Lions camp Day 4 observations: Terrion Arnold is adapting

Observations from Day 4 of Lions training camp include Terrion Arnold adapting, Steven Gilmore ascending, and depth receivers making plays.

The Detroit Lions welcomed 2,600 season ticket holders to their fourth day of 2024 training camp and the energy in Allen Park was impressive. From the moment players gravitated over towards the fans, the cheers were as loud, and they remained for the majority of the day.

Participation report

The Lions continue to get healthier and were able to return both Jahmyr Gibbs and Marcus Davenport to full participation , leaving only three players not participating at practice. DJ Reader remains on the PUP list, Christian Mahogany is still working through an illness, while Brian Branch is only working during walkthroughs and individual drills, but is still being held out of team drills.

Players are ready for pads to come on

Another camp practice and another day with a few scuffles after the play, as the intensity continues to rise. During the first set of 11-on-11s, the physicality started to ramp up and eventually, the smack talk began. After one play, Kalif Raymond and Ifeatu Melifonwu shared some words, at the same time Jameson Williams and Kerby Joseph also jawed at each other, eventually boiling over into some mild pushing and shoving. A minor skirmish in the grand scheme of things, as evidenced by Penei Sewell jokingly jumping on the pile and lightening the mood.

After some breakout sessions of one-on-one drills, the team held another 11-on-11 session, and things heated up much quicker. On a screen play to Shane Zylstra, Dan Skipper found himself downfield executing a block on Derrick Barnes and a few players ended up on the grass. It’s not entirely clear what was happening while the players were on the ground but something triggered a response from Alex Anzalone, who quickly entered the fray.

“Everybody thought I was at the bottom of the pile, but I did my thing and slithered out,” Barnes told the media following practice. “And when I went back, everybody was like, ‘Did you see Alex?’ and I was like, that’s my dawg, man. I tell everybody, that’s my Day 1, Alex is my best friend, and I’m telling you, I didn’t have to blink and I knew he was gonna be there. They didn’t even have to tell me and I would have guessed he was gonna be there. That’s my man. That’s how it is, and vice versa, if he got into something, I’d be the first one out there.”

Barnes, who has been in two other skirmishes in the last two days, reiterated this happens in football and the players involved are quick to put things behind them.

“Nobody is in there trying to start a whole brawl, that’s not what it is—mostly it’s people trying to break people up—but if somebody on the other side does something crazy, then somebody else is gonna see it and react. But usually, it’s more of the breaking up. It’s quick, it’s fast, you get it out there and you get back to work.”

Skipper echoed Barnes’ comments that cooler heads quickly prevail and the players are quick to get back to work.

“There is a high level of competition going on right now,” Skipper told the media. “Everyone is giving it everything they’ve got. Sometimes things get carried away a little bit, but at this point, move forward. No hard feelings in any way. We’re out here trying to get better, and that’s all there is to it.”

With the Lions planning on wearing pads on Monday, don’t expect the competition level to decrease after a day off.

Alterations to the depth chart

As we have seen in previous days, certain position battles continue to rotate players through. Nate Sudfeld was back with the second team, pushing Hendon Hooker to the third team. Reserve SAM linebackers Mathieu Betts and James Houston switched spots again, as did nickelbacks Emmanuel Moseley and Amik Robertson.

We also saw several reserves get looks higher up the depth chart, including cornerback Steven Gilmore working with the second team in place of Khalil Dorsey, as well as Kyle Peko repping ahead of Brodric Martin at nose tackle, and wide receiver Kaden Davis getting some run with the top units.

At offensive tackle, Skipper shifted from left to right on the second team, and Connor Galvin was elevated to left tackle, leaving Colby Sorsdal as the third team right tackle. On the surface, this could look like a demotion for Sorsdal, but from what I understand, it was more about getting Skipper and Galvin looks at different positions. Because they want to leave Giovanni Manu at third-string left tackle to help his development, this rearrangement was the easiest way to accomplish this.

Terrion Arnold adjusting to the deep ball

After being in a trail position in both 40+ yard deep passing plays to start camp, Lions first-round pick Terrion Arnold has made some key adjustments in the last two practices to prevent big plays from the offense. In Friday’s practice , I noted how Arnold dropped into zone coverage, read Daurice Fountain streaking down the middle of the field, and adjusted to get under the round, forcing an off-target throw.

On Saturday, Arnold was once again in zone coverage and initially lined up across from Williams. As Williams crossed inside, Arnold passed him off and dropped further back into coverage, picking up Amon-Ra St. Brown who was crossing the field behind him. With an initial gap in coverage, Jared Goff took his shot downfield and was spot-on with his accuracy. Unfortunately for the offense, Arnold quickly made up the distance between and timed his jump perfectly to execute a beautiful pass breakup.

Depth receivers making plays

While St. Brown couldn’t haul in the well-defended play from Arnold, the star of “Receiver” has still had solid camp and hauls in nearly everything thrown his way. But it was two lesser-talked-about receivers on Saturday that made the standout plays that deserve some attention for their efforts.

UDFA receiver Isaiah Williams has had a quiet camp but he had arguably the catch of Day 4. On a seam route, Hendon Hooker threaded a bullet over a defender, and the rookie elevated and snagged the pass out of the air with just one hand—a full extension, no-doubter grab.

Maurice Alexander has been stacking nice days and Saturday may have been his best. He found himself open on a few occasions but even managed to make plays when he was covered. On an out route, Kindle Vildor made a nice move to undercut the route, but Alexander elevated and plucked the ball out of the air. He made sure to get his feet in bounds and a spike celebration ensued.

A bit later, Alexander hauled in an impressive wheel route that ended with him diving and securing the catch:

To cap off his day, Alexander also broke loose on a deep ball that required Steven Gilmore to commit a pass interference penalty to prevent a big play.

Gilmore earning reps higher on the depth chart

While Gilmore did take a penalty so that the defense could live to fight another day, he also had three pass breakups, which was easily the most any player has had in a single practice this camp.

Working between the second and third teams, Gilmore broke up passes from Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker that were intended for Tom Kennedy, Tre’Quan Smith, and Jalon Calhoun.

“That’s just what I do, ya know what I’m saying? That’s just me,” Gilmore said after practice about his pass breakups. “I always try to be effective when I’m out on the field. Just play at maximum effort, do whatever I can to help the team.”

Quick hits

• In addition to Gilmore, Anzalone, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, and UDFA rookie safety Chelen Garnes all had their own pass breakups
• Jake Bates had a difficult day and seemed to get in his own head after missing a long field goal attempt. He overadjusted on the next kick, and after a miss, overcorrected again on his third attempt and missed again. He did finish the day with two successful kicks.
• Nate Sudfeld had one of his better days of practice and was more creative with the ball than he’d been previously.
• It’s worth noting that after four practices, the quarterback group has yet to throw an interception .
• Gibbs returned to team drills on Saturday and reminded everyone of his skill set, gliding behind a flowing offensive line, and then hitting a cutback lane for a big gain.
• Almost everything thrown at the tight ends is working
• There were several tight ends that saw time at fullback on Saturday, further pointing to the Lions not likely carrying a fullback on their roster
• Antoine Green made a slick Willie Mays-style catch during warmups, illustrating his improving tracking skills
• Jack Campbell has shown solid instincts against the run so far in camp and on Saturday he stood out a few times making stops.
• Sione Vaki and Craig Reynolds squaring off during special teams drills is quickly becoming one of my favorite battles to watch.