Observations: Detroit Lions Defense Brings Heat, Hutchinson Review

First look at Hutchinson

Friday marked the first opportunity for the media to watch Aidan Hutchinson in action since his injury in Week 6 of last season. The Michigan product appeared to be comfortable moving around after being fully cleared, and looks ready to hit the ground running in training camp.

Sporting a sleeve on his injured leg, Hutchinson was limited in the nature of what he could do based on the non-contact nature of practice. Still, he appeared to be in good shape as he continues to regain his groove after being sidelined for a lengthy amount of time.

Campbell explained that Hutchinson has been solid throughout the three days of OTAs, noting that he appears comfortable in bending around the edge and showcasing his athleticism.

"Hutch looks, OTAs, looks good," Campbell said. "He's moving well, you don't see him favoring anything. He's bending, he's grabbing the grass, he looks confident and there again that's without pads. So there's nothing that tells me that, 'Man, that guy's not recovered or not gonna be recovered.'"

Jameson Williams looks stronger

Campbell became the latest coach to praise the strides that Jameson Williams has made going into his fourth NFL season. After surpassing 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career in 2024, expectations are once again rising for the impact he could have on the offense.

The wideout has added muscle and appears stronger, which should help him handle physicality from defensive backs. Whether it's against press coverage or with the ball in the air downfield, Williams' frame appears ready to help elevate him to an even bigger threat for the offense.

Campbell explained Friday that he expects Williams to have a big season, as he has continued to improve even on the heels of a breakout season in 2024.

Secondary updates

With Brian Branch among the players listed by Campbell to be inactive or limited, Avonte Maddox stepped into a starting role next to Kerby Joseph at the safety position.

Terrion Arnold was also kept out of practice Friday, which allowed Ennis Rakestraw to get first-team reps on the outside opposite of D.J. Reed. Amik Robertson, who played much of the season as the team's slot cornerback, was once again back in that role on Friday.

Year 3 begins for Hendon Hooker

Hooker took the field with the second-team offense for Friday's practice. After Goff completed passes to passes to Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond in his first series of reps, Hooker and the second-team offense got into action.

The Tennessee product is looking to once again earn the backup job behind Goff, and will be competing with Kyle Allen. In his first round of snaps, Hooker hit undrafted rookie running back Anthony Tyus III over the middle and then threw incomplete on a deep pass intended for Kye Robichaux.

Allen's first set of reps started with what would've been a sack by safety Erick Hallett, who blitzed and brought heat on the veteran. After a run by Tyus, Allen hit Dominic Lovett and then was once again sacked.

Goff's second series began with a run by Craig Reynolds, then an incompletion in the direction of Sam LaPorta. He finished the series with a completion to Patrick over the middle and then to Tom Kennedy, although Chris Smith brought pressure and may have had a sack.

Hooker began his second go-around with a deep, wobbly incompletion intended for Jackson Meeks. He bounced back to finished the set with completions to Shane Zylstra over the middle and Tyus to the right.

Allen's second set of reps was a struggle. He threw incomplete intended for Keeney-James and Raymond, then had a pass dropped by Robichaux. He would've been sacked on his final snap by rookie Ahmed Hassanein, who looked energetic throughout the day and had a nice rush on this rep.

Rakestraw stands out in 7-on-7

Following a quick third-and-20 drill in which the first-team offense was forced to punt, the Lions squared off in a series of 7-on-7 reps pitting the starters against each other on both sides.

Goff threw incompletions on each of his first two passes, with Kerby Joseph breaking up the first one intended for Raymond and Morice Norris breaking up the second. He rebounded with back-to-back completions to Tom Kennedy, then was nearly picked off by Rakestraw.

It was the first of two consecutive solid reps for Rakestraw, who followed up the near-interception with good coverage to force an incompletion between Goff and Raymond.

Goff was able to respond with two straight completions over the middle to Raymond, then another to Williams. He finished the session with darts to Reynolds and LaPorta sandwiched around an incompletion.

Quick hitters

1.) Jack Campbell revealed that he had a minor procedure on his hip at the conclusion of the season.

2.) Linebacker Grant Stuard asserted his physicality during an early team period. He wouldn't let up throughout the session, and at one point had to be held back by Goff.

3.) Goff had a nice downfield pass to undrafted free agent wide receiver Jakobie Keeney-James during a rep in which there were no deep defenders.

4.) The defensive line was a force against the third-team offensive line, which featured Mason Miller and Jamarco Jones at tackle, Michael Niese and Colby Sorsdal at guard and Kingsley Eguakun at center. Allen faced plenty of pressure throughout his snaps.

5.) The coaching staff was active and into the competition throughout the day, as they all brought energy and excitement to the practice session.

6.) Campbell said two players were not at the facility for the duration of the first series of OTAs, and it appears that they were Alex Anzalone and Frank Ragnow. Neither player was at the facility Friday, nor were they on the list of 21 players that the head coach said would either be out or limited.

7.) Among other players not in attendance friday were Terrion Arnold, Derrick Barnes, Brian Branch, Khalil Dorsey, Miles Frazier, Gavin Holmes, Brodric Martin, Alim McNeill, David Montgomery, Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal, Malcolm Rodriguez, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sione Vaki and Mekhi Wingo.

8.) While Frazier was out, two other Lions rookies were limited. First-round pick Tyleik Williams participated in early walkthroughs but did not do any team drills, while third-round wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa was working with a trainer for most of practice.

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