With the first week of training camp in the books, and the Detroit Lions having a rest day on Sunday, now is a good time to reflect on the four practices so far. As part of the team’s slow ramp-up period, the Lions still haven’t donned full protections, and practices earlier in the week were little more than glorified roaming. However, the camp intensified over the last two days, with the pace picking up significantly and the fitness level increasing.
So, to wrap up the first set of practices, I (Jeremy Reisman) and Erik Schlitt picked 10 players who made the biggest impression in Week 1 of Detroit Lions training camp.
RB D’Andre Swift
Jeremy: This week, coach Dan Campbell called Swift “one of our most explosive players on offense,” and it’s impossible not to see him in training camp, even when he’s not padded. Swift’s acceleration is top-notch, as we saw during a race where he bounced the carry outside and beat everyone in a footrace to the rim by several steps.
Swift also stood out during red zone drills as a nearly impossible task in the receiving game. Of course, it always helps when your quarterback flips a dime like this:
LB Anthony Pittman
Erik: I think the player who has made the biggest jump up the depth chart for me is Pittman. Entering camp was an afterthought, one that many of us at POD thought could be a sleeper if it took one or three development steps. Through four days of camp, it appears he’s quickly made up ground and is being used possibly more than any other player on the roster.
Pittman has worked with the first team as an off-the-ball linebacker in a secondary package in DIME sets (split reps with Chris Board). He also spent time as an EDGE/SAM hybrid with the second team, sometimes taking reps behind Julian Okwara (a role Jarrad Davis seems to have lost on him). Additionally, he has also done third-row reps on MIKE/WILL, illustrating his range to play all linebacker spots. And then there are the special teams—remember he led the team in special teams plays last season—where he’s all over the field, pushing people.
Here’s what trainer Dan Campbell had to say about Pittman on Saturday:
I think the beauty of Pitt (man) is just that, man, if he can continue to improve as an inside backup, the MIKE in particular, then take him out and play linebacker SAM, which is a little new for him in a sense. That will take a minute. But nevertheless, he has the physical attributes to be able to do that, and he has some length and speed. He’s pretty explosive, so we like the fact that the guy you’re looking for, that guy, let’s see if he can play all the linebacker spots, oh, and he can play special teams, that’s exactly what you’re looking for. by.
Pittman isn’t in the top 3 linebacker rotation at this stage of his development, but when you can do as much as he can, a backup linebacker role on the 53-man roster seems within reach.
DL John Cominsky
Jeremy: Cominsky has been replaying fairly consistently with the second and third teams, but he’s making the case that he gets more, and earlier, reps. My Week 1 notebook is full of “79 pressure,” “79 sack,” “79++,” as he continues to build a solid offseason.
Now is an excellent time for Cominsky to make an impression, as second-round pick Josh Paschal remains sidelined with a sports hernia. The two are likely destined for similar roles: leading setter outside, but quick inside passer on the downs. Cominsky, who once generated 21 pressures for the Falcons in 2020 in a non-starting role, may very well make this team if Paschal starts the regular season on the physically unable to perform list.
C.B. Chase Lucas
Erik: Lucas enters camp at NB3, which seems like a tough spot on the depth chart considering the Lions only kept a nickel player last season. But for those who attended, the rookie continues to excel in multiple areas and has started earning reps with the second team, which could be the opportunity he needs to make the roster.
If you get a chance to head out to camp, keep an eye out and listen for No. 36, who will likely bark orders at his high school teammates and pair up with anyone who travels to the slot. Lucas seems to already have an idea of the defensive scheme, which gives him a significant advantage over most players.
Like most safety players, Lucas’s ticket to the roster will go beyond his contributions on defense, and his work on special teams has already caught Campbell’s eye.
“I would say (Chase) Lucas—Lucas caught my eye, and I would tell you—particularly in special teams drills, that’s where I really see him,” Campbell said offhandedly when discussing rookie standouts. “The competition drills and there’s an awareness about him, he’s pretty instinctive and aggressive and you have to have all of that to be a good special teams player.”
