The Detroit Lions had a pretty solid showing from the 2021 rookie class. The group played more snaps than rookies on any other team and had several players who quickly proved to be pretty strong NFL talents. But the Lions need even more from those players as they enter their second NFL training camp.
Head coach Dan Campbell made that abundantly clear in his media session prior to Wednesday’s first practice at team headquarters in Allen Park. When asked if he was excited to see the second-year jump from a lot of players, Campbell turned the answer into a demand from the 2021 rookies.
“We’re counting on it, we’ve got to have it,” Campbell stated. “I mean, if they don’t make a jump, we’re in trouble.”
Campbell continued,
“That’s the bottom line because those guys are kind of our core and our foundation. I mean (WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown’s got to be better, (RT Penei) Sewell’s got to be better, (DL) Levi (Onwuzurike)’s got to be better, (DL Alim McNeill) Mac’s got to be better, (LB Derrick) Barnes’s got to be better because if they’re not, we’re not going to go anywhere. So, we’re looking forward to it and we’re going to push them to be there and get there.”
All of those players Campbell listed, with the possible exception of Barnes, are projected starters for the Lions and figure prominently in the plans, both short-term and over the long haul. What they did as rookies might have been impressive, but the organization expects and demands even more. Good on Campbell for not allowing complacency from a team that won just three games in 2021.
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