Erik and Jeremy split observations on Day 8 of Lions training camp, including a promotion for Ennis Rakestraw, and a strong day from the RB depth.
The Detroit Lions were back in pads on Day 8 of training camp, and with fans still in attendance, the intensity was ramped back up. The Lions continue to tweak their depth chart and situations, and are clearly rewarding player for their efforts so far in camp.
Participation report
From: Erik Schlitt
The two big news items of the day were the return of starting defensive back Brian Branch and the early exit of rookie running back Sione Vaki . Branch had been slowly working towards full participation, and as we previously reported would happen, he was able to participate in full on Thursday.
“I feel good,” Branch told Pride of Detroit after practice. “I’m so hungry right now, to be honest. It feels really good getting back with these guys, back in the swing of things, and I’m just trying to work on my craft.”
Vaki injured his shoulder during a one-on-one drill and left the field early with trainers. He was able to walk off under his own power but no further updates have been provided at this time.
Beyond Vaki, we saw continued absences from DJ Reader (PUP), Christian Mahogany (NFI), and Zonovan Knight (undisclosed), while Kayode Awosika was a new addition to the participation report. The team was unable to confirm why Awosika was absent and we will look to get clarification from coach Dan Campbell on Friday.
Alterations to the depth chart
From: Erik
In addition to the normal rotations we’ve come to expect—at reserve quarterback, nickel back, and reserve SAM—we also saw some reserve players earning reps with the starters during team drills.
With Branch finally healthy, the Lions are giving him a lot of exposure, and at times, even kept him on the field for first and second-team reps. Kerby Joseph got the first opportunity to see snaps opposite him, with Ifeatu Melifonwu joining Branch on the second team. As the day progressed, when Branch needed some reps off, Brandon Joseph joined Melifonwu on the second team. UDFAs Morice Norris and Loren Strickland wrapped things up on the third team.
Also in the secondary, rookie Ennis Rakestraw saw his opportunities expand. He has been a fixture at outside corner on the second team, but on Thursday, he saw snaps with the first unit (opposite Terrion Arnold) as well as on the third team at nickel. Rakestraw rewarded coaches with his second interception of the week during team drills. The progress has been steady for Rakestraw and he appears to be headed toward more opportunities.
On the offensive line, with Muti recently placed on injured reserve and Awosika not present, the Lions shifted around their second unit. Connor Galvin stepped in at left tackle, Dan Skipper shifted over to right tackle, Colby Sorsdal pushed inside to right guard, Ike Boettger got snaps at left guard, while Michael Niese continued to rep at center. Additionally, with the team short on tackles, Sorsdal also saw a fair share of third-team reps at right tackle throughout the day.
At receiver, Daurice Fountain continues to fill the Lions’ starting WR-X role, followed by Antoine Green, with Donovan Peoples-Jones also being in the mix.
“We’ve got a number of guys competing for that spot,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said earlier in the day. “Reece (Fountain) has certainly come on so far in training camp, his physicality, his explosiveness has shown up. Antoine Green is still pushing all along here. We see growth from the springtime, we just need to see the consistency that we’ve been hoping for from him. DPJ (Peoples-Jones) has made some big plays for us, he had a big block just the other day in practice that we took note of.”
Standouts in TE, RB, LB, S drill
From: Jeremy Reisman
While Erik was watching the offensive line take on the defensive line, my focus was on the interior skill position guys going up against the defense. The Lions ran three sets of drills with this group: open field tackling, pass protection vs. pass rush, and route running vs. coverage.
My number one standout from the group in all facets was Jermar Jefferson. The fourth-year running back has a long way to go to earn a roster spot, but I had him with big wins in each facet—and against starting-level talent. He juked Ifeatu Melifonwu (who is typically quite strong in open-field tackling drills) out of his shoes, he absolutely stonewalled Jack Campbell in a pass protection rep, and he cleanly beat Derrick Barnes in coverage for an easy route win. Most importantly, Jefferson’s play carried over to team drills, where he made a few plays on situational downs.
Another clean sweep winner in all three drills was Kerby Joseph. Tasked with bringing down the elusive Jahmyr Gibbs, Joseph went 1-for-2, but he was dangerous as a pass rusher (beating Brock Wright) and had Shane Zylstra completely blanketed in coverage, giving Hendon Hooker no window to throw into.
Derrick Barnes also looked strong as a pass rusher, which should come as little surprise given all the work he’s putting into that facet of his game as the team’s top SAM linebacker right now. David Montgomery is regularly the best back in pass protection, but Barnes slipped right by him with an impressive swim move that harkened back to Barnes’ days at Purdue.
