?s asking questions, he?s got the script, he?s on it.?

? The Lions have only two safeties in for the weekend: third-round pick Kerby Joseph and North Carolina A&T tryout player Najee Reams. In almost every team rep Saturday, Reams aligned in more of a high, free-safety role, while Joseph dropped down to play strong/nickel safety.

That is different from how Illinois tended to use Joseph, so we?ll see when the vets get here if his alignment shifts.

?That?s actually what I want to do,? Joseph said of expanding his slot/nickel abilities. ?I want to be able to be more versatile on the field. I would always be on the field, so I wouldn?t have to come off for different packages and stuff. If I could play nickel, safety ? you could throw me in the corner spot if you wanted to. As long as I could stay on the field, as long as possible.?

? Also sidelined Saturday: tight end James Mitchell, who?s coming back from an ACL tear of his own, and fellow tight end Derrick Deese Jr. (undisclosed). Mitchell said Saturday that ?as far as I know? he?ll be ready for camp. He didn?t have a target date for full clearance yet, but his injury occurred several months before Williams?.

?You just want to get out there, especially when you see guys moving around,? Mitchell said. ?The mental reps I?m getting (are) very helpful. But also, I like to gain reps, so it is a disadvantage in that respect.?

The lone active tight end for Saturday?s practice was Southeastern Louisiana UDFA Nolan Givan, a native of Berkley, Mich.

? (Very, very) early indications are that sixth-round pick James Houston is headed for a hybrid off-ball/edge job, with an emphasis on the former. When the team split for positional drills Saturday, Houston hung with linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard and the linebackers. And during 11-on-11 work, he spent the bulk of his time in a stack alignment next to sixth-round pick Malcolm Rodriguez.

Houston and Rodriguez played together at this year?s NFLPA Bowl, so they came in with a bit of familiarity.

?It?s just been great having him right next to me,? Houston said. ?I was watching the film yesterday, and I was like, ?Man, we look good together.??

Rodriguez just looks great, in general. His legs almost look like they belong to a defensive tackle ? they?re that thick ? but he still flows well in space.

Houston showed some chops dropping, too, from an off-ball alignment or as an edge in zone. He nearly came down with a pick during the practice-ending seven-on-seven drill despite slipping when he tried to jam Givan at the line.

? The last draft pick to mention is the No. 237 selection, cornerback Chase Lucas. He?s a unique case because he?s already 25, he spent six years in college and he played at Arizona State for a pair of former NFL coaches (Herm Edwards and Marvin Lewis). Because of all that, the Lions expected his transition to be a little shorter than that of other rookies. Lucas already sounds rather comfortable.

?My knowledge of the game, my work ethic, just being consistent every day ? I feel like that?s probably the biggest things I brought from Arizona State,? Lucas said. ?It?s just embedded in me; it?s kind of in my blood.?

Saturday, he played almost exclusively out of the slot, which is where he saw a bunch of work during his final two Sun Devils seasons. There?s a good chance he?ll settle in there once the full roster comes to town, too.

? Tryout quarterback Connor Sampson, a Belleville, Mich., native and Western Illinois product, definitely can sling it a little bit. He has a quick release, and he threw several nice deep balls ? into a slight breeze ? during positional drills. His seven-on-seven work was a little clunky (and brief): two completions on four attempts, plus two ?scrambles.?

If nothing else, it helped the Lions to have a quarterback here for rookie camp. They didn?t last season, pressing assistant coach Tanner Engstrand into duty. But Sampson?s presence allows the coaches to get a decent look at the receivers and defensive backs, as well as to run those seven-on-seven sets.

? One cool aspect of this for Sampson: As the only quarterback on the premises this weekend, he?s enjoying exclusive access to QBs coach Mark Brunell and senior offensive assistant John Morton, who joined the Lions? staff this year after interviewing for the offensive coordinator gig in 2021.

It?s the same for San Diego State running back Greg Bell, who got one-on-one time with Duce Staley during positional drills.

Later, Bell dusted Rodriguez and Houston on consecutive reps during a special teams ?tackling? (read: two-hand touch) drill. After the first win by Bell, Staley danced over toward the defensive line to taunt Rodriguez a bit; after the second, Williams walked out to celebrate with the Lions? UDFA running back.

? As the Lions started nabbing undrafted free agents, we said to keep an eye on TCU offensive tackle Obinna Eze. That?s still the case after watching him. He is a presence at 6-foot-6, 321 pounds and with an almost 86-inch wingspan.

The arm length is legit and impressive, and it wouldn?t be a surprise to see the Lions bet on those traits by keeping him around into the regular season. There wasn?t any live blocking Saturday, but Eze did take reps against Hutchinson and Paschal.

