Detroit Lions: Thoughts and observations from day one of training camp

By Zac Snyder | Jul 30, 2017

(Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

Some thoughts and observations from the Detroit Lions’ first practice of 2017 training camp that featured flashes of good and a whole lot of meh.

The Detroit Lions got 2017 training camp underway with an afternoon practice on Sunday. Here are some quick thoughts and notes from what I saw.

-One of the great things about training camp is the opportunity to see all the quarterbacks throw as it gives a good quick visual of each player’s arm talent. Rare talents like Matthew Stafford stand out for their ability to gun it and it’s impressive to see. By this point we all know Stafford has a great arm, but I was looking forward to comparing Jake Rudock and Brad Kaaya side-by-side. It would be foolish to expect Kaaya’s ball to look like Stafford’s, but there wasn’t much to distinguish his throws from Rudock’s.

-Speaking of the quarterbacks, the rotation behind Stafford was consistently Rudock followed by Kaaya. If Kaaya can’t demonstrate a physical superiority to Rudock, he’s going to have a very hard time being the number two quarterback this season. It wasn’t a great day for any of the three quarterbacks.

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-Kenny Golladay’s selection in the third round may have received mostly lukewarm reviews but it appears he’s quickly changing that. He’s one of the guys that stood out to beat writers during OTAs and he was one of the standouts today. His play of the day was beating Des Lawrence deep for a touchdown on a throw by Stafford. No one who had Golladay penciled in as the third receiver behind Marvin Jones and Golden Tate should be reaching for their eraser.

-Noel Thomas also had himself a nice day with good snags on back-to-back throws late in practice. With Thomas and some of the other wide receivers having good practices, it made a drop by Jace Billingsley stand out. He may have to win a job returning kicks and/or punts to stick on the 53-man roster if the wide receiver competition is as hot as it looks like it could be during camp.

-It came as no surprise to see Jarrad Davis immediately inserted as the starter at middle linebacker with Tahir Whitehead on the weak side. Joining them as the third linebacker in the base defense was Antwione Williams. Paul Worrilow and Jalen Reeves-Maybin ran with the twos.

-Maybe it was because the quarterbacks weren’t particularly sharp but I give the day to the defense over the offense. The defensive group also seemed more spirited, perhaps because they could feel their advantage. Pass breakups by Darius Slay and an impressive interception from Alex Carter coming over from his safety position on a deep ball brought out some enthusiasm from the defense.

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The Lions are back on the practice field for their second practice of camp Monday at 3:30 p.m. It will be the first practice open to the general public. Check DetroitLions.com for details and other dates open to the public.

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