ALLEN PARK, Mich. — One thing you notice when you’re out there at Lions training camp: there’s a buzz about this team.
You felt it on Wednesday — very much a first-day-of-school vibe. You felt it Thursday, with several outside visitors on hand to watch the team get better. Even more so on Friday — friends and family day. It was the first crowd in attendance before things open up to even more fans in the days and weeks to come.
They’re all here to see a 2024 Lions team with Super Bowl aspirations in its early stages. It’s a cool thing to see. Never a bad idea to stop and smell the roses.
Now, onto Friday’s observations.
The Lions are auditioning a group of wide receivers to take over for Josh Reynolds, now in Denver after leaving the team in free agency. There’s been plenty of intrigue over how the Lions might fill those snaps. An outside signing? Perhaps a player who’s done it before like Donovan Peoples-Jones?
Right now, though, the spotlight is on second-year receiver Antoine Green.
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That Green is here, perhaps set to take on a bigger role in one of the league’s best offenses, is wildly impressive. Some seventh-round picks don’t even make the roster in their rookie seasons, let alone push to start. But Green is getting first-team reps, largely because he’s learned the nuances of Ben Johnson’s offense. He explained it after practice.
“It’s a lot of moving parts, and it’s a lot of answers within the offense,” Green told The Athletic. “We’ll have two, three plays built into one play, so you’ll have an answer for everything. That just makes it even more fun instead of just going out, running one play, knowing it ain’t gonna work against that coverage. It just feels like more of a game.”
That tidbit is precisely why players love playing for Johnson. He puts them in a position to succeed, giving them the answers to the test. The Lions liked his vertical speed coming out of North Carolina a year ago, but the game needed to slow down. Some players pick up on the offense faster than others. Green said he started to feel comfortable playing it by the end of the preseason. The Lions brought him along slowly, as he continued to learn the playbook. He began getting more opportunities by the end of the season and he believes that set him up for the first-team reps he’s now receiving.
“Last year, when it came to the learning part, you just gotta really spend time in your playbook,” Green said. “That’s the biggest part right there. That’s probably the biggest wall that you got to get over.”
Green is over it now. With the Lions searching for a new WR3, he looks like the early frontrunner. Whenever Detroit’s offense takes the field for a team period against the defense, it’s Green out there next to St. Brown, LaPorta and Williams. And even though the ball doesn’t always come his way as a fourth option in the passing game, Green said he’s striving to finish his routes better, be a factor in the run game as a blocker and continue to build chemistry with Jared Goff. Doing the little things and staying in the playbook will keep you around in this offense.
Secondary bringing the energy
The Lions spent this offseason strategically attacking the secondary market, looking for an infusion of talent that aligned with how they want their corners to play and carry themselves.
It led to some new faces. Carlton Davis III, acquired from the Bucs via trade. Amik Robertson, signed in free agency. Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw, drafted to be long-term answers. For a passing defense that never quite matched Aaron Glenn’s man-heavy preference, credit the Lions for providing him with the horses to run his defense. They’re hoping these new pieces help them compete in ways they weren’t able to a year ago.
“I think the new personnel, the new energy, I think they all are different in a lot of ways than a lot of the guys we had last year and want to prove that,” Goff said. “So, they’ve done a good job up to this point. It’s only been three days, but it’s been fun to compete against.”
It’s fair to preface this conversation by saying you need to see it before you believe it. There were similar things being written last year about this secondary, when Cam Sutton was the shiny new toy and C.J. Gardner-Johnson was talking relentless trash in the secondary.
But there’s an aura about the new pieces added to this secondary. And it’s not just one guy. It’s a collective mindset, on top of depth unseen a year ago.
To really understand it, read it straight from the source.
Davis, from his introductory press conference in March: “Man, you about to get a lockdown corner. You about to have one side just, like, unavailable. That’s what I do. I’m here to take the No. 1 receiver on any team.”
Robertson on his competitive mindset: “That’s what got me here and that’s what’s keeping me in this league. You know, 5-foot-8, coming from Louisiana Tech, come on man. It’s not easy. But being a confident guy, playing with that swagger, playing with that energy, that’s what got me here.”
Arnold during rookie minicamp: “If my mom was out here right now and lined up across from me as a receiver, I would jam her into the dirt. That’s just my mindset. And my mom knows that.”
