Rookie Jonah Jackson earned the first-team reps at right guard in the first practice session of the Detroit Lions training camp. The third-round pick from Ohio State worked with the starters, sandwiched between new RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai and center Frank Ragnow.
Jackson was the only rookie who was consistently working with the first team on Monday. First-round CB Jeff Okudah and second-round RB D’Andre Swift, both of whom figure to play extensively if not outright starting, played primarily with the second teams at their respective positions.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia indicated after practice to not read too much into Jackson’s status. He explained that it was simply Jackson’s turn in the guard rotation after Kenny Wiggins and Oday Aboushi had run with the 1s in prior walkthroughs.
Patricia did cite Jackson’s maturity and extensive experience starting at both Rutgers and then Ohio State as feathers in his cap. The coach also gave a noncommittal endorsement of the guard rotation the team used last year.
“I think it’s something that we did earlier, I think it’s something that we liked and really kind of in the long run helped us with our situation that we had because of some injuries and gave some guys some good reps going forward,” Patricia said when asked about rotating the guards again in 2020. “I would say it’s not really a set-in-stone plan that, ‘Hey, we’re going to do it this way, or that way.’ We just want to really get some competition right now and see what it looks like from that standpoint.”
Expect Jackson to be a significant part of the rotation as a rookie.