As the Detroit Lions head to Atlanta for their second exhibition game, it puts a bow on the first two weeks of training camp. The Lions have held 11 practices open to the media through Wednesday morning’s session.
I’ve been at nine of those, missing two, including that final one before Dan Campbell & Co. traveled south to meet the Falcons in Friday night’s preseason matchup. Poring back over the daily notes, there are a few prevailing thoughts and themes from the first couple of weeks of Lions training camp.
Run defense has been outstanding
Every practice, the same level of “wow” at how impressive the Lions run defense has been a major storyline. Led by healthy veteran DT D.J. Reader — who I’d argue has been the best defensive player in camp — the defensive tackles have been suffocating just about every interior running attempt. When Reader, Tyleik Williams and Pat O’Connor aren’t making plays themselves, they’ve made life incredibly easier for LBs Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Zach Cunningham and Grant Stuard to get downhill and attack without blocking interference.
There is a definite chicken/egg discussion to be had about the impact of the shuffled offensive line in how good the defensive front has looked. With new starters at all three interior positions, left tackle Taylor Decker replaced in practices by Dan Skipper before they traded health statuses, and the line acclimating to a slightly different (think simpler but also more technique-based) blocking scheme, the defense should have the upper hand.
Even with that, the dominant chokehold the defensive front has shown against the run has been mighty impressive. A more attacking-style front that has appreciable depth is looking outstanding against the run, and I strongly suspect that will carry over into the games that count.
The top rookies are ready
So far, so good for the Lions’ top three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. While they’re still prone to rookie moments and learning the speed and strength of the NFL, DT Tyleik Williams, OL Tate Ratledge and WR Isaac TeSlaa are proving that they can all make a big impact right away.
That immediate impact was expected from Williams, who will start while Alim McNeill recovers from his injury. Ratledge figured to be a strong competitor to start Week 1, too. After starting out crash-coursing at center, Ratledge is settling in nicely at right guard–his college position.
TeSlaa’s emergence in viably earning first-team reps at wideout has been an unexpected boon. We knew TeSlaa was big, athletic and physical, but the route-running and game speed were questions after his underwhelming collegiate production at Arkansas. To this point, TeSlaa has emphatically outplayed two veterans who began training camp ahead of him on the depth chart, Kalif Raymond and (especially) Tim Patrick.
The injury bug still bites
After last year’s insanely virulent injury bug, the hope was the Lions would be a healthier team in 2025. Alas, it’s still biting.
The Lions have already placed seventh-round rookie safety Dan Jackson on I.R., and second-year CB Ennis Rakestraw might be following him soon. Dan Skipper is hobbled, as is defensive lineman Pat O’Connor. Detroit’s other seventh-rounder, WR Dominic Lovett, is out for at least another week, too.
At various points, Kerby Joseph, Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed–all key starters in the secondary–have sat out for medical reasons. It’s been difficult to keep track of all the players who have needed some attention from the training staff at various points, a list that also includes Tyleik Williams and TeSlaa, too.
It’s a physical and demanding sport, and the Lions are so successful in part because they play a physical and demanding style. Still, a respite from having to ask Dan Campbell about the prior day’s injuries before the next practice would be quite welcome.
Hendon Hooker’s progress
It absolutely didn’t show in the exhibition blowout loss to the Chargers last week, but No. 2 quarterback Hendon Hooker has consistently demonstrated very real and tangible progress from a year ago. After missing his first training camp due to the knee injury he suffered at Tennessee, last year’s camp was Hooker’s first in the NFL.
It wasn’t pretty, by and large. Former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and offensive assistant J.T. Barrett often showed visible frustration with Hooker’s lack of timely decision-making and adaptation from a simplistic college offense to an intricately designed pro scheme. Hooker often cited that he needed to think less and just play, to paraphrase the quarterback himself.
So far, Hooker has done much better throughout camp at the things that annoyed the obsessively pedantic Johnson. The ball is getting when and where it needs to be so much better than a year ago. Hooker has been more adept at hitting deeper-layered routes that are more prominent in new OC John Morton’s twist on the Lions offense, too. Perhaps that’s why the ugly outing against the Chargers doesn’t have me hitting the panic button yet; Hooker’s play in camp has earned him more benefit of the doubt of playing with the third-team offense, receivers and linemen who might not even make a practice squad in another month.
Arrested Development
Lions GM Brad Holmes has not been shy about drafting players who have sizeable upside but a decided inability to play right away. So far in 2025, some of those developmental draft picks just aren’t developing as well as hoped.
Most notable are the 2023 duo of defensive tackle Brodric Martin and offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal. Martin, a third-rounder, remains ensconced at the bottom of the defensive line depth chart. Sorsdal continues to look for a position where he can rise above the third string, and thus far that hasn’t materialized despite some injuries ahead of him.
Then there’s last year’s project, offensive lineman Giovanni Manu. The former Canadian college basketball player very much looks the part of a fearsome offensive tackle, but the skill level remains almost painfully distant at times. Manu has definitely improved his hand usage and balance, but his lack of football instincts, high pad level and lack of technique (and confidence in his technique) mean he’s still not earning a spot on the 53-man roster in 2025 for any reason other than his fourth-round (using a 2025 third-round pick to trade for him) draft status in 2024.
Explosive plays aren’t going away
There’s a fairly common take from outside Detroit that the Lions offense is going to significantly regress with the brain drain of coaches, from Ben Johnson and Antwan Randle El in Chicago to Tanner Engstrand and Steve Heiden following former DC Aaron Glenn to the Jets. The first two weeks have proven that this take is wishfully ignorant and completely disrespectful and disregarding of the considerable talent Detroit has on offense.
Jared Goff remains a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, and his fantastic play-action passing is still very sharp. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams were the only WR duo to each top 1,000 receiving yards in 2024, and Williams has taken a big step forward in his route running and football maturity this offseason. Sam LaPorta has been uncoverable all camp, and the tight end sheepishly acknowledges that his run blocking has gotten better, too. And I haven’t even gotten to the RB tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, arguably the best 1-2 punch in the NFL.
Even with the line a definite work in progress, the offensive talent still connects on big plays throughout every single drill. Once the line gets settled, and it’s getting better by the practice (notably in pass protection), the Lions offense remains fully capable of leading the league in both scoring and yards per game. Questioning the losses is fair, but presuming that the answers to those questions are negative is not.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Top takeaways from the first two weeks of Detroit Lions training camp
Reporting by Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
