6 Winners from the Detroit Lions OTAs and minicamp

Identifying six players from the Detroit Lions OTAs and minicamp who helped themselves the most

We won’t see the Detroit Lions on the field again until late July. The OTA workouts and mandatory minicamp of the last two weeks were our last glimpse at the team heading into the heart of the offseason.

Several Lions players impressed during the practice sessions that were open to the media. I sifted through my notes to identify the six who did the most to help their status with the team.

Jack Campbell will need to earn a starting role at linebacker

Rookie first-rounder Jack Campbell will need to earn a starting role at linebacker in Detroit

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Given the inglorious history of off-ball linebackers in Detroit over the last several years and the fact he’s a top-20 overall pick, it sure makes sense to project Jack Campbell as an instant Lions starter as a rookie.

That’s not the reality of the situation, at least not yet. During the recent OTAs and minicamp, Campbell mostly played with the second-team defense. Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes were the starters, and both Malcolm Rodriguez (prior to his leg injury) and Jalen Reeves-Maybin took reps ahead of the rookie from Iowa.

It’s not displeasure from the Lions coaches or any struggles from Campbell. Far from it, based on what we saw from No. 46 in the open practices; Campbell is a quick study and a very impressive athlete. He’s simply not earned the first-team status over veterans Anzalone or Barnes. Not yet.

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While many expected Campbell to jump right into the starting lineup, LB coach Kelvin Sheppard has a different idea. The rookie will need to earn it.

“We are going to play the best players,” Campbell said during the recent OTAs. “We do not care what that looks like, and when that starts top down, it’s easy for me to walk into my linebacker room after we take a guy Pick 18, because in probably 20 other rooms, that player’s starting and there’s nothing you can do about it as a position coach.”

“Well, that’s not the case here (for Campbell starting),” Sheppard continued. “If Jack isn’t the top two or three, Jack will continue to go through the process of rookie development until he’s hit that mark.”

Barnes, in particular, appears to be motivated by the possibility of losing his status to a rookie. Now entering his third season, Barnes looks great physically and has also stepped up his pre-snap recognition and reaction speed.

Sheppard talked a lot about Barnes’ improvement during the week as well. The process of earning the starting role is not just lip service to Sheppard or head coach Dan Campbell, and Barnes is doing his best to not cede any status.

It’s a welcome change in Detroit, even if might appear that Campbell isn’t an immediate hit as a first-round pick. For far too long, draft status meant immediate playing time even if the player wasn’t ready or to up to the challenge. That’s been especially true at linebacker, from Jordon Dizon to Ernie Sims and Jarrad Davis.

Now the Lions appear to have actual depth and talent at linebacker. Campbell is a big part of that already and will start sooner than later, but the fact he doesn’t have to start in Week 1 is a great step forward for the Detroit defense.

Detroit Lions Podcast: Wrapping up OTAs and bad media questions

The latest live episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast breaks down the team’s minicamp and OTAs as well as how it’s all been covered

The latest episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast streamed live on Tuesday night. This week’s off-schedule episode put a bow on the recent Lions minicamp and OTAs, which are now wrapping up with no more media access.

We covered who were the big winners of the offseason activities and practices, as well as some of the more interesting developments we saw and how they impact the depth chart. Several questions from the live chat get answered and addressed, too.

There is also a lengthy discourse on the media coverage of Jameson Williams and the self-serving, tone-deaf interests of some of those covering the team.

 

Lions TE coach Steve Heiden breaks down the plan for rookie Sam LaPorta

New Lions TE coach Steve Heiden went over the plan of attack to get 2nd-round rookie Sam LaPorta ready for action

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Steve Heiden is one of the new faces on the Detroit Lions coaching staff. Heiden is the team’s new tight ends coach, coming over to join Detroit after several seasons in that capacity with the Arizona Cardinals.