EDGE Austin Bryant
Jeremy: Like Cominsky, Bryant is taking advantage of the extra reps the injury brings. With Romeo Okwara sidelined, Bryant is getting a lot of stares with the second-team defense. It’s true that Bryant is also benefiting from weak offensive tackle space. With Decker sidelined Saturday, the second-team offensive tackles were undrafted rookies Obinna Eze and Darrin Paulo. Still, Bryant is doing what an NFL-caliber player should be doing in those situations: dominate. And he is winning in more ways than one. I’ve seen it bend over the edge, or crash inside and put the rig on the skids.
At one point during practice on Saturday, Eze was so frustrated that the one time the offensive tackle won a replay, he started trash-talking Bryant. It was clear that the defensive side had gotten into his head.
C.B. Will Harris
erik: We all knew Will Harris was in the mix in the outside corner based on feedback and use by coaches in the spring, but I don’t think many of us knew how much he was in the mix until this week. The team still appears to be taking things slow with Jeff Okudah, who is coming off Achilles tendon surgery, but that has created an opportunity to split early reps with Harris, and the former safety has taken advantage.
Harris’ play on the field has been consistent and, at times, shocking. He’s big and physical for the position, which coaches love, but he also has an understated athleticism, which allows him to match up nicely with outside receivers/tight ends.
Right now, Harris is in the mix to start, but even if Okudah passes him for the role, Harris has shown enough potential to give hope that the secondary could be deeper than anticipated.
WR Amon-Ra San Brown
Jeremy: While St. Brown hasn’t made any flashy or explosive plays, he struck me with the various ways the Lions seem to be using him. I can’t divulge too many details about how the Lions are using him, but it’s fair to say they’ll be moving him around.
It will sometimes serve as “eye candy,” a distraction for opposing defenses. We saw that on display Saturday during a red zone drill that found Swift wide open for the score. Sometimes, however, they will actively move you to place you in a favorable matchup. And if you get a linebacker at St. Brown, it’s over.
Plus, St. Brown gets extra credit for successfully blocking Aidan Hutchinson on a cheekily engineered running play.
EDGE Charles Harris
erik: In 2021, Charles Harris went from a presumed bubble player to one of the best defensive players for the Lions, and this year he wants to show that it was no fluke.
“It’s still a test mindset,” Charles said after practice. “Without a doubt. It shows that it’s not a fluke. It shows that he’s not a one-punch shooter, not like that. It’s not a mindset change. I’m going to approach every day, every practice like it’s the last one. I came here to play like if it were the last. Play with all my heart every day.”
While the Lions’ defensive front is shifting to a more offensive focus, Harris’s role remains much the same as it was last season, with slightly more expanded responsibilities, including a drop in coverage. As a pass-rusher, Harris has surely benefited from the extra attention Hutchinson has required in camp, but he’s had success against some really good starting offensive linemen in the first week.
DT Demetrio Taylor
Jeremy: This list features a lot of defensive linemen, and that’s no coincidence. They have been the strongest unit in the camp. Some of that probably has to do with the shallowness of the offensive line, but it also speaks to the defensive line additions and the change in philosophy to a more aggressive front.
Taylor, an undrafted rookie, continues to build on a stellar spring, in which he had several pass breakups, tackles for loss and even an interception. This camp—working with the third team—Taylor has been winning showing his pass-rushing potential, regularly outpointing Ryan McCollum.
Taylor is still a long shot to make the roster, but he’s made a big impression on Campbell.
“He’s one of those guys that we could just, we could be sitting here at the end of camp and he’s just not going to walk away, and I mean it, man. He just won’t go away because he just keeps getting better and better and better. And so, I know this, he’s been one of those guys that I’d be willing to bet (Lions defensive line coach Todd) Wash would tell you since the spring, he’s had some of the best improvements, the biggest improvement of anyone. of those types.”
EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
erik: So I want to be careful not to overdo the newbie, especially since the pads haven’t been put on yet, but so far it’s been as advertised.
“Certainly, Hutch, I mean, just jump,” Campbell said of the rookie’s ability to excel. “Seeing him just continue to work and get through it, I’m telling you every day he gets a little bit better and that’s all you care about is you just see a little bit of improvement every day.”
In fact, Hutchinson has shown growth across the camp, and Saturday was his best day, but it’s also easy to argue that we have yet to see the best parts of his game. On Monday, the team will be on pads for the first time since camp opened, and after beating Penei Sewell on Saturday, their long-awaited one-on-one battles could have gone up a notch. My level of excitement is palpable.