Tag: Kelvin Sheppard

Kelvin Sheppard should earn gold star in Lions LB room resurgence

Detroit Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard should earn a gold star with his excellent coaching and mentorship that has turned around the LB room

The Detroit Lions linebacker room has had a rough history. Fans remembering the days of Jarrad Davis, Jahlani Tavai, and Christian Jones causes some anxiety. Probably the last time the Lions had a solid linebacker corps was with DeAndre Levy and Stephen Tulloch.

However, General Manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have worked hard to bring in talented players to improve the linebacker room through free agency and the draft. “Dan’s Guys,” such as Alex Anzalone, have been signed to bridge the gap between young players and coaches, while players like Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jack Campbell have been drafted to fit the culture and defensive scheme. With the guidance of Kelvin Sheppard, who has experience playing linebacker, the Lions have been able to turn these players into a cohesive unit to strengthen the defense.

In their first preseason game against the New York Giants, the Lions linebackers performed impressively. Barnes played with the green dot and performed as expected, while Campbell was the top-graded Lions defender by PFF, and the highest-graded rookie of the week. He showcased his toughness, awareness, and athleticism, leaving opposing offenses nervous.

Reeves-Maybin and Rodriguez also demonstrated the depth of the Lions’ linebacker room. Reeves-Maybin led the Lions in tackles, and Rodriguez provided the power that fans loved from last season. Although Anthony Pittman and Trevor Nowaske showed potential, their special team abilities were more important at this point in the depth chart.

The Lions linebackers had three of the top six PFF-graded defensive players: Campbell, Barnes, and Reeves-Maybin. The middle of the field has been shored up with these players, and Sheppard has coached them up to a standard of excellence. Coach Campbell has recognized Sheppard’s promising work and believes that he is destined for coordinator, and maybe even head coach, someday.

The trust he has earned from everyone in the Lions organization is a testament to the excellent work he has done with the players in his room. With the linebackers’ impressive performance so far this preseason, there is no doubt that Sheppard deserves recognition amongst the Lions faithful.

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.

 

Dan Campbell sees Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard as a future head coach

Go ahead and put Sheppard at the top of the internal candidate list to take over Detroit’s defense if Aaron Glenn leaves for a head coaching gig.

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One of the myriad takeaways from the three days of Detroit Lions minicamp was the conspicuous presence of linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard. He was all over the defensive drills, and not just with his linebackers. There were a couple of drills that tied together the LBs and the defensive backs, and it was Sheppard running those drills.

Sheppard, 35, continues to demonstrate a higher coaching ceiling than just being a positional coach. He’s been building up his coaching resumé since joining the Lions two seasons ago. The team continues to give him more responsibilities and trust in the longtime NFL linebacker.

Head coach Dan Campbell sees big things for his LB coach.

“Well, he’s earned that. He’s earned that,” Campbell said Thursday of Sheppard getting more on his coaching plate this offseason. “He’s – I feel like Shep, the more we put on Shep, the more he answers the call. And he’s developing as a coach. We see growth – no different than the players, you want to see growth from your coaches. And so, (DC Aaron Glenn) AG and I talked and we felt like it was time to put more on him, especially this year.”

Campbell continued,

“I think Shep is a young, promising coach. I think he can be a coordinator one day, and I think he can be a head coach one day. I think he’s got that type of potential, so the time is right.”

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Go ahead and put Sheppard at the top of the internal candidate list to take over Detroit’s defense if Aaron Glenn leaves for a head coaching gig.

Lions minicamp notebook: Day 3 wrap up

Notes and observations from Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon on the final day of Detroit Lions minicamp

The final day of the Detroit Lions three-day mandatory minicamp took place at the team’s training facility on Thursday. The team packed in some situational football and positional drills in a fast-paced session to wrap up the week.

Here are some quick notes on what we saw and heard on the final day of Lions minicamp.

Lions 1st round LB Jack Campbell gets praised for leadership and potential

LB coach Kelvin Sheppard was very excited to land Campbell

It’s odd that when mock drafts had Iowa LB Jack Campbell slotted to go to the Dallas Cowboys with the 26th overall pick or 27th overall pick, it was perfectly fine. But when the Lions took him at 18th overall, they got ridiculed for the selection.

Throughout the process, I think people forget that there was a wide range of draft analysts and scouts that predicted Campbell to be the first linebacker selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.

