Observations from Day 2 of Detroit Lions training camp: The expansion of Jahmyr Gibbs’ role and shakeups at positional battles.
The Detroit Lions were back on the field on Thursday for Day 2 of their 2024 training camp. With this being the Lions’ second practice, they are progressing through the acclimation process, adding more practice time onto each day and slowly ramping up the intensity levels.
Participation Report
Despite having eight players on PUP/NFI to open camp, seven of them were cleared yesterday, leaving only DJ Reader as the only player still on an injury list. Rookie Christian Mahogany missed his second practice in a row as he is currently dealing with an illness, and a few players were limited to walkthroughs only, but for the most part, the Lions have a very healthy roster right now.
Reader was seen working off to the side of the field with trainers—most notably running up the training hill on the perimeter of camp—but the Lions have no plans to rush him back to the field.
Brian Branch and Marcus Davenport only participated in walkthroughs but were hanging around all practice working with trainers or sticking with their position groups. Branch continues to see starting safety reps when on the field, while Davenport is working with the reserve edge players on the second team.
Jahmyr Gibbs appears close to returning
Gibbs was dealing with a soft tissue injury in the spring and the Lions have been working him back into practice slowly. He is participating in walkthroughs and individual drills, but he is currently being held out of team drills.
A new wrinkle in Gibbs’ workout on Thursday was his incorporation into wide receiver drills. Not only did Gibbs get in on the route simulations, but he was also receiving one-on-one instruction from offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who appeared to be instructing him on the technical nuances of his route running.
After practice, Gibbs, along with several other running backs, spent time with Amon-Ra St. Brown for some additional route running instruction. The backs took turns running different routes, with St. Brown looking on and advising.
“Yeah, I appreciate him a lot,” Gibbs said of St. Brown advising him after practice. “He’s always a guy that’s willing to help his team. He wants to win, we all want to win. And, overall, he’s just a great person. So, whatever I need, I know he’ll be up for it.”
Jared Goff sharp, reserves rotating
Jared Goff continues to look sharp in camp, and for the second day in a row, he dropped a dime ball 30+ yards downfield, this time to Daurice Fountain, who got a step on rookie Terrion Arnold. Goff’s chemistry with his returning pass catchers is clear and so far, things look easy.
After taking third-team reps all spring and on Day 1 of training camp, Nate Sudfeld was with the second team on Thursday and continued his consistency. Sudfeld still needs to speed up his clock in the pocket, but he completed several nice passes at practice, setting up Maurice Alexander and Donovan Peoples-Jones for quality plays.
Hooker worked with the third team but didn’t have the ups and downs he had on Day 1. He looked better in individual drills and processed things well during team portions, but still needs to tighten up some of his throws.
Defensive position battles lead to rotational work
In addition to Sudfeld and Hooker swapping spots, there were a few more position battles that saw early work rotation.
On the defensive line, the expansion of Levi Onwuzurike’s duties has made the Lions’ 4 and 5-man front usage easier to deploy. Onwuzurike, like Josh Paschal, has been getting reps at the 3-technique, 5-technique, and even at defensive end. This usage has overlapped with things John Cominsky has previously done and could be why he has landed further down the depth chart. While Paschal is still the preferred starting defensive end, Onwuzurike’s starting to get more looks all over the line, which could be an important step in roster development.
At SAM linebacker, Derrick Barnes remains the starter but the battle behind him has opened up. After James Houston saw second-team reps on Wednesday, he dropped to the third team as Mathieu Betts was bumped up in his spot. Neither stood out on the day, but we did see some inconsistencies from Houston that he had not previously shown.
“He knows he’s got to be able to handle the SAM linebacker position for us, and no different than what we just talked about: consistency,” coach Dan Campbell said of Houston prior to practice. “We have to be able to trust that he’s going to do what he needs to do and that whatever defense we call, he’s going to handle it mentally and we can trust that. We anticipate him taking another step forward.”
