With Detroit Lions training camp a week away, we discuss players we’re most excited to see.
Detroit Lions rookies report to training camp on Wednesday and veterans are to follow on the following Saturday. That means training camp practices are a mere week away. Finally, we’ll have some solid news to talk about that doesn’t involve lists, predictions, or ridiculous trade scenarios.
This offseason, we barely got a look at the 2025 Lions team. Where we’d usually have at least two OTA practices and three minicamp sessions open to the media, the shortened spring program limited us to just two overall practices to watch.
That leaves us with a lot of unknowns for a team that went through a fair amount of transition this offseason—particularly with the coordinators and one of their best players retiring.
With that in mind, today’s Question of the Day is:
Which single Lions player are you most excited to see (or read reports about)?
My answer: It’s Giovanni Manu.
One of the more fascinating picks from the 2024 NFL Draft , Manu has one of the widest ranges of potential outcomes on this roster. He could finish anywhere between starting left tackle in a manner of a year or two to being a player perpetually on the inactive list.
The hope is he’s at least in contention for the OT3 spot this year, but that would require significant improvement from where the fourth-round pick was at this point last year. Coaches and players have praised his development during 2024, but all of that happened behind closed doors. Will the improvement be on display for the media and fans once training camp opens?
Because if Manu can follow a similar trajectory that Jordan Mailata took with the Eagles, it could go down as one of Brad Holmes’ best draft picks. Getting a future left tackle would be huge considering the money it could save in the short and long term. With Taylor Decker costing the Lions between $21 and $24 million in cap space in each of the next three seasons, Manu’s rookie deal for the next three years would be a nice replacement. Getting younger on the offensive line is key, too.
But even if Manu becomes a dependable OT3, that may be a good enough return on investment for the British Columbia product. In Detroit, that’s a meaningful offensive role considering how often they use jumbo sets and how frequently a starting tackle suffers an injury.
All that said, it would not be entirely surprising if Manu isn’t ready for either of those roles in 2025. He has a long way to go in his development, so expecting a fully-changed player is probably setting the bar too high. Still, if the development is hardly noticeable, it should change some expectations moving forward.
Which Lions player are you most excited to hear about from Lions training camp? Scroll down to the comment section and let us know!