No question about it, there was plenty of surprise when the Detroit Lions took Campbell with the 18th overall pick. However, since the pick, the Lions have made it clear that “they don’t draft scared.” It’s a clear sign that they stay true to their board and the values within their current regime.

Those values reflect on high character players that love the game of football. From film study to figuring out the schematics of the opposition. They want players that live and breathe the game. That’s exactly who Jack Campbell is and what he’ll provide for Detroit.

As we begin to put the 2023 NFL Draft in our rearview mirrors, the Detroit Lions staff has been answering plenty of questions about their draft picks. With each player, there’s interesting tidbits of information. With Jack Campbell, there’s been a ton of praise on his leadership, his skill-set and what he’s going to provide for the Lions.

The first quote that really caught my eye was from the Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard. When asked on the ceiling for the size of an athlete like Lions LB Jack Campbell: “…To answer I know you and the previous one I spoke on, he is a Detroit guy. Like he is a (Lions Head Coach) Dan Campbell guy, he is a culture fit immediately. He was a captain, I actually was just joking with him on the phone, (Green Bay Packers DE) Lukas Van Ness we had on the top 30, and I thought that he talked more about Jack on his visit than he did about himself. That resonated with us because that’s a guy that just went top 15 tonight as well, that spoke glowingly about this player as a leader and the things he brought to their team.”

Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard was also asked on his impressions of Lions first-round (18th overall) draft selection LB Jack Campbell from the Combine and the Draft process: “Well, obviously as a positional coach I do tons of these interviews with guys. I do informal, formal, Zoom, all different variations of interviews and there’s a couple guys during this process that kind of stuck with me like, ‘Oh, wow,’ And Jack was at the top of that list. Like when he left out of the room me, (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell), (Lions Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG, looked each other and was like, ‘Damn that’s going to be hard to top right there,’ Because it was just exceptional. His knowledge of the game speaks for itself.  It shows on the tape. But it’s the passion that I don’t know if people are quite ready for. He was literally just crying in tears. I’m still fired up about it. Just fired up for the opportunity to coach a player of that caliber.”

After the first round was over, Lions GM Brad Holmes was asked about both of his first round picks. During that, he was asked on if they took any calls about the No. 18th-overall pick: “No. We didn’t get much action at 18, we just kind of stayed. But I would say we didn’t really even think about getting out either. As soon as we saw what kind of the grade we had on (Lions LB) Jack (Campbell) – I was more excited just to actually get the guy at 18. Yeah, we could’ve got cute and tried to trade back and all this stuff, but no. There was a different level that was going to start after you pass on him. We just felt really, really good about it. It was really kind of a no-brainer really. Had a good feel that he would’ve been there, but we just didn’t want to mess around.”

Lastly, here’s what Jack Campbell had to say On his takeaway from his meeting with the Lions at the Combine: “What I took from it was, ‘Man, those guys are all about football and performing at the highest level,’ and that’s something that I love. I kind of just stepped foot in there and talked X’s and O’s, but also, they asked about me as a human being, my family, the people who are around me, Iowa. And man, I’m so appreciative to be able to represent Iowa moving forward, but at the same time, I’m so excited to get into Detroit, where I know it’s only about football and football is the only thing that matters. I’m going to go in there and just try to learn from the veterans and learn from this coaching staff and let’s get Detroit where they belong.”

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Lions send LB coach Kelvin Sheppard to Texas Longhorns pro day

The Lions sent LB coach Kelvin Sheppard to the Texas Longhorns pro day to watch LB DeMarvion Overshown and other prospects

The first major program pro day took place on Thursday in Autin, Texas. The Texas Longhorns held a workout for 10 aspiring NFL players from the program.

The Detroit Lions might have tipped their hand on who they were checking out at the Longhorns event by who the team dispatched. Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard was there, presumably watching LB DeMarvion Overshown go through his workout.

Generally projected as a third or fourth-round prospect, Overshown is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound speed-in-space type of backer. He had previously met with the Lions during Senior Bowl week and informally at last week’s scouting combine.

Overshown did not disappoint in his workout:

The top Longhorns prospect, RB Bijan Robinson, did not work out. Among the other prospects of Lions interest are RB Roschon Johnson, DT, Keondre Coburn and DT Moro Ojomo.