He’s charged with developing another new face in Detroit, second-round rookie Sam LaPorta. Heiden played tight end in the NFL for a decade, just as head coach Dna Campbell also did. So far, Heiden likes what he’s seen from LaPorta through OTAs and minicamp.

“I think the biggest thing is to just try and put him in as many positions as possible,” Heiden said Monday of the rookie from Iowa. “That includes in the classroom, showing on film what can go on. But … it’s really about getting out here, getting on the field. Feeling the speed of the game, you know, learning on the field, on the grass. That’s the best way to go about it.”

Or, as Heiden summarized,

“Throw him out there, feet to the fire and let’s go.”

The Lions have done just that. In the sessions open to the media, LaPorta has taken a lot of reps from both the inline and slot TE positions. He even took a few snaps as the X-receiver in some 2-TE sets and could have been easily mistaken for a big wideout. Without pads, blocking has not been ready to evaluate, but LaPorta’s receiving skills look impressive.

Heiden added that he’s been “pleasantly surprised” with the instinctive nature LaPorta has shown thus far.

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Ben Johnson loves the Lions backup QB room and the roles they serve

Detroit OC Ben Johnson loves the Lions backup QB room and the roles they serve behind Jared Goff

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The backup quarterback situation in Detroit has been a sore point since well before Dan Campbell took over as head coach in 2021. To that point, the QB room has been revamped behind unquestioned starter Jared Goff entering 2023. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is a big fan of the group, which includes Nate Sudfeld, Hendon Hooker and Adrian Martinez as the team enters mandatory minicamp this week.

Johnson was asked about his thoughts on the backup QBs during his media session prior to Thursday’s practice.

“Yeah, no, I love the room right now,” Johnson said immediately. “There is a great camaraderie in there and I think that is really important when you need to find that backup quarterback position.”

In referencing Sudfeld and the reserves behind Goff, Johnson basically declared what he wants in a No. 2 quarterback.

“It’s not only a guy that can go in there and win games, but for the majority of the season, if all things go right, he is there to support that starter,” Johnson said. He then added,

“And we have that right now, not only with Nate (Sudfeld) and  Hendon (Hooker) and Adrian (Martinez), we have a good group. And they are learning, they are growing.”

Sudfeld didn’t join the team until September last year after the Lions summarily dispatched backups Tim Boyle and David Blough in the final cutdowns. In our first real look at Sudfled throwing in last week’s OTA session, it wasn’t all too impressive.

Martinez is an undrafted rookie from Kansas State who struggled with accuracy and decision-making in college. His live arm and running ability have already been on display in the early offseason. Hooker is still not cleared to throw after December ACL surgery, but the third-round rookie from Tennessee is very highly regarded inside the building.

It’s too early to judge if the team has truly upgraded the ability to win a game if Goff gets hurt. That’s what the upcoming minicamp, training camp and preseason are for. Hooker will be the No. 2 once he’s healthy, but that timeframe is up in the air. On the concept of supporting the starter, everything looks just fine so far.

Goff and Sudfeld clearly have a good relationship. Sudfeld is an experienced backup in a variety of situations and knows his role. In the two open OTA practices, we did see Goff interacting with Martinez and Hooker quite a bit, which is a good sign.

Johnson also left the door open a crack for potentially adding another option, though it also sounded very clear that he doesn’t believe the Lions will need to open that door.

“And once again, we are evaluating consistently we are putting pressure on them consistently to see what they can do out on the field in team settings. The truth really comes out, I believe, when you have the bullets flying for real, which we can’t have right now. So, the training camp will really tell us where we are at behind Jared, but so far, I feel really good about that room.”

Dan Campbell likes Detroit’s WR room, won’t comment on DeAndre Hopkins

Campbell quickly avoided saying anything about free agent WR DeAndre Hopkins

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Lions head coach Dan Campbell nipped any pending controversy in the bud regarding free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The All-Pro wideout is a popular potential target for Lions fans after his release from the Arizona Cardinals.

When asked about any potential Detroit interest in Hopkins, Campbell wouldn’t bite.

