Monday morning was a steamy one at the Detroit Lions training camp. A packed house of eager fans encouraged the players through a sweaty session that featured a lot of the team’s primary standouts asserting themselves.

The first half of practice featured full pads, notably in the first team drills. The players then gratefully shed down to shells for the rest of the session, in which the heat index topped 95 degrees at 10 a.m.

Here’s what I took away from the practice at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park.

New faces

The Lions added CB Nick Whiteside to the roster, replacing Stantley Thomas-Oliver, who was waived with injury designation on Sunday. Wearing No. 38, Whiteside acquitted himself pretty well for a first practice. His coverage instincts looked sharp even if he was still learning who his teammates are.

Running back Sione Vaki was back at practice for the first time in several days. Vaki did positional drills with the rest of the group. Safety Kerby Joseph remains out and he deftly dodged reporters on his way to the locker room.

Perhaps the best news: no Lions players departed early.

Goff to LaPorta remains unstoppable

Different day, same story from the Lions QB-TE connection. Jared Goff and Sam LaPorta once again lit up the sky and the first-team defense. It was especially pronounced in the team’s red zone drill.

Goff threw a frozen rope to LaPorta in the back of the end zone that masterfully split the converging coverage of CB Terrion Arnold and LB Zach Cunningham. That play followed a quick-hit out route that also produced a touchdown, thanks in part to a great pick by veteran WR Tom Kennedy, who earned some first-team looks today.

Even with All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown and a loudly emerging Jameson Williams on the field, Goff has consistently targeted LaPorta when he really needs a completion or gets into trouble from the pressure of the defense. And it’s working very, very well.

Players of the day: Terrion Arnold and Rock Ya-Sin

Had to split the honor between the second-year CB and the veteran newcomer, who primarily played the exact same roles on the first team and second team defenses.

Arnold had a fantastic day in the red zone drill. He skied above Jameson Williams to make a leaping deflection. On another rep, he erased big wideout Tim Patrick from the field with perfect coverage. Arnold added another PD against Isaac TeSlaa, swatting the ball away just before the rookie wideout could extend to make the catch. Arnold makes sure that everyone in attendance knows he makes a play, too–which plays extremely well with the defensive huddle.

Ya-Sin had his best day of Lions camp. In the red zone drill, No. 23 broke up a pass for rookie WR Dominic Lovett and added another on a pass to Patrick on a broken play. Ya-Sin’s run defense has been very good throughout camp and that continued on Monday with an excellent backside open-field tackle on RB Craig Reynolds. If Ya-Sin misses there, it’s a huge gain. Ya-Sin thrived in the 1-on-1 tackle drill, executing a textbook suplex on a runner.

Tackle drill

The Lions ran a 1-on-1 skill position vs LB/DB tackle drill after the stretching session. This is another area where LaPorta thrived, soundly scoring two wins over Brian Branch. The first one drew quite the oohs and aahs from the fans as Branch went flying after LaPorta’s feet and came up empty.

David Montgomery scored two decisive wins over Jack Campbell, showing patience on the second run to let Campbell run himself just a little off-center. The two split decisions in this same drill on Saturday. Montgomery learned.

Ya-Sin scored two wins, as did linebackers Derrick Barnes and Trevor Nowaske, who had a strong overall day. Tight end Brock Wright pulled off a matador sidestep on linebacker Zach Cunningham that earned cheers. But the star of the drill was safety Loren Strickland, who pulled off a forced fumble and recovery on rookie WR Jackson Meeks.

Quick hits

–Amon-Ra St. Brown had arguably his best day of camp. He brought more physicality to his routes and that was a problem for the defense in the final 11-on-11 drill.

–Before practice, Lions OC John Morton explained that Graham Glasgow is at center because it’s his best position. After watching No. 60 struggle once again in run blocking, that’s not an encouraging endorsement. Glasgow did have a decent day in pass protection, and his veteran savvy in making line calls and quick sight adjustments remains valuable.

–TeSlaa made another leaping grab, just as he did to close Saturday’s practice. No. 18 exploded off the ground to “Moss” CB Tyson Russell in the red zone drill. Hendon Hooker is growing in his confidence throwing that type of ball, and TeSlaa keeps rewarding it. Look for a lot of that combination on Thursday night against the Chargers…

–Morton promised more deep shots in the offense in his press conference. First play of team drills, Goff had Jahmyr Gibbs on a RB wheel route over the top while isolated on LB Alex Anzalone, but just missed with an overthrow. Morton is a big proponent of creating isolation situations for his weapons, and that one will definitely work in the coming season. Goff also barely missed Jameson Williams over the top on a play where the QB was forced to hurry the throw with up-the-gut pressure from Tyleik Williams and D.J. Reader, who continues to have a great camp.

–Seeing a lot more of a fullback, and it’s always undrafted rookie Zach Horton. No. 40 had an excellent lead block on a strong Craig Reynolds run, smacking Loren Strickland to the grass.

–Third QB Kyle Allen bobbled two snaps from C Michael Niese in the red zone drill. The first one looked to be on Allen, but the second was a low ball. Allen calmly bought a little time and scooted around the left end for a touchdown as the defenders lost containment when looking to get a potential fumble recovery.

–Jon Gruden was at the practice. After he finished a media session, several Lions players eagerly approached Gruden just like the fans seeking autographs on the other side of the field.

–The Lions will hold practice on Tuesday and then head to Canton for Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game