Friday was the first opportunity for the media to watch the Detroit Lions full squad practice in 2025. The OTA session was a welcome sight on a sunny, 72-degree afternoon in Allen Park.
Many players sat out with minor bumps and bruises, notably rookies Tyleik Williams and Isaac TeSlaa. Head coach Dan Campbell indicated in his pre-practice press conference that the Lions were operating with an abundance of caution on the injury front, which is understandable after the dreadful rash of injuries derailed the playoff push in 2024.
With several regulars sitting out, it gave an opportunity for younger players and deeper roster players a chance to shine. Several took advantage, notably on the defensive side of the ball.
Player of the day: Grant Stuard
My notes were littered with Stuard making plays. The linebacker, signed this offseason from the Colts, is known primarily for his special teams play; the general consensus is that Stuard is the direct replacement for Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a vet who thrived on punt and kick units but barely played on defense. If Friday is any indication, Stuard can be quite a bit more than that.
No. 15 showed an uncanny knack for ducking and dodging blocks on interior run fills and (especially) blitzes. He earned vociferous praise from coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and also the more low-key LB coach, Shaun Dion Hamilton, throughout practice.
Hassanein gets hot
Rookie EDGE Ahmed Hassanein is quickly proving to be a player destined to be a fan favorite once the general public gets a chance to watch him in action. Just as he did at the rookie minicamp earlier in May, Hassanein exudes enthusiastic energy and athleticism on every single rep.
He’s not always successful on his pass rush (No. 61 desperately needs a counter other than an inside spin), but when Hassanein scores even a small victory, the rest of the team knows about it. Yet his effusiveness isn’t antagonistic, and it’s generally well-received by teammates who understand that he’s an emotional player who thrives on positive reinforcement. And when he gets bested, Hassanein is quick to slap a helmet in respect and get to his coaches to figure out why he failed.
There was a series of reps where he got hot and abused UDFA offensive lineman Mason Miller. One of those resulted in what would have been a kill shot on QB Kyle Allen, who desperately heaved the ball about 15 yards over Kalif Raymond as he saw No. 61 barreling down on him from an inside twist.
Marcus Davenport shows why the Lions love him
Fan reception to the concept that Marcus Davenport is the Lions starting EDGE opposite Aidan Hutchinson has been lukewarm at best. His lengthy injury history makes that perfectly understandable. But man, seeing him operate while healthy, it’s very easy to see why the Lions coaching staff is so bullish on No. 92.
Despite wearing baggy sweats, Davenport’s body is just different–in a good way. He’s a long, hulking presence who clearly enjoys the weight room. It’s not just for show, however. Davenport looked twitchy and quick off the snap. His ability to use long steps to get around the edge gave problems to Penei Sewell a couple of times, including one where Davenport got almost parallel to the ground to get under the harried block of the All-Pro right tackle.
There was a drill where the EDGEs were dropping in coverage. Davenport made a leaping catch on a throw that appeared to get away from the coach throwing it. He moves much more fluidly than a 6-foot-6, 285-pounder should.
New numbers cause confusion
Jameson Williams has changed his jersey from No. 9 to No. 1. Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw has taken over the No. 9, and it made for quite a confusing bit of mental processing when they were matched up against one another in team drills. Rakestraw was assertive in his jam technique but would have been flagged for some holds, including one rep where he nearly undressed Jamo.
The number changes were also odd with Jahmyr Gibbs rocking the No. 0. Inheriting the RBs old number 26 is second-year DB Maurice Norris. The two were stretching right next to each other, at the lead of their respective lines, and it made several of us do a double-take. Both Norris and Gibbs have longer hair that’s similarly styled, which makes seeing No. 26 running off with the defense something that will take some getting used to.
Interior OL shuffling
With All-Pro center Frank Ragnow not in attendance for the voluntary session, second-round rookie Tate Ratledge took over as the first-team center. Christian Mahogany manned left guard, with Graham Glasgow on the right. Kayode Awosika also handled some first-team reps at right guard; Mahogany stayed left from what I observed. Fifth-round rookie Miles Frazier was present but not participating. Netane Muti swapped in for Mahogany as the second-team LG and I do have in my notes that he got a series with the first-team OL.
Giovanni Manu took nearly all the reps as the second-team left tackle, with Dan Skipper on the right side. As far as performance, the linemen are not in full pads, so the defense has a major advantage by default. And the communication between the scrambled lines is understandably shaky at this early juncture. Having said that, it is somewhat alarming how easily the reserve defense stymied the reserve offense because the QBs (Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen) had no time to throw and also no palatable receiving options.
Hendon Hooker
Hooker has a viable competitor for the No. 2 QB spot in Kyle Allen, a 7-year veteran with prior NFL starting experience. In our first look at Hooker, he did little to engender confidence that he will simply make Allen go away.
Again, the context is important: both Hooker and Allen were under constant and often immediate pressure. I’d say that Allen was a little better at progressing through options quickly, but neither quarterback impressed in that regard. It was during the 6-on-6 passing drill where Hooker had his struggles the most.
There were two reps where Hooker simply didn’t throw the ball. The coverage was quite good; the CB and LB depth is well ahead of the TE and WR depth at this point. But there were options available that Hooker didn’t see, from UDFA TE Luke Deal streaking away from rookie safety Dan Jackson on a corner route to RB Craig Reynolds expertly shaking LB Anthony Pittman on a Texas route. When he did throw, Hooker was mostly impressive and accurate, with a couple of notable exceptions on throws to the deep middle. Timing on deep routes is understandably not in tune at this point, so there’s not a lot of concern in that regard. Hooker’s mechanics were consistent and he drove the ball on comeback routes nicely all afternoon.
Quick hitsTrevor Nowaske scored a couple of nice pass-rush wins in the early team drills. One came on a perfectly timed inside loop behind Davenport, who drove Taylor Decker out of the way. Nowaske exploded through before Christian Mahogany could come off his inside block and get to No. 53, who was the starting SAM with Derrick Barnes still sidelined.Dan Jackson is quickly validating the scouting reports out of Georgia. The rookie safety, as he did in rookie minicamp, is very quick to read and react on plays in front of him, and he has great closing burst to the point of attack. But if the play gets behind him or close to the sideline, Jackson is not an asset.Sam LaPorta looked great overall, and he had a light moment with new OC John Morton. The OC was inadvertently in his way on a route and LaPorta hit the turf while dodging him. LaPorta pulled a towel from his pants and threw it like a mock flag, which drew laughter from everyone–including Morton.Punt return is Kalif Raymond’s domain to lose, and if Friday is indicative of how things are progressing, Raymond has very little to worry about. He also had a light-hearted moment on his very first rep, which punter Jack Fox shanked out of bounds. The ball rolled under the media bleachers, and Raymond crawled underneath to get the ball. He joked about the advantage of being small on his way out before throwing a perfect strike about 25 yards to the coach.Raymond was followed in punt return reps by Tom Kennedy, who had a day to forget. Kennedy muffed his first attempt, then let another bounce and go out of bounds at about the 5-yard line, which earned him an ear-chewing from the coaching staff.Free agent CB Rock Ya-Sin had two reps in a row where he successfully jammed WR Tim Patrick out of bounds off the snap in the passing drills. He probably held on one of them, but Patrick could not get an iota of separation on Ya-Sin.