Rakestraw, shortly after he was drafted: “I call myself the ‘Tone-setter.’ My defense used to call me the firecracker of the team, because yeah I’m a corner, but I’ll come up and set that edge. I’ll hit you like a linebacker. I just let my presence be felt every play that I’m out there.”
Obviously, those comments will go longer if the words match the performance. But I think it’s fair to proceed with cautious optimism. I thought they really competed in Friday’s practice, helping to make things difficult for the offense. If the secondary is even league average, the defense will be much better overall.
It’s early, but so far this group is handling itself well against one of the league’s better offenses.
An exciting week for the Lions ended with family day, which included defensive lineman John Cominsky sharing an apple with his 2-year-old daughter, Emersyn. (Eric Seals / USA Today)
Team and red zone highlights
• During the early team periods, I think it’s fair to say the starting defense got the better of the offense. No explosives allowed. It was what you wanted to see from that unit.
• During a four-play sequence for the first-team offense during a 7-on-7 period, I had an incompletion from Goff to Green, a ball from Goff to Peoples-Jones broken up by Carlton Davis III, an incompletion to Sam LaPorta with Ifeatu Melifonwu in coverage and a touchdown from Goff to Craig Reynolds. One score in four attempts. A win for the defense.
• The offense was much better in a red zone period later in practice. I had Goff with four touchdowns on roughly eight or nine plays. The first, a toe-drag score to St. Brown in the end zone. The next, a wheel route to Craig Reynolds with Alex Anzalone in coverage. St. Brown had a few words for the linebacker, hyping up Reynolds while clowning Anzalone, which drew a light, playful shove from him. Later on, Goff hit Brock Wright after he faked a block and slipped out for a score. Sort of his specialty. Goff also found LaPorta in the back of the end zone.
• As for the defense, former CFL star Mathieu Betts had a good day. I had him with a sack and a pressure. He’s been playing some Sam linebacker for the team.
• Arnold had a sack on a corner blitz. Aidan Hutchinson took the tight end out of the play, opening up a lane for Arnold. Really nice execution.
• Near the end of practice, the Lions ran a late-game scenario with 1:30 left on the clock. On the first play, Arnold broke up a low throw intended for St. Brown. Ahead of the second, Penei Sewell drew a false start, which backed up the offense. On the next play, Goff hit St. Brown for a modest gain with Emmanuel Moseley in coverage. And on the final play, Goff was pressured by Alim McNeill, I believe. The pass intended for LaPorta was tipped and nearly picked off. The coaching staff chose to end the drill there.
News, notes and observations
• Lions K Michael Badgley is out for the season after suffering a torn hamstring. The injury happened ahead of Thursday’s practice, which helps explain why Jake Bates was the only kicker to receive field goal attempts that day. Badgley will move to injured reserve. Tough break for the veteran.
• Going forward, Bates is your frontrunner to win the job. The Lions have had some workouts already in search of competition for Bates, but this injury opens the door for him to cement himself as the starting kicker. He’ll need to be consistent, but it’s his to lose at this point.
• Aside from Badgley, Christian Mahogany (illness), Brian Branch and Jameson Williams were the three players who weren’t in attendance Friday. I’m told Branch and Williams were out for excused personal reasons. No reason to panic.
• I tried to gather a feel for the second-team offensive line in camp. This might not be the best representation of what the depth will look like because Mahogany isn’t practicing right now. But I saw Colby Sorsdal at right tackle, Kayode Awosika at right guard, Michael Niese at center, Netane Muti at left guard and Dan Skipper at left tackle during one team period.
• Jack Campbell just seems way more comfortable. He’s starting to let loose a little bit. I wrote about him earlier this week and how those within the organization believe he can really shine in 2024. Don’t be surprised if it comes together.
• The Lions appear to be taking it easy with RB Jahmyr Gibbs during team periods, relying heavily on David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds in the run game. He was dealing with a soft tissue thing this spring, so perhaps they’re easing him back.
• Don’t forget about Emmanuel Moseley. He’s making plays from the nickel spot, and could push to win that job.
• Things got chippy at practice Friday. Derrick Barnes and Brock Wright got into it a bit, trading some shoves before teammates intervened. Wright had a good laugh about it after practice when walking off the field. Levi Onwuzurike also got into it with Reynolds after a play. Maybe guys were trying to show out for family day? If so, I respect it.
(Top photo of Antoine Green, left, and Daurice Fountain: Eric Seals / USA Today)
