Another Allen Park Practice Session in the Books
The Lions wrapped up their ninth and final OTA practice Thursday afternoon at the Meijer Performance Center. Next week brings two days of mandatory minicamp, and then it’s radio silence until late July when the real work begins.
Dan Campbell seems pleased with how the spring program has gone despite the later start to the league year. “They will have gotten their full share of the program,” Campbell said. “You know everything is a little different this year because it’s a later start for the league year, but no, we’ll get them out of here.”
Here’s what stood out from the final OTA session. And yes, I know what you’re thinking — reading into OTA reps is like trying to predict the weather in Michigan. But sometimes you catch something worth noting.
Same Format, Different Wrinkles
Thursday’s practice followed the same blueprint we’ve seen all spring. Thirty minutes of walk-throughs, positional drills, special teams work, and one full-team drill to close things out. The Lions worked on punting during special teams and ran an 11-on-11 situational drill at the end.
The coaching staff made one notable change this week — instead of splitting the first and second teams across separate fields during walkthroughs, they kept everyone together running simulated drives. Small detail, but it suggests they’re starting to think more about cohesion than just getting reps.
For the second straight practice, no 7-on-7 drills in front of the media. At this point, that feels intentional. Makes it damn near impossible to evaluate anything meaningful when there’s no full-speed work and no pads, but here we are.
The good news? Next week’s minicamp practices are both open to the media, so no hiding then.
Rep Orders That Make You Think
Reading too much into spring rep orders is a fool’s errand, but sometimes the patterns tell you something about how the coaching staff is thinking. Here’s what caught my eye.
Larry Borom continues to get the first crack at right tackle, but rookie Blake Miller is splitting time almost evenly. Miller is getting plenty of work with the first-team offense, and it feels like that job is his to lose sooner rather than later.
Juice Scruggs, who came over in the David Montgomery trade, has been the consistent backup center all spring. Thursday he even got some first-team reps at left guard, a spot that’s been Christian Mahogany’s all spring. Miles Frazier has been the usual second-team guy there.
Makes sense for Detroit to test whether Scruggs can be a versatile backup at multiple spots. Interior line depth is never a bad problem to have.
With Terrion Arnold, Rock Ya-Sin, and Ennis Rakestraw all absent, Khalil Dorsey got some run with the first-team defense alongside D.J. Reed. Dorsey brings serious special teams skills, especially as a gunner, but he’s still relatively green on defense. Good experience for the 28-year-old corner, even if it’s just OTAs.
The linebacker situation remains unchanged. Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, and Malcolm Rodriguez make up the starting crew. In nickel, it’s Campbell and Barnes. The next two up appear to be Damone Clark and Joe Bachie, though rookie Jimmy Rolder has worked his way into that conversation occasionally.
Two Dark Horse Candidates Worth Watching
Tyler Lacy has been getting early work all spring, and that’s not an accident. When the Lions need a 4i or 5-tech, he’s often the first one out there, notably ahead of Levi Onwuzurike. Maybe they’re just working Onwuzurike back slowly after missing a year with an ACL tear, but don’t sleep on Lacy either.
Campbell mentioned Lacy’s size as an asset in that “big end” role. “We have got some length now, we have got some size and length and athletic ability on the perimeter,” Campbell said. “You know Lacy is that, but he’s a little more of that big end, big stack, but we are big, we are long and so you can’t wait for training camp, you know, you just can’t wait.”
The other guy who caught my attention is receiver Cedrick Wilson. He’s still repping late in the rotation, but the nine-year veteran showed some skills during individual drills and turned around rookie Keith Abney during a red zone session.
Wilson was a late addition, so he’s flying under the radar. But with the Kendrick Law injury opening up a roster spot, there’s room for a receiver who brings special teams value. Wilson has played in at least 10 games for six straight seasons, though his special teams snaps have been limited to 381 total.
Offense Takes the Situational Drill
The first real taste of 11-on-11 action came at the end of practice with an end-of-game scenario. The offense was down four points with 40 seconds left, one timeout, and starting on the opponent’s 44-yard line.
Here’s how it played out: False start to start things off. Then Amon-Ra St. Brown beat Roger McCreary by a few steps on a post route for 19 yards. Jahmyr Gibbs took a checkdown for three yards before Malcolm Rodriguez “tackled” him. Jared Goff overthrew St. Brown on an out route, then found him again on a crossing route for 18 yards. Timeout with seven seconds left.
The next play saw Jameson Williams make a toe-tapping catch in the back of the endzone, but it was ruled incomplete. Officials called pass interference on someone. Williams caught a quick slant on the next play, but it was incomplete with D.J. Reed called for holding.
That set up an untimed down from the one-yard line, and Goff punched it in with a quarterback sneak. The defense only had a three-man front, so it was easier than Sunday morning for Goff.
Random Notes From Allen Park
Penei Sewell got called for illegal man downfield during practice and quickly picked up the flag and stuck it in his pocket so nobody would see it. That’s veteran awareness right there.
The quarterbacks worked on a rollout drill where they had to navigate the pocket, roll right, and hit a dummy on the back of a moving golf cart in the endzone. Both Goff and Luke Altmyer connected on about half their attempts from 15-20 yards out.
Practice ended with a punt-fielding competition between offense and defense. The offense lost when Dominic Lovett dropped his attempt. He also had a tough drop during individual drills. Greg Dortch, Reed, and Tom Kennedy all hauled in their attempts cleanly.
Multiple players worked on gunner drills, including Isaac TeSlaa, Kyre Duplessis, McCreary, Reed, Khalil Dorsey, Christian Izien, Lovett, Keith Abney, Malik Cunningham, Nick Whiteside, and De’Shawn Rucker. Special teams depth is never sexy, but it wins games in December.
Are we reading too much into OTA reps or are there actually some legitimate position battles brewing? Drop your take in the comments.
