Lions OTAs Keep Churning Forward
Another Thursday in Allen Park, another practice that felt more like an extended stretching session than actual football. The Lions wrapped up their sixth OTA session with the usual mix of walkthroughs, position work, and just enough situational football to remind everyone that we’re still months away from anything that matters.
Sam LaPorta and Terrion Arnold made it back onto the field, albeit in the most limited way possible. Both were restricted to walkthroughs only, which is probably the smart play after their recent injury concerns. Meanwhile, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch remain sidelined and shouldn’t be expected back for the remainder of OTAs or minicamp.
The real gut punch? Rookie receiver Kendrick Law is done indefinitely after tearing his ACL earlier this week. Just like that, a promising young weapon is shelved before we even got to see what he could do in Honolulu Blue.
Depth Chart Tea Leaves
Dan Campbell keeps telling everyone not to read too much into who’s repping where on the depth chart. With all due respect to Coach, that’s basically the only thing worth watching at these glorified jogs through the playbook.
Larry Borom spent most of his time at right tackle with the first-string offense, which is interesting considering Blake Miller was drafted specifically for that spot. Borom also rotated in at left tackle during walkthroughs, replacing Penei Sewell. The fact that Borom is getting reps at both positions while Miller stays locked at right tackle tells you everything about where the coaching staff’s confidence sits right now.
On defense, Mekhi Wingo was running with the starters as a three-tech alongside Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike. For a third-year player who’s done basically nothing so far, that’s either a sign of progress or a reflection of how thin the depth really is.
The secondary shuffle was more puzzling. Terrion Arnold found himself with the reserves despite being a first-round pick, though that’s likely more about his injury recovery than any actual demotion. Khalil Dorsey moved up to work with the starters, rotating with D.J. Reed, Rock Ya-Sin, and Roger McCreary in the slot.
Clock Management Theater
The Lions ran their first situational drill of the offseason, and it was about as Lions as you’d expect. Picture this: down one point, 14 seconds left from the opponent’s 48-yard line, no timeouts.
The first-team offense handed it off to Jahmyr Gibbs for five yards up the middle, hustled to the line, and spiked it with five seconds remaining. That left Jake Bates with a 61-yard field goal attempt, which he missed wide right. Cool.
The second unit was even worse. Teddy Bridgewater essentially threw two passes into the dirt, burning clock like he was trying to run out a lead instead of score. By the time they got to attempt the field goal, there was one second left. Bates nailed that one from somewhere between 50-60 yards, but by then it was academic.
Random Notes Worth Mentioning
Luke Altmyer, the third-string quarterback, has apparently caught everyone’s attention. Campbell praised his confidence, and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing called him “unflappable.” Watching him throw during walkthroughs, his arm strength stood out. Not elite, but solid enough to make every route in the tree work.
Dan Jackson picked off a pass during walkthroughs by jumping an underneath route, which means absolutely nothing but looked aggressive. And during special teams work, pretty much every skill position player got a look at returning kicks, including Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Dominic Lovett, Isiah Pacheco, Greg Dortch, Jameson Williams, and Tom Kennedy.
Look, it’s early June. Half the team is in shorts and helmets, running at 60 percent speed through plays they could execute in their sleep. But this is what we’ve got until training camp, so we watch, we analyze, and we try not to get too excited about walkthroughs and depth chart shuffles.
Are we overanalyzing practice reps because there’s literally nothing else to talk about, or is this actually meaningful intel about the season ahead? Drop your take below.
