Training camp Day 1 observations: Jameson Williams’ progress continues

Observations from Detroit Lions Day 1 of 2024 training camp, including Jameson Williams continued progress and Emmanuel Moseley reps at nickel.

Detroit Lions returned to the field on Wednesday as they officially opened up their 2024 training camp practices in Allen Park.

With this being the the first practice of the acclimation period, the Lions were not in pads and practice only lasted an hour and a half, which will likely be the shortest practice during training camp. The Lions will expand practices by 15 minutes over each of the next four days, culminating in a Saturday practice—when season ticket holders arrive—that will likely be two and a half hours in length with the option of wearing shell under their jerseys. After a mandatory day off on Sunday, the Lions will return on Monday in pads and in front of fans.

Participation report

As is common at the beginning of training camp, the Lions had some movement on the injury front. After placing four players on the PUP and NFI lists earlier in the week, the Lions removed three of them ahead of practice —Brian Branch, Marcus Davenport, and Giovanni Manu—leaving DJ Reader (PUP) as the only injured player from the original list.

Unfortunately, the Lions did add four more players to the NFI list —Carlton Davis, Amik Robertson, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Tre’Quan Smith—but these absences appeared to be a bit less concerning. Because it’s the NFI, it could simply be that they did not pass their initial physicals or had a minor tweak during individual training this summer. As a reminder, the players on these lists are available to return to practice at any time and could be back as soon as tomorrow.

The only non-injury list player who was absent at Wednesday’s practice was rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany. There was no update on his status at this time but it will likely come tomorrow.

First look at new secondary

While the Lions are dealing with three key contributors limited or not at practice, there was some shuffling in the Lions’ secondary that was notable.

With Davis and Robertson unavailable, the Lions started rookies Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw at their outside corner spots. Emmanuel Moseley—who is also expected to be in the mix for a spot on the outside—lined up a nickel, a spot he saw some time at with the 49ers but hasn’t played in some time.

“I like the physical aspect about it,” Moseley said after practice. “I’m a physical corner, like to get up in people’s faces, I like to hit people, and it’s a lot closer to the ball. At corner, you can get in the action a little bit, but at nickel, you’re right in the action 24/7. So, it’s very exciting.”

Moseley noted that the plan is for him to spend time both inside and on the outside, and it’s exciting for him as he plans to learn every aspect of this defense. He also noted that he is finally feeling recovered from back-to-back ACL injuries and appreciated that the Lions believed in him and gave him another chance to compete.

During team drills, the only other player that I saw take snaps at nickel was Rakestraw, who kicked inside at times with the non-starters.

At safety, Branch and Kerby Joseph were with the starters during walkthroughs, but Branch didn’t participate in individual or team drills, making way for Ifeatu Melifonwu to take the remaining first-team reps. This is nothing new or unexpected but does point to the Lions working toward Branch seeing more time deep in the secondary. As Branch heals, I do expect them to continue to give him more looks in the slot later on in camp.

SAM role growing

The Lions leaned on the SAM linebacker role more last season than they had in previous years and it looks to be a significant role moving forward. We continued to see 4- and 5-man fronts deployed by the Lions and the SAM role continues to get worked in.

As expected, Derrick Barnes remains the top option for this role and tends to line up there when it is used by the first team. While Barnes was the Lions’ primary SAM, he did get occasional reps at both MIKE and WILL with the non-starters.

After Barnes, James Houston was the next in line for SAM reps, and he was used in a variety of ways. Houston rewarded the Lions for the extra work and launched himself into the backfield on several occasions. While contact is not allowed during this portion of training camp, it’s fair to say Houston was in a position to make several tackles for loss. Behind Houston was Mathieu Betts, but he didn’t stand out nearly as much.

Young players on defensive line repping early

With no pads on, the defensive line typically performs better early in camp and Wednesday was no different.

Aidan Hutchinson looked in mid-season form from the jump, routinely smoking any tight end across from him. Josh Paschal got the start on the opposite side and also found himself in the backfield on several occasions with nifty technical pass rushing moves. In addition to the Lions incorporating more SAM work, Mitchell Agude contained to rep with the second team on the edge.

With Reader out, Alim McNeill saw a rotation next to him on the interior with Brodric Martin getting the first team reps at nose tackle, and when they shifted to other fronts, Levi Onwuzurike saw some time with the ones.

While most of these players were expected to be in two-deep roles, it’s also worth pointing out that John Cominsky was surprisingly with the third team. After coming off a down season and taking a pay cut in the offseason , Cominsky was expected to be on the hot seat, but only reps with the three’s was mildly surprising.