? A wide receiver (aside from Williams) could emerge from this rookie group over the coming weeks. Kalil Pimpleton out of Central Michigan is small as heck (listed at 5-8, 172, and both might be exaggerations), but he?s tough to cover. He hauled in one of Sampson?s two completions during seven-on-sevens, after smoking a defensive back on a shallow crossing route.
 
sggatecl said:
Snippets from Chris Burke's rookie camp article on the Athletic:

A few observations on how it looked:

? No. 2 NFL Draft pick Aidan Hutchinson comes with a reputation of never taking reps off. And that was on display even in this (relatively) relaxed setting. When the D-line was working to the side on agility and bag drills, Hutchinson was popping the tackling dummies at every swipe. After one rep, defensive line coach Todd Wash even came up and tossed an arm around him as if to tell him to keep up the good work.

?This is what I do at the end of the day,? Hutchinson said. ?All that talk ? I hate the talk. It?s been a lot of months of talking, a lot of rah-rah. But now we?re out here getting the work in, which is what I do.?

? It was interesting to watch Hutchinson and second-round pick Josh Paschal go through those agility drills back to back because there was a clear contrast in styles. Both were at max-effort levels, but Hutchinson showed far more bend than Paschal in slicing through the bags.

That fits the scouting reports and likely usages for the Lions? rookie defenders. Hutchinson will play almost exclusively off the edge, with an occasional inside rep; Paschal figures to see most of his 2022 snaps as an interior pass rusher (where he won?t need that bend as much), but with the versatility to help elsewhere.

?I think I fit as that guy ? a big guy, a big defensive end,? Paschal said. ?That?s what we?re calling it. I feel like I can play across that front, but particularly on the edge, or even if I need to kick inside for the run game. I can do that, too, and for the pass game.?

? Wide receiver Jameson Williams acknowledged it?s been hard to pace himself this week as he continues to rehab his January ACL injury. During a couple of brief interludes Saturday, he stood in place and had Antwaan Randle El and then Campbell toss passes to him.

Williams carried a football around with him for the entire two hours or so. In the other hand: the Lions? offensive script for the day so he could stay on top of the calls.

?Oh, he?s engaged now,? Campbell said. ?We put him out there on the grass, and that?s his domain. He?s very much engaged. He?s asking questions, he?s got the script, he?s on it.?

? The Lions have only two safeties in for the weekend: third-round pick Kerby Joseph and North Carolina A&T tryout player Najee Reams. In almost every team rep Saturday, Reams aligned in more of a high, free-safety role, while Joseph dropped down to play strong/nickel safety.

That is different from how Illinois tended to use Joseph, so we?ll see when the vets get here if his alignment shifts.

?That?s actually what I want to do,? Joseph said of expanding his slot/nickel abilities. ?I want to be able to be more versatile on the field. I would always be on the field, so I wouldn?t have to come off for different packages and stuff. If I could play nickel, safety ? you could throw me in the corner spot if you wanted to. As long as I could stay on the field, as long as possible.?

? Also sidelined Saturday: tight end James Mitchell, who?s coming back from an ACL tear of his own, and fellow tight end Derrick Deese Jr. (undisclosed). Mitchell said Saturday that ?as far as I know? he?ll be ready for camp. He didn?t have a target date for full clearance yet, but his injury occurred several months before Williams?.

?You just want to get out there, especially when you see guys moving around,? Mitchell said. ?The mental reps I?m getting (are) very helpful. But also, I like to gain reps, so it is a disadvantage in that respect.?

The lone active tight end for Saturday?s practice was Southeastern Louisiana UDFA Nolan Givan, a native of Berkley, Mich.

? (Very, very) early indications are that sixth-round pick James Houston is headed for a hybrid off-ball/edge job, with an emphasis on the former. When the team split for positional drills Saturday, Houston hung with linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard and the linebackers. And during 11-on-11 work, he spent the bulk of his time in a stack alignment next to sixth-round pick Malcolm Rodriguez.

Houston and Rodriguez played together at this year?s NFLPA Bowl, so they came in with a bit of familiarity.

?It?s just been great having him right next to me,? Houston said. ?I was watching the film yesterday, and I was like, ?Man, we look good together.??

Rodriguez just looks great, in general. His legs almost look like they belong to a defensive tackle ? they?re that thick ? but he still flows well in space.

Houston showed some chops dropping, too, from an off-ball alignment or as an edge in zone. He nearly came down with a pick during the practice-ending seven-on-seven drill despite slipping when he tried to jam Givan at the line.

? The last draft pick to mention is the No. 237 selection, cornerback Chase Lucas. He?s a unique case because he?s already 25, he spent six years in college and he played at Arizona State for a pair of former NFL coaches (Herm Edwards and Marvin Lewis). Because of all that, the Lions expected his transition to be a little shorter than that of other rookies. Lucas already sounds rather comfortable.

?My knowledge of the game, my work ethic, just being consistent every day ? I feel like that?s probably the biggest things I brought from Arizona State,? Lucas said. ?It?s just embedded in me; it?s kind of in my blood.?

Saturday, he played almost exclusively out of the slot, which is where he saw a bunch of work during his final two Sun Devils seasons. There?s a good chance he?ll settle in there once the full roster comes to town, too.

