After two days of joint practices with the Miami Dolphins, we have seen more reps for the Detroit Lions starters than much of training camp combined. It’s easy to see why some coaches prefer joint practices for their first-string players over training camp, because it’s so much work and allows for a more focused assessment of what the team wants to evaluate.
For a full recap of each practice, make sure you check out our observations of each day:
To recap both days, here are my winners and losers from the Lions’ viewpoint.
Winners
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
St. Brown is a winner without a shadow of a doubt. While I missed the first day of the offense, the All-Pro’s one-minute highlight reel of a single practice is all I needed to see. On Day 2, St. Brown was still very much a problem for the Dolphins’ secondary. Each time Detroit found themselves behind the sticks, St. Brown was the one who pulled them out, and he was dangerous no matter where he was on the field.
The starting Lions secondary
Yes, the Dolphins offense was missing its two biggest weapons in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle for most team drills, but the Lions were also down Terrion Arnold and Kerby Joseph on the day I focused on the Lions defense. It didn’t matter. D.J. Reed, Amik Robertson, Rock Ya-Sin, and Brian Branch were absolutely brilliant all day on Wednesday, frustrating Tua Tagovailoa to a point where he often found himself giving up on plays, both during 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s.
EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
Speaking of frustrating Tagovailoa, the Lions’ premier edge rusher continues to prove there should be no concern over his recovery from injury. He very well could have had double-digit sacks over the two days of practice.
QB Jared Goff
Just because I feel like it sometimes gets glossed over in our observations, I think it’s worth pointing out part of the reason St. Brown and Jameson Williams have these monster days is because Goff has been on a heater as of late. His chemistry with St. Brown feels telepathic, and the connection with Williams has taken such a huge step over the past two years that it’s more surprising than not when Goff misfires on a deep shot.
OT Gunner Britton
Digging deep on the roster, Britton was one of my surprise standouts from Thursday’s practice. Added just five days ago, Britton was excellent in individual drills, and because Detroit was shorthanded at offensive tackle, he got plenty of time with the second-team offense at right tackle. Some of that success—particularly in the run game—carried over to team drills. I don’t think he has enough time to take a roster spot from Giovanni Manu or Dan Skipper, but he could very well find himself on the practice squad. At just 25 years old, there could be some long-term potential there.
CB Nick Whiteside
With the unfortunate injury to Dicaprio Bootle, there is more room in Detroit’s cornerback depth chart for a reserve to make a run at the 53-man roster. Whiteside had a strong day with the reserves on Day 1 of practice, including an interception. Then, on Day 2, he was the cornerback who jumped in with the starters on the final team drill of practice when Terrion Arnold took a break. On top of that, Whiteside got a big compliment from coach Dan Campbell this week.
“I like Whiteside, man. Just the fact that he comes in, he competes, he’s a pro, he jumps into every drill, even if he’s not supposed to be in there. He wants it. He’s a sponge and he likes to compete,” Campbell said. “Are there things he’s got to get better at? Yeah, of course he does, but he just got here, too. There’s something to work with here.”
RB Sione Vaki
Vaki is a winner just for getting back on the field and getting some serious reps with the second team—though he’s still clearly behind Craig Reynolds. While he reportedly fumbled on Day 1 of joint practices, he bounced back with a couple of touchdowns on Thursday while displaying some serious physicality to his game.
RG Tate Ratledge
After Day 1, Campbell gave Ratledge the high compliment of saying he looks like an NFL guard now. On Day 2, while there was a misstep or two, he and Penei Sewell look like an absolute force in the run game. Several times on the day, the Lions were able to get explosive runs off the right side of the line, and you can see the progress the two have made in non-verbal communication out there.
Losers
OT Giovanni Manu
Sounds like Manu’s struggles continued on Day 1 of joint practices, and he was absent on Day 2. He’s bound to have up-and-down days with his continued development, but I was hoping he’d look a little better when going up against a team that may not know his tendencies as well as his teammates. Let’s hope his absence doesn’t last long so he can continue to stack learning opportunities.
The backup quarterbacks
Al Karsten reported that the Lions’ second and third-team offenses didn’t see much success against the Dolphins on Wednesday, and when I watched Detroit’s offense on Thursday, it was more of the same. Admittedly, I don’t think Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen even attempted more than five passes during 11-on-11 work Thursday (and I watched OL/DL drills over 7-0n-7 work), but on the few team reps I saw, Hooker missed a wide-open Zach Horton on a red zone play and Allen struggled under pressure. Overall, it was a pretty small sample size, but both quarterbacks figure to have an opportunity to bounce back in Saturday’s preseason game.
OL Mason Miller
Miller has struggled most of camp and has been relegated to the third-team offense. Lately, it looks like the Lions are transitioning him from tackle to guard. While that can sometimes be read as cross-training someone they already value, this feels more like a demotion for Miller. The fact that they are trusting Britton over him at tackle is telling since Miller has been here all of training camp, while Britton hasn’t even been here a full week.
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