Jameson Williams looking crisp

Williams looks like he spent time transforming his lower body in the offseason and working on his routes. While his legs are still skinny he has added some muscle and looks a bit more defined. In addition to the added muscle, Williams has looked crisp with his routes, and with his elite speed, he is setting himself up very well for a breakout season.

While I only saw him catch one ball during team drills, it was a monster. With the defense in zone, Williams quickly ate up the coverage from Rakestraw and cut across the face of Ifeatu Melifonwu, who was immediately in trail coverage. Arnold saw Williams making the move but was a bit too far away and couldn’t recover in time as the speedster carved his way through the secondary. A dime ball from Goff 40+ yards down the field and Williams easily walked into the end zone for a touchdown.

“First two plays: touchdown,” Amon-Ra St. Brown said about Williams after practice. “We all know he’s fast, but I feel like, for me being around him, this is my third year now, he just looks more comfortable. He looks like he’s done this before. He looks like he knows what to expect. He’s not that young rookie guy no more, he’s been here for a few years. So every year he just gets more comfortable, and I know I’ve been saying this every year, I think he’s gotten better every year. Obviously, I think this year is going to be huge for him. I actually know it is, and I can’t wait.”

More offensive skill players

With Peoples-Jones not practicing, it was Antoine Green in with the starters in all aspects at practice. He was in Jared Goff’s cycle of players for warmups—typically a good sign you’re in a position to start—and spent time working beside St. Brown, Williams, and Kalif Raymond.

When the Lions cycled in a fifth wide receiver, it was Daurice Fountain, who continues to make standout plays—including arguably the catch of the day. While with the second team, Fountain ran a simple sideline route that was strongly covered by Kindle Vildor. Quarterback Hendon Hooker placed the ball high and outside to avoid the coverage (maybe a bit too high) and Fountain was able to snag it with a leaping full extension. People-Jones needs to get on the field in a hurry or he’ll be looking over his shoulder at Fountain for his role.

The running backs and tight ends went as expected, with the only real note being that Craig Reynolds saw the majority of the RB2 reps as Jahmyr Gibbs is slowly returning from injury. Sione Vaki also got in the fray, but he’s gonna have to continue to stack positive days to run down Reynolds.

Quarterback play was sharp early

Jared Goff looked like the pro he is, accurately and consistently placing the ball in his receiver’s hands. From the reps I saw, a Goff thrown only hit the ground twice throughout the entire practice and both were clear drops. The first bounced off Sam LaPorta’s hands during warmups—and the pair immediately re-ran the rep—and the second fell out of Green’s hands during team drills.

Hooker started his day off with a lot of accuracy issues, but he settled the ship quickly and ended up having a very nice day. In addition to his throw to Fountain, he routinely made nice crisp throws, taking all the second-team reps. Nate Sudfeld continues to look like the more consistent backup quarterback, but he is still with the third team and doesn’t look to be moving up anytime soon.

Overall, there were not a lot of passes that ended up on the ground on Wednesday, which is a good sign that the team can maximize their time on the field.

Offensive line playing out as expected

With the starters set, my attention landed on the second-team offensive line and how it was organized. Here’s how they laid out from left to right:

Dan Skipper—Netane Muti—Michael Niese—Kayode Awosika—Colby Sorsdal

My biggest two takeaways from this alignment are that Muti and Awosika flipped sides in Wednesday’s practice—indicating the two are being challenged for possibly one roster spot—and that Sorsdal is indeed setting himself up for a significant role.

After practice, Sorsdal acknowledged the importance of the reserve right tackle in the offense—especially as a sixth offensive lineman—and said he is very comfortable returning to right tackle, a role he played for four seasons in college. He also pointed out that last season’s training at guard will not go to waste, as he is still expecting to rep there to make himself as valuable a reserve piece as possible.

On the third team, rookie Manu was off the NFI list and at left tackle throughout the day. His stint on the NFI was brief and he was fully practicing, indicating he should be good to go moving forward.

Special teams focus on punting

With punter Jack Fox and punt returner Kalif Raymond fully entrenched in their starting roles, my attention turned to emergency punt return duties and gunner roles.

Beyond Raymond, Maurice Alexander took the majority of the remaining snaps at returner, with the occasional punt being fielded by St. Brown and Jameson Williams. At gunner, Khalil Dorsey returned to his starting role, with the other spot being filled by Moseley. Beyond the starters, rookie corner Ennis Rakestraw and wide receiver Kaden Davis also saw reps.