“Yeah, I’m not going to comment on that one,” Campbell said, quickly avoiding any controversy. He then talked up the current Lions receiving room and all the benefits it offers.

“But I like our receiver room. I think we have a good mix of different types of guys. I think it is important, really in your skill position, between tight ends, backs, and receivers, that you have a mix of different types of skillsets. And I feel like we have that.

Coach Campbell continued,

“We have possession, explosive. We have speed. We have consistency, quickness. So, I just think we have a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things and so the more versatility you have, that opens up your packages, personnel-wise, and match-up-wise.”

His receiving corps largely validated his comments with an impressive practice session on Thursday. Young depth players like Maurice Alexander and undrafted rookie Chase Cota showed serious potential, among others.

Watch: Video recap and breakdown of Lions OTAs

Watch: Video recap and breakdown of Lions OTAs with Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon via the Detroit Lions Podcast

After a beautiful day in Allen Park for the Detroit Lions open OTA session, it was a good time to talk through what I saw on Thursday afternoon. So I shot a video on the observations and early takeaways from the unpadded practice on June 1st.

Among the topics covered:

  • Jared Goff showing leadership and looking sharp
  • Cam Sutton appreciation
  • Breaking down the day’s kicking competition
  • Jameson Williams and his learning curve
  • Young wide receivers and tight ends showing out

Consider this a companion video to the OTA observation recap article.

Ben Johnson taking the Lions offense ‘back to basics’ this offseason

Johnson offered up some interesting thoughts about his Lions offense in his pre-practice press conference on Thursday

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Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was a hot head coaching candidate this offseason after just one season running the Lions offense. His blend of creativity, aggressiveness, and ability to maximize the talents of players like QB Jared Goff and RB Jamaal Williams earned Johnson a ton of accolades.

Johnson elected to halt any head coaching talk early in the process. He knows he’s got a great thing going in Detroit in working with head coach Dan Campbell and a talented returning core of players.

Yet for all the accolades and innovation, Johnson’s focus with his offense in OTAs is decidedly old school.

Back to basics.

“Our theme this springtime has been back to the basics,” Johnson said as part of a larger response to being asked about the biggest difference between 2022 and 2023 for him. “And so, we’ve been harping consistently on the fundamentals. We’re breaking it down to the nuts and bolts for each position group. And our coaches have kind of led the charge on that.”

Johnson hit on the same theme again in another answer. This time he extrapolated on some more specifics.

“Let’s get really good at the fundamentals because that is what helped us win games at the end last year,” Johnson enthused. “The fact that we led the League in ball security, we didn’t turn the ball over the second half of the season, that equated into wins for us. So, I think just the recognition of the little things all adding up and paying big dividends for us in offense, that’s really the point of it.”

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Don’t fret about Johnson losing his creativity or aggressiveness, however. He made that clear. It’s about executing the plays better and not leaving so many yards or points on the field.

“We will still push the envelope. We’ll still be innovative and creative on offense, don’t get me wrong,” coach Johnson continued. “But I just came away saying, ‘Shoot man, we left a lot of meat on the bone in a lot of ways.’ Because I think I talked about it, some of the runs we could have had explosives. We could’ve had eight, nine yards when we were still at three or four, so just a few things when we looked back at last year.”

That last comment might help explain the team’s first-round infatuation with Jahmyr Gibbs, who looks like a more dynamic and versatile weapon than the Lions have had at RB in some time already.

Lions OTA notebook: June 1st observations on Gibbs, Goff, Jamo, kickers and more

Here are some quick notes and observations from the Detroit Lions June 1st OTA session

The Lions held the second session of OTAs open to the media on a sunny, hot Thursday afternoon to kick off June. It’s still non-contact and voluntary, so drawing any conclusions from what we saw is way too hasty, but there were a few interesting developments from the practice fields in Allen Park.

Here are some quick notes and observations from the unpadded practice session that leads into next week’s mandatory minicamp.