At nickel, Amik Robertson returned to the starting lineup and Emmanuel Moseley dropped back with the second team. At times, Moseley did get some reps with the ones but for the most part, this was Robertson’s turn to play with the higher level of competition.
At safety, when Branch was on the field during walkthroughs, we saw a change in his safety partner. After Kerby Joseph saw those reps on Wednesday, it was Ifeatu Melifonwu’s time on Thursday. When they shifted to team drills, both Joseph and Melifonwu remained the starters.
Intensity ramping up
While the Lions are yet to put on pads, the intensity level is slowly ramping up during team drills. Coaches are getting more competitive, defenders are running through plays, and offensive players are celebrating successes.
After getting out-physicalled on a rep, the defense heard some choice words from defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. On the next play, Moseley lined up across from Jameson Williams, stayed in phase with him to the middle of the field, and then passed him off and switched to coverage on St. Brown. Moseley was left in a precarious position having to change direction quickly, but he was anticipatory in his movements and was able to make the stop immediately as St. Brown caught the ball. While the offense will get credit for the completion, Moseley’s instincts kept the gain to just a few yards as opposed to a big gain.
Not long after, Barnes—now at the MIKE with the second team—picked up Shane Zylstra on a crossing route and immediately broke on the play. Once again, the offensive skill player made the catch but Barnes ran him down in a blink, putting his arms up to avoid a tackle, but still managing to run through Zylstra—instead of delivering a big hit.
Along the same lines, Ennis Rakestraw was aggressively closing on a dump-off pass to Zonovan Knight, and when the back had to adjust to the ball, the rookie collided with the back dislodging the football for a fumble.
As the trash talk increases, Jameson Williams continues to let the defense know when he makes plays—which has been more frequent as of late. After throwing the ball in the air following a big touchdown grab on Wednesday, Williams made a difficult sideline catch, managed to stay in bounds, and even gained another 5-7 yards before falling out of bounds. When Williams got up, the ball went flying in celebration again, which drew some comments from the defense.
Now, none of these incidents from the defenders were purposeful or malicious, and Williams celebrations are common occurrences, but as the speed of the game and intensity increases, it’s sometimes hard to slow your momentum.
Hello, Jake Bates
The Lions’ special team work on Thursday included some looks at the new kickoff format, as well as a kicking show from Jake Bates.
While we’re limited in what we can share about the Lions’ approach to the new kickoff rules, it is worth noting that the personnel grouping are about what we expected. The majority of the team went through both blocking and attacking drills, but there was some early preference for defensive backs, linebackers, and offensive skill players. As we projected, players with more athleticism will be important, while bigger bodies who can tackle will also be involved.
Bates was the only kicker to attempt any field goals today and appeared to go six-for-six from distances of 33, 37, 39, 43, 50, and 52. His leg is as advertised as each kick went through the top of the uprights, and his kick from 33 was probably over the uprights entirely. His kick from 52 yards did glance off the right upright but it stayed inside.
“I think I’m a lot more mature,” Bates said when discussing his progress since his time with the Texans as a rookie. “I know a little bit of what to expect as far as what’s expected of me day to day, the long days, stuff like that. I’m not going in so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed like I did with them. And I’m super grateful for that opportunity to show me the ropes for the first time. John Weekes, Cameron Johnston, and Ka’imi Fairbairn were super awesome to me bringing me along, but yeah, I feel a lot more mature and ready to go.”
Quick hits
- Terrion Arnold converted a blitz into a would-be sack, right around the time when Hulk Hogan showed up at Lions camp to distract people.
- Kalif Raymond turned a slick screen play into a huge gain. It was blocked so well, I’m not sure he was touched until he was 25 yards downfield.
- Daurice Fountain continues to rep at WR5, despite the return of Donovan Peoples-Jones. Now, this could be because Peoples-Jones is slowly being worked back in after missing Wednesday’s practice, but it could also be because Fountain continues to produce.
- Ben Niemann was the green-dot play called on the Lions’ third-team defense.