Miles Frazier admitted he almost cried as he took the field for his first Detroit Lions practice since rookie minicamp.
“It was just a humbling experience. Just an experience that I’m grateful for,” Frazier said on Wednesday following said practice. “It was nothing like it, especially playing at this level. This has always been my dream. Just not having all the pads, not having to be able to practice, and then just putting on that helmet again, I’m just thankful.”
After being selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Frazier’s plan of taking the field was a dream deferred. He suffered a knee injury that, while it didn’t require surgery, left him sidelined for all of training camp, the preseason, and the first two months of the season. The rehab took longer than the Lions expected, but Frazier stayed both physically and mentally active. He has been in meetings since the beginning, honing in on the Lions’ scheme and weekly game plans. And once he was physically cleared, he’s been attacking an aggressive conditioning game plan set up by Lions head strength and conditioning coach Josh Schuler.
“A bunch of sled pushes, a bunch of decel running, a bunch of acceleration running, figure eight running,” Frazier said. “Schuler has a tremendous way of conditioning. The hill over there, I don’t know if y’all be seeing me, but I’ll be in my hoodie to the side. But the conditioning, that’s not a problem.”
With him in football shape already, Frazier is just focused on going up against NFL talent and playing whatever position they need him to play. He repped at both guard positions and right tackle in his first practice, and he believes he’ll be ready to compete on Sundays in a matter of weeks.
“Just one or two weeks for me,” Frazier said. “It’s whatever they say. I’m just going to be ready for when my number is called, whatever role that is. Whether that’s guard, tackle, center–never played it, but I could–jumbo tight end. Wherever they need me, I’ll be ready.”
Understandably, the Lions are likely to take it a little slower with the rookie.
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“No training camp, no nothing, so this will be a little bit of a baby fawn at the beginning and then he’ll quickly go,” coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday. “It’s a little bit like (Christian) Mahogany. It took a while, but once we got him, he just quickly grew with practice reps.”
Frazier draws some inspiration from Mahogany’s tale last year. After missing all of camp and the first month of the season, Mahogany, as a rookie, eventually got enough practice reps to step in late in the season when Graham Glasgow and Kevin Zeitler briefly missed time. Frazier and Mahogany, two Jersey boys, have become close friends this season, and just last week, while hanging out in the locker room, Mahogany sent the rookie a message: Be ready.
As fate would have it, that opportunity may have already presented itself. In Sunday’s game against the Vikings, Mahogany suffered an injury that will sideline him for at least a month. Detroit now has a significant hole at left guard, and while Frazier won’t immediately step in, he could be an answer down the line.
“When he got hurt, he came to me and was like, ‘See? It’s a quick turnaround,’” Frazier said. “Christian’s my dog, so hearing those words from him means a lot, because we come from the same area, New Jersey, and things like that, and it’s just wherever they need me, I’ll be ready.”
From the minute he was drafted, the Lions always seemed overly excited about Frazier’s potential. In the team’s behind-the-scenes documentary about the draft, general manager Brad Holmes admitted candidly that they would have drafted Frazier late in the third round had they held onto their original picks. And on Wednesday, Campbell raved about his college tape.
“He can sustain blocks, he’s got power, he’s pretty tenacious, he finishes,” Campbell said. “He was kind of the guy that just, you look around, you’re like, ‘This guy just always makes blocks.’ He’s just always on his guy, and he’s just always finishing down the field. And if he does get beat, it’s never fast. […] Those are the things you want to see. He takes good angles at the second level. So, there’s a lot of things that we like about him.”
In the meantime, the Lions are likely to turn to veterans Kayode Awosika and/or Trystan Colon to help fill the holes in their offensive line. But if Frazier’s number is called, he’ll be ready.
“My versatility speaks for itself,” Frazier said. “So even though the left guard is out, Yode is a tremendous player, too. So wherever they need me, whether that’s tackle, guard, me, I’m open to whatever.”
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