By Jeremy Reisman@DetroitOnLion Jun 4, 2024, 4:40pm EDT
In Dan Campbell’s pre-practice press conference, he was asked about the Detroit Lions revamped secondary, and he could barely contain his excitement.
“It’s a great place to be in,” Campbell said. “We have so many options right now, so much competitiveness. (Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG and I were talking about it again, (general manager) Brad (Holmes) and I are talking about it every evening. The talent level, the competitiveness, the versatility. Honestly, we have no idea who our starting lineup is going to be right now and it’s exciting. It’s so good.”
While many of those players remain sidelined, we saw flashes during Tuesday’s minicamp practice of what an improved secondary may do for a defense that struggled to defend the pass last year. I recorded a total of four interceptions on the day from the Lions defense—three thrown by Jared Goff, one by Hendon Hooker.
For a defense that has averaged just 13 interceptions a season under Dan Campbell (18th since 2021), that could be a huge deal for the Lions.
To kick off our mandatory minicamp observations, I’ll break down each interception.
Interception 1: Brandon Joseph intercepts pass Jared Goff intended for Amon-Ra St. Brown
During an 11-on-11 red zone drill, Goff stared down St. Brown and didn’t see safety Brandon Joseph drop into zone coverage. The ball was thrown right at Joseph, who continues to work with the first-team defense due to injuries. Campbell noted before practice that Joseph saw significant improvement during the season last year.
“There was a comfort level by the end of the year like, ‘Man this guy we think could probably go in there and hold his own a little bit,’” Campbell said. “So that’s a good sign. There has been noticeable growth from him last year. I would tell you even in this spring he’s improved.”
It wasn’t a perfect day from Joseph. On one 7-on-7 red zone rep, he tried to jump a route from Kalif Raymond on the outside, but Goff then threw Raymond inside for an easy touchdown.
Interception 2: Hendon Hooker pick-sixed by Khalil Dorsey
During a situational drill where the offense started on its own 1-yard line, Hooker’s drive lasted just two plays. Craig Reynolds bounced a run outside for 5 yards, then Hooker tried to hit Daurice Fountain on a quick pass. But Dorsey jumped the route for a relatively easy pick-six.
It was another tough day for Hooker. He dealt with both accuracy issues and was consistently taking simulated sacks after holding the ball too long. That said, he did finish the day strong, scoring touchdowns on two of four 7-on-7 red zone attempts to finish practice on a couple of nice throws to Maurice Alexander and Donovan Peoples-Jones, who had beaten C.J. Moore handily.
Interception 3: Jack Campbell ends situational drill with tip-drill pick
The Lions offense was moving down the field after being put in a tough position: down four points with 47 seconds left, starting at their own 20-yard line with no timeouts. In short, they had to go 80 yards in 47 seconds.
Amon-Ra St. Brown kicked off the drive with a solid 15-yard gain that also stopped the clock by getting out of bounds. Then Sam LaPorta picked up back-to-back receptions for 33 yards total to set the Lions just 32 yards away with 17 seconds left.
Jack Campbell was beat pretty thoroughly on the second LaPorta reception, but he made amends on the next play by nabbing an interception. I couldn’t see who tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage, but the ball jumped high into the air, and in a group of about five players, Campbell wrestled the ball away and made an athletic grab to end the drill.
Interception 4: Campbell closes a dominant red zone drill for defense
During the final set of red zone drills for the first teamers—all starting inside the 10-yard line—it was an absolute bloodbath for the defense. Goff went 0-for-4 with an interception. Carlton Davis blanketed Antoine Green for an incompletion, Ifeatu Melifonwu had sticky coverage on LaPorta to force another incompletion, and Goff couldn’t find Fountain on his other attempt.
Much like his first interception of the day, Goff intended to hit St. Brown but didn’t see Campbell sitting in the zone. St. Brown was initially open, but after hesitating, Goff waited until St. Brown crossed over into Campbell’s zone, where he was able to easily pick off a pass right at his hands.
Earlier in practice, Campbell also showed nice anticipation, (lightly) colliding with LaPorta on a grab during a third-and-22 situational drill. The Lions tight end was stopped 13 yards short—forcing a punt—and it’s possible he would’ve jarred the ball loose if at full speed because he arrived just as the ball was getting there. He also notched a pressure/sack in an earlier drill.
Campbell got most of the first-team reps at the MIKE position with Alex Anzalone back at the WILL. Derrick Barnes still got some time with the first team, but mostly in three linebacker sets. Anzalone noted that he sees a level of comfort in Campbell’s game.
“I think he’s built off what he did at the tail end of last year. I think he’s obviously more comfortable with the play calls,” Anzalone said after practice.
Other notes from practice
- Strong day from Kalif Raymond, who had a string of red zone reps where he scored three touchdowns in four plays (two from Goff, one from Hooker). His best route was a wheel-like route, in which he left Brandon Joseph at least a couple yards in the dust.
- Nate Sudfeld didn’t get a single team rep until the final two sets of 7-on-7s. Hooker continues to get most of the second and third team reps, as they really focus on his development.
- Another practice, another impressive play from Kaden Davis, who made a toe-tapping touchdown grab during a red zone drill, although Chris Spielman did not think he got both feet down, waving his hands incomplete under the goalposts.
- The only special teams drills the Lions worked on Tuesday were punts. Notably, it was Jalen Reeves-Maybin who stepped in the personal protector role (C.J. Moore was blocking on the edge of the line). Punt returners, in the order I saw them were Kalif Raymond, Maurice Alexander, Jalon Calhoun, Tom Kennedy, Isaiah Williams, and Jameson Williams.
- A strong start to practice from Levi Onwuzurike, who tallied two sacks/pressures early on the day. On the second one, he came barrelling into the backfield with little control over his body and nearly crashed into Hooker’s legs, but the quarterback was able to sidestep the pressure. Scary moment.
- Sione Vaki continues to shine as a receiver, taking a screen for a touchdown and making a tough-adjustment touchdown catch while falling to the ground. I think he has a long way to go to earn any sort of significant role on offense, but I am not counting him out to potentially challenge for the RB3 role sooner rather than later over Craig Reynolds.
- Just so we don’t take it for granted, St. Brown remains the focal point of the offense and a dominant player. He scored touchdowns on back-to-back red zone drills. In the first, he perfectly found the soft spot in the zone between Campbell and Anzalone for the score. On the second, he was wide open after a miscommunication between Melifonwu and Davis.