Some other bullet-point notes:
- Jahmyr Gibbs struggled in pass protection early, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. His effort helped him win the final rep by sticking with Malcolm Rodriguez.
- Jack Campbell had some struggles in all three drills, although he was often lined up against the top offensive talent. Like every defender in camp, Campbell wasn’t able to bring down Montgomery in both one-on-one tackling reps.
- Craig Reynolds continues to have a strong camp. He is firmly entrenched as my RB3.
1-vs-1: Offensive line vs defensive line
From: Erik
The Lions ran two versions of their one-on-one drills between the offensive and defensive lines. The first evolution started the rep with players already engaged, while the second and third sets were more traditional, with players lined up across the line of scrimmage from one another.
The Lions’ starting offensive line continues to look very strong in these drills. The offensive line won the majority of reps, with the only defensive standouts being Alim McNeill pushing Graham Glasgow deep into the pocket, Levi Onwuzurike dipping under a block from Kevin Zeitler, and Aidan Hutchinson causing a stalemate with Penei Sewell.
Amongst the reserves, Boettger showed well against rookie Mekhi Wingo and international player David Bada, while Sorsdal had wins over Josh Paschal and Mitchell Agude, but lost to Nate Lynn, who had a really good day overall.
UDFA center Kingsley Eguakun got a shout-out from Ben Johnson in the morning press conference, for his play during camp so far:
“Kingsley’s a guy that stands out,” Johnson said. “He’s doing a great job at center. We load our guys down, our center’s down, so he’s able to make the calls. He’s also cross-training at guard, he’s doing a really nice job.”
Eguakun had decisive wins over nose tackles Brodric Martin and Chris Smith in one-on-ones. Then maybe he over-celebrated a bit, because, for his third rep, coaches lined him up against Hutchinson, who made quick work of the rookie with an inside swim move. With a bit of extra time left before the team switched drills, coaches allowed linemen to square off once again, and Eguakun stepped up, this time facing off against McNeill, who like Hutchinson, showed off his starter skills and quickly won the rep.
It’s nice to see Eguakun getting some extra attention, and while he struggled against the starters, that is to be expected and shouldn’t deter from the success he has had so far in camp.
Situational drills
From: Jeremy
The Lions ran four situational drills to end practice. Let’s run through all of them.
First stringers: 20 seconds left in first half, third-and-2 from the opponents’ 16-yard line with no timeouts
- Derrick Barnes sacked Jared Goff on the one and only play from the offense.
- With the clock running, the Lions rushed the kicking team on and were able to get the field goal off in time, but Jake Bates missed the kick from under 40 yards wide right.
First stringers: 31 seconds left in the game, down six points, starting from the opponents’ 41-yard line with two timeouts
- Goff took a deep shot to Jameson Williams who was tightly covered by Carlton Davis. The ball slipped through his hands, but Davis was called for defensive holding.
- False start on the offense.
- Levi Onwuzurike recorded a sack, but the Lions played through it and Goff found Sam LaPorta for 9 yards.
- Goff tried to force a ball to Williams up the seem, but it was batted down by Branch.
- With Good protection, Goff found Daurice Fountain for 12 yards, leaving just 5 seconds on the clock.
- Lions ran a quick out to Amon-Ra St. Brown down to the 9-yard line leaving one second left.
- After scrambling to his left and back to his right, Goff needled the ball between a couple defenders and found St. Brown in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
Second stringers (Nate Sudfeld): 44 seconds left, down three points, starting from opponents’ 48-yard line, two timeouts
- Mekhi Wingo recorded a sack for a 5-yard loss (timeout).
- Sudfeld found Tom Kennedy for a 10-yard gain on a curl.
- Incomplete pass to Kennedy.
- The Lions opted against attempting a 61-yard field goal to tie, but Sudfeld couldn’t connect with Brock Wright after Ifeatu Melifonwu broke up the pass along the sideline.
Third stringers (Hendon Hooker): 1:31 left, down seven points, starting from own 30-yard line, two timeouts
- After a defensive offsides, Hooker found Shane Zylstra for a huge 30-yard gain with a laser up the seam.
- Spike to stop the clock.
- Hooker found Jefferson for a 16-yard gain, going out of bounds to stop the clock.
- With pressure from Nate Lynn, Hooker stood up and found Jalon Calhoun for 9 yards. (timeout)
- With over a minute still on the clock, the Lions gave the ball to Jefferson for a short gain, setting them up first-and-goal just inside the 10-yard line.
- Going into hurry-up mode (despite plenty of time left and a timeout), Hooker tried to connect with Zylstra on a quick pass to the flats, but newly-signed linebacker Malik Jefferson jumped the route and took it for what likely would’ve been a pick-six.