Lions rookie report: UDFA makes his case for 53-man roster vs. Chiefs

The Lions and Dan Campbell are in search of some wide receiver depth, and they may have found it in an unlikely candidate heading into camp.

As the NFL preseason moves forward, more and more rookies and players with little experience get their chance to prove they can stick in the league. In this matchup between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs , there was a lot to unpack from the performance of the Motor City’s freshmen class.

Wide receiver Isaiah Williams may have propelled himself onto the 53-man roster with his showing against the Chiefs. The undrafted rookie remained in for the entire game and was a contributor on both offense and special teams. Aside from one blunder in the first half, Williams looked like an all-around utility player for Detroit.

His lone mistake in this game came about halfway through the second quarter. Williams fielded a punt return and was immediately met by Kansas City’s punt team. In an attempt to avoid the incoming contact, he lost the football. Luckily for the rookie, Lions safety C.J. Moore recovered the fumble. In the following drive, Williams more than made up for this error by hauling in a 17-yard catch-and-run.

Williams went back to receive four other punts. His first went for 18 yards, and after the fumble, he signaled for a fair catch on the other two. His final punt return of the game went for 20 yards, where he shed multiple tackles and ultimately set Detroit up for Jake Bates’ game-winning field goal.

On offense, the rookie from Illinois not only led the team in receiving for the second week in a row, but also flashed some versatility. In addition to his six catches for 71 yards, he also took a carry in the first quarter that gained 11 yards. His longest play of the game was a 37-yard reception from Hendon Hooker that put the team close to the red zone.

Here’s how the rest of Detroit’s rookies fared:

• Running back Sione Vaki put on quite the show, too. In the final drive of the first half, Vaki had four receptions for 60 yards as well as a carry for 3 yards. He also fielded one kick return and later combined with Jalen Reeves-Maybin for a tackle on special teams.
• Jalon Calhoun didn’t do as well as his fellow rookie wide receiver. Calhoun fumbled after a 19-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. He had one reception for 12 yards despite playing for the majority of the game.
• Center Kingsley Eguakun started again at center and performed much better than the week before.
• Defensive end Isaac Ukwu impressed once again. He was a starter on defense for Detroit and did well against the Chiefs’ first-team offense. Ukwu left the game for a short time after taking a helmet to the thigh on a cut block from Kansas City’s right tackle. He returned to the game and recorded a sack on Chris Oladokun in the third quarter. The undrafted rookie committed one offsides penalty, but it was negated when there was a penalty on the Chiefs during the same play.
• Offensive lineman Bryan Hudson was the Lions’ second-team center and did not play until the start of the third quarter. His blocking in both run and pass protection was the weakest of the reserve linemen. He was called for holding not long after entering the game, leaving Detroit with a first-and-20 situation. Hudson’s day only got worse as he delivered a bad snap to Hendon Hooker late in the game, leading fumble on the handoff between the quarterback and running back Zonovan Knight.
• Fellow rookie linemen Giovanni Manu and Duke Clemons served as the second-team left tackle and left guard, respectively, alongside Hudson. The two did not do anything to draw attention to themselves, which can be considered a good thing for offensive linemen.
• Defensive back Loren Strickland took a large amount of his snaps as a nickel in the second half of the game. His biggest play of the day was a tackle for loss on Chiefs running back, Deneric Prince. He had three total tackles in this matchup.
• Chelen Garnes saw some reps at safety late in the game. He recorded one tackle and also batted away a pass from Ian Book.
• Long snapper Hogan Hatten may have not moonlighted as a linebacker this time around, but he did start over the incumbent Scott Daly and all of his snaps looked good.
• Mekhi Wingo didn’t play much against the Chiefs. Early on in the game, he combined for a tackle with Pat O’Connor. Other than that, he was a non-factor on the defensive line for Detroit.