? Tryout quarterback Connor Sampson, a Belleville, Mich., native and Western Illinois product, definitely can sling it a little bit. He has a quick release, and he threw several nice deep balls ? into a slight breeze ? during positional drills. His seven-on-seven work was a little clunky (and brief): two completions on four attempts, plus two ?scrambles.?

If nothing else, it helped the Lions to have a quarterback here for rookie camp. They didn?t last season, pressing assistant coach Tanner Engstrand into duty. But Sampson?s presence allows the coaches to get a decent look at the receivers and defensive backs, as well as to run those seven-on-seven sets.

? One cool aspect of this for Sampson: As the only quarterback on the premises this weekend, he?s enjoying exclusive access to QBs coach Mark Brunell and senior offensive assistant John Morton, who joined the Lions? staff this year after interviewing for the offensive coordinator gig in 2021.

It?s the same for San Diego State running back Greg Bell, who got one-on-one time with Duce Staley during positional drills.

Later, Bell dusted Rodriguez and Houston on consecutive reps during a special teams ?tackling? (read: two-hand touch) drill. After the first win by Bell, Staley danced over toward the defensive line to taunt Rodriguez a bit; after the second, Williams walked out to celebrate with the Lions? UDFA running back.

? As the Lions started nabbing undrafted free agents, we said to keep an eye on TCU offensive tackle Obinna Eze. That?s still the case after watching him. He is a presence at 6-foot-6, 321 pounds and with an almost 86-inch wingspan.

The arm length is legit and impressive, and it wouldn?t be a surprise to see the Lions bet on those traits by keeping him around into the regular season. There wasn?t any live blocking Saturday, but Eze did take reps against Hutchinson and Paschal.

? A wide receiver (aside from Williams) could emerge from this rookie group over the coming weeks. Kalil Pimpleton out of Central Michigan is small as heck (listed at 5-8, 172, and both might be exaggerations), but he?s tough to cover. He hauled in one of Sampson?s two completions during seven-on-sevens, after smoking a defensive back on a shallow crossing route.
Click to expand...

All good stuff to hear, not that they're going to report a lot of negative in the underwear portion of off season drills.

My favorite part of post draft to 1st game is to see what the rookies, drafted and undrafted, look like at the next level.

Lets face it, if the Lions are to actually claw themselves from the DEEP depths of pathetic franchises.....they will need to hit on a couple of UDFA or late round picks that play well above their draft position. Maybe not to superstar levels.....but guys that can become competent starters to fill in the weaknesses we don't fill with FA or draft. A 3rd T, a WILL LB, a 5th CB, a 5th WR. Guys that can fill small roles to start and grow in to larger roles. That is something this organization has failed at over the last 50 years.
 
Last edited:
Most 1st Down Completions,
On 3rd and 6 or Longer,
Since 2018:

1. Matt Ryan (140)
2. Patrick Mahomes (122)
3. Kirk Cousins (116)
4. Matthew Stafford (115)
5. Tom Brady (114)
 
The Rams are placing QB Matthew Stafford on injured reserve, effectively ending his 2022 season. Stafford will be eligible to return in Week 17 at the Chargers, but at that point, there would be little incentive to play and expose their veteran quarterback.

The 3-8 Rams put Matthew Stafford on injured reserve.
Only the 3-9 Bears and 1-9-1 Texans have records worse than Los Angeles, whose 2023 first round pick belongs to the Lions.
 
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-line-rankings-2023-offseason
2023 NFL offensive line rankings: Eagles lead the way. Lions are Ranked High.
PFF

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-running-back-unit-rankings-2023
2023 NFL running back unit rankings: San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns among Tier 1 teams. Lions in the middle.
PFF

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2023-nfl-receiving-corps-rankings
2023 NFL receiving corps rankings: Cincinnati Bengals take the top spot for the second year in a row. lots of teams ranked higher than the Lions here.
PFF

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-defensive-line-rankings-2023
2023 NFL defensive line rankings: Philadelphia Eagles take the top spot, San Francisco 49ers come in at No. 2.
PFF

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-lineba...laim-the-top-spot-for-second-consecutive-year
2023 NFL linebacker unit rankings: San Francisco 49ers claim the top spot for second consecutive year. Jack Campbell Help!
PFF

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-secondary-rankings-2023-new-york-jets-miami-dolphins-take-top-spots
2023 NFL secondary rankings: New York Jets, Miami Dolphins take top spots.
Where are Night Train Lane, Yale Lary, and Dick LeBeau when you need them?
PFF
 
https://www.vintagedetroit.com/73755-2/
Linebacker Wayne Walker Bridged Gap in Lions History.
Vintage Detroit

Only two players in Detroit Lions history played with Lion quarterbacks Bobby Layne and Greg Landry: Hall of Fame defensive lineman Alex Karras, and outside linebacker Wayne Walker.

Walker is often overlooked when you consider what he accomplished during his career on the gridiron. He held the team records for games played (200) and most seasons (15 from 1958 through 1972) until placekicker Jason Hanson surpassed him in those categories.
 
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