Those hoping to see the Detroit Lions’ top two draft picks compete against another team might have to wait a little bit longer.
Dan Campbell said he doesn’t plan to give any snaps to defensive tackle Tyleik Williams and interior offensive lineman Tate Ratledge in the NFL Hall of Fame game versus the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday, July 31.
“We talked about it as a staff and it’s like, ‘Why don’t we just wait and play them in Atlanta?’” coach Dan Campbell said, referring to the Lions’ second preseason game against the Falcons on Aug. 8. “So, I think we’ll just hold tight and make sure they get plenty of reps out here.”
With Alim McNeill still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Levi Onwuzurike out for the year after undergoing major knee surgery in the offseason, Williams – a first-round choice – has been working with the first-team defense. Routinely, he has squared off with Ratledge, a second-round pick who began training camp at center but has since moved to right guard.
The Lions seem to feel comfortable keeping Ratledge at that spot with veteran Graham Glasgow beside him delivering the snaps to quarterback Jared Goff.
That arrangement, Campbell said, “looked pretty damn good” during the first three practices in pads.
“I think every day that it looks pretty dang good, it gets a little clearer,” Campbell said. “And so it’s good to have (Glasgow) in there, and look, this is good for Tate, too, to get these right guard reps.”
For Ratledge, it’s a continuation of what he did in college at Georgia, where he was a three-year starter at that position.
Other notes:
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions top two draft picks not expected to play in Thursday’s NFL Hall of Fame game
Reporting by Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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