Observations: Hooker Starts Low on Depth Chart, Center Battle Update

Eyes on the O-line

The Lions dealt with turnover on the offensive line perhaps more than any other position this offseason, as Ragnow retired and guard Kevin Zeitler signed a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.

As a result, the Lions will have at least two openings on their offensive line. Decker is beginning the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and as such the Lions will have another new member of the first-team offense for the time being.

The group is shaping up to be competitive, and Campbell has his eyes on the group early in camp.

"My eyes are on the O-line. I want to see what that unit's gonna do and what's gonna come out of that. We need some guys to step up for us. It's a great opportunity," Campbell said. "We lost Frank, and Zeitler's gone. We've got two or three more spots for guys to step up and help us. Once that happens, then mesh. The guys that we know we can trust, this is where they're gonna play and then getting whoever those five are together to where they can start working together and trusting each other."

Along with the aforementioned first-team line, Detroit's second-team offensive line featured Gio Manu at left tackle, Jones at right tackle, Netane Muti and Kayode Awoisika at left and right guard, respectively, and Kingsley Eguakun at center.

Hooker gets third-team reps

To start training camp, the Lions had Kyle Allen working with the backups and 2023 third-round pick Hendon Hooker getting reps with the third-team offense.

Traditionally, the Lions have rotated their backup options amongst the backup and third units over the course of camp, but Hooker being with the latter option could be telling. He did have an early completion to undrafted tight end Zach Horton during his reps.

Overall, his day was hit-and-miss. He missed low on one pass, and had another deflected at the line of scrimmage.

Goff had two completions during his first round of reps, one to tight end Sam LaPorta and the other to veteran Tim Patrick. Williams forced an incompletion in the direction of David Montgomery with pressure.

Allen, meanwhile, zipped a completion to undrafted rookie wide receiver Jackson Meeks amidst an overall intriguing day. He appears to be a better competitive option for Hooker than years past.

UDFA watch

Among Sunday's standouts was undrafted free agent safety Ian Kennelly. The Grand Valley State product had a big pass breakup during 7-on-7 drills, swatting away a pass from Hendon Hooker.

With the main reads taken away, Hooker rolled out right and fired a pass that Kenelly stepped in front of after breaking cleanly. His deflection set off a celebration for the starters, as the play fired up his teammates.

Kennelly was working with the third-team defense, but is firmly in the mix to compete for that fourth safety spot. Safeties coach Jim O'Neil said this offseason that it would be a competitive battle between a number of players, and Kennelly certainly made a case for further consideration on Sunday.

Quick hitters

1.) Goff and Patrick connected on a nice downfield pass, with Patrick out-leveraging Amik Robertson to secure the grab.

2.) Rock Ya-Sin had a pass-breakup against Allen and the second-team offense, as he was in tight coverage against TeSlaa.

3.) 2024 undrafted free agent Nate Lynn took some first-team snaps early in practice. Lynn had a strong start to last year's camp before suffering a season-ending injury in the preseason opener.

4.) Goff had a nice connection with St. Brown, as well, as the two dialed up a downfield strike that appeared to be around 50 yards.

5.) Kalif Raymond was the team's first option as punt returner, keeping the status quo from the last several seasons. Other players who took reps in this area were St. Brown, Jameson Williams, D.J. Reed and Tom Kennedy.

6.) With Anzalone out, veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham got some first-team reps alongside Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes.

7.) The Lions introduced a new drill, which forced five players to complete a set of down-ups before competing to secure one of four loose balls. The player who did not come up with a ball was tasked with another round of down-ups.