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Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard reveals what Dan Campbell is like in scouting combine interviews

Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard reveals what Dan Campbell is like in scouting combine interviews

After talking with some NFL draft prospects during the 2023 Scouting Combine week in Indianapolis, I got a better idea of the experience of formally interviewing with the Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell.

Several players, notably Iowa TE Sam LaPorta, described how the Lions ask players to watch some film and then quickly analyze their role if put into the situation on film. Those are the more technical aspects of the interview period.

But what about Campbell’s demeanor?

For that perspective, Lions linebacker coach Kelvin Sheppard offers up some details. In an interview with Dannie Rogers of the Lions, Sheppard details how Campbell acts in the interview room.

“Dan kind of sits back, to be honest,” Sheppard told Rogers, which she quickly stated might be more intimidating for a prospect.

Sheppard agreed and then continued,

“Then out of nowhere he’ll get out of his seat and go up to the screen and be like, ‘alright, well tell me this — this guy goes here (gestures one direction) and that guy goes there, what are you going to do?”

Sheppard said he wants players to know “don’t get nervous. Dan is one of us.”

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Top 101 LSU football players of all time: Honorable mentions

Before we reveal the top 10, here are some guys that just missed the cut.

Before we arrive at the final installment of our top 101 LSU football player rankings, I wanted to take some time to look at honorable mentions.

All of these names made my first cut of the list and have strong arguments to be included. Anytime a long list is being composed, it’s tough to find separation after looking at the best of the best.

The only spot on the whole list I didn’t have to think twice about was No. 1, and it’s possible I eventually lend some second thought to that, too. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the guys who just barely missed the cut.

Aidan Hutchinson getting more work with Lions LBs in 2-pt. stance

Lions rookie EDGE Aidan Hutchinson getting more work with LBs in 2-pt. stance according to LBs coach Kelvin Sheppard

Aidan Hutchinson has been solid in his first five NFL games, but the Detroit Lions didn’t spend the No. 2 overall pick to simply get a good player. They need a difference-maker, something Hutchinson has only flashed occasionally in the earlygoing. That could change thanks to a tweak in his usage and deployment.

Hutchinson has been working more with the linebackers and LBs coach Kelvin Sheppard during the bye week and lead-up to the Week 7 trip to Dallas. Sheppard confirmed that Hutchinson is spending more time in a 2-point stance and standing up in a more traditional rush-OLB role than the 3-point stance and tighter informational DE role the rookie has been playing.

It’s a smart move for the Lions. Hutchinson was at his best at Michigan when playing more outside the tackles and standing up ready to attack. It won’t be a full-time switch, Sheppard noted, but it’s something to help make Hutchinson more impactful and opposing offenses less comfortable.

Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard remains very excited about Derrick Barnes

Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard is very excited with the progress and midset of second-year LB Derrick Barnes

When the Detroit Lions traded up in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft to land Purdue LB Derrick Barnes, it was a well-received move. Barnes showed a lot of promise as a versatile backer for a team that had major issues at the position.

Barnes played extensively as a rookie, though he wasn’t nearly as effective as hoped. He struggled in coverage and missed too many tackle opportunities, something that Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard is working on cleaning up. Sheppard has not lost any confidence in Barnes. Far from it, in fact.

During Senior Bowl week, I asked Sheppard about Derrick Barnes and the up-and-down rookie season from the young LB. Monday’s OTA media session provided a nice follow-up.

“I’m even more excited about (Barnes) right now,” Sheppard said. “…He’s done everything and more that I have asked. He has completely bought in.”

Sheppard continued while noting the view on Barnes from others within the Lions organization.

“A lot of people around the building say they see a new guy. I see the guy I always thought was there,” Sheppard stated.

We then got a taste of Sheppard’s coaching philosophy.

“It starts with a coach believing in a player to be able to pull out the most in the player. If you go into that with high optimism and high thoughts and praise on a player, the player feels that. In turn, without knowing it, it’s kind of a mind game at the same time with the coach/player dynamic. And with that player, the sky is the limit.”

Barnes continues to work primarily as an off-ball linebacker. During last week’s minicamp, Barnes worked primarily with the second unit behind newcomer Chris Board and veteran Alex Anzalone. He did receive some first-team reps but also ceded a few second-team reps to rookie Malcolm Rodriguez. The Lions are working on finding combinations that work together well and that’s all part of the experimentation.

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