Respected longtime Green Bay Packers beat writer Tom Silverstein caught my attention with a comment he made on Twitter back in March, after the Detroit Lions signed Tim Boyle to be their backup quarterback.
“Good signing for the #Lions,” Silverstein wrote. “He will push Goff for the starting job.”
That was a wowser of a prediction considering Boyle attempted all of four passes in his first three NFL seasons and had to transfer from UConn to Eastern Kentucky to see the field in college.
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But asking around after the Boyle signing, I feel confident in saying the Lions weren’t the only team that saw Boyle as a developmental talent worth gambling on, and when offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn was complimentary of the 26-year-old Thursday, I figured I’d spend a portion of the day’s organized team activities practice watching him in action.
Boyle has an impressive arm, one that is at least as strong as Jared Goff’s. He took No. 2 reps ahead of David Blough, and while I could see the promise, I did not come away thinking he would push the polished Goff for the starting job this fall.
Goff took first-team reps in both seven-on-seven periods Thursday and was accurate with most of his throws and reads. He completed 16 of 20 passes, by my count, and threw a couple beauties in the first seven-on-seven session, including a touchdown to Tyrell Williams on the first play of the period when safety Will Harris was late getting to the sideline.
Boyle was far less accurate. He threw incomplete on his first three attempts, missing low to Kalif Raymond (when Raymond might have been a tick late on a comeback route), then overshot Raymond on an up-and-out route before missing Damion Ratley long on the opposite sideline.
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On his fourth and final pass of the period — Blough also got four reps — Boyle completed a short throw to Sage Surratt against off coverage.
Boyle looked more comfortable in the second period of seven-on-sevens, though his two completions came on a check down and a shallow drag route. A defensive player, I believe it was Tracy Walker, made a nice pass breakup on another Boyle pass, and on his check down, Boyle appeared to pull of a seam route to T.J. Hockenson when his strong arm seemed capable of pushing the ball downfield.
It’s worth mentioning that this was one practice, and Boyle was playing with mostly second-string receivers — players he still is getting acquainted with. In no form or fashion should this be considered a full or fair evaluation of his talents as a quarterback.
But for one Thursday in early June, at least, I came away thinking Goff is the Lions’ clear-cut starter and the Packers won’t regret letting Boyle go and leaving their quarterback job to the reigning league MVP Aaron Rodgers (or perhaps second-year pro Jordan Love).
“You got to back to (20)19 and watch the preseason, but he did a really good job then and then last year, he was their No. 2 guy,” Lynn said. “So they brought in a guy to be No. 2 and Tim beat him out. Tim was backup for a reason, but he’s a big young man with another strong arm and he’s picking up the system pretty quick, too. I’m looking forward to seeing those guys all go to camp and compete when we get into some more competitive situations.”
More observations from Thursday’s OTA practice:
• The Lions got their running backs plenty involved in the passing game during Thursday’s seven-on-seven sessions, and both D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams made head-turning plays.
Swift left linebacker Alex Anzalone grasping at air with one open-field move that earned him an easy catch over the middle, but Williams had the juke of the day when turned around safety Godwin Igwebuike and immediately let him know about it as he caught the ball and turned up field.
“I be trying the defense now, look, don’t look at this number, don’t look at 30 and think, oh, running routes is going to be easy-peasy,” Williams said. “I want that. I want all of that. And if you think you’re frisky, come one on one and we can really — I want all of that.”
Williams has caught at least 25 passes in each of his first four NFL seasons, and given the third-down duties he likely will have in Detroit, I expect he’ll top that number this fall.
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• A couple other notes from seven-on-sevens: Linebacker