The Detroit Lions were back at it on Friday for their latest padded practice of training camp, but there was a new wrinkle introduced by head coach Dan Campbell.
That new wrinkle was an intrasquad scrimmage, with the goal being to have the practice feel like a preseason game, Campbell said. The Lions will have their first exhibition contest on August 8 against the New York Giants, and they will hold a pair of joint practices with Big Blue ahead of the game starting on Monday.
During the session, a few rookies managed to stand out while another had his fair share of issues. There was also troubling news for the Lions’ kicker situation. We cover that and much more as we take a look at the biggest takeaways of the day based on the observations of beat writers on the ground.
Lions training camp takeaways
Backup RB news
After suffering a shoulder injury on Thursday that forced his early exit from practice, Vaki was back on the field on Friday. According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com, Vaki, Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson all stood out.
Jefferson making an impression: There’s an open competition for the backup running back spots behind Montgomery and Gibbs. Craig Reynolds, Jermar Jefferson and Vaki all had a good day Friday. Jefferson is very much in the mix after a few nice catches and a couple touchdown runs, including a 50-yarder during the scrimmage. Head coach Dan Campbell has been impressed with his camp so far.
Before practice, Campbell heaped praise on Jefferson is particular.
Reynolds is having a strong camp, but he’s still up against it with Vaki and Reynolds also showing out.
Jake Bates struggles
It was not a good day for kicker Jake Bates who was either 8-of-14 or 8-of-15 on field goal attempts, and 5-for-6 on extra points, per Pride of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman (Reisman says 8-of-14 but has 15 attempts listed).
Bates made his attempts from 25, 29, 33, 38, 43, 48, 51, and 59, but he missed his kicks from 40, 46, 46, 46, 51, 54 and 64. It has never been more evident that the Lions need to bring in another kicker to compete with Bates.
A rough day for Hendon Hooker
Hendon Hooker’s offseason can best be described as up-and-down, but it appears he was down on Friday, according to Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire.
Hooker threw three INTs in practice, though one was nullified by a defensive penalty away from the ball. The most disturbing one was when the second-team offense was battling the second-team defense, with CB Khalil Dorsey stepping in front of Tom Kennedy near the end zone for a too-easy pick-6. It was identical to an interception Hooker threw on Thursday to CB Ennis Rakestraw.
Mistakes are going to happen for Hooker, who didn’t play last summer due to knee surgery that ended his college career. But repeating the same mistakes is the opposite of progress, and this carbon-copy INT wasn’t the only lesson from prior days that Hooker couldn’t show he’s learned from. That’s been a point of emphasis from the coaching staff.
Risdon did note that Hooker had a few positive moments that showed flashes of accuracy and arm strength, but the overall feeling is it wasn’t a good day for the second-year signal-caller.
Ennis Rakestraw continues to shine
The Missouri product has been mostly running with the twos in training camp, but he has gotten at least some looks with the ones. On top of his physicality, Rakestraw is also showing he has a nose for the football.
So far, Rakestraw has been about as good as the Lions could have hoped for.
Growing pains for Giovanni Manu
According to Twentyman, Manu had some issues. He adds that the rookie has shown flashes when he gets his hands on defender, but needs to be more consistent.
The Lions knew Giovanni Manu was going to be a project when they drafted the tackle out of the University of British Columbia in the fourth round. The Lions love his athleticism but he’s certainly still adjusting to the speed/power combination of some of the rushers at this level. He got worked over pretty good by a couple different edge rushers in the scrimmage, but when he does get those long arms on a defender it’s easy to see why the Lions like his potential. He just needs to be much more consistent.
Manu struggling comes as no surprise, as he was expected to need time to develop before being able to contribute. It wouldn’t be at all shocking to see him “red shirt” during his first season in the NFL.
Defensive line dominates… again
The Lions’ defensive line has made headlines this offseason with a strong showing, and that continued on Friday, per Twentyman.
The duo of Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill was a real problem during Friday’s scrimmage. Hutchinson had multiple pressures and sacks and a couple really good plays against the run. McNeill also had a sack and was really hard to move off the ball. He stuffed a couple runs too. Those two are poised to have monster years.
As if we needed more evidence that Hutchinson and McNeill are primed for big seasons. Hype has also been building for Levi Onwuzurike and Marcus Davenport.
Kindle Vildor making his case
Per Risdon, Vildor showed out on both defense and special teams. He nearly blocked two punts, shined in one-on-ones, and had a pick off Nate Sudfeld.
Donovan Peoples-Jones on shaky ground
This quote from Campbell needs no analysis. Things aren’t looking great for Peoples-Jones, who was expected to be the No. 3 or No. 4 receiver this season.
“He’s a guy I expect more out of too, and he knows that,” Campbell said, per Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News. “Now, he’s working, he works at it, man. He wants it, but we just need him to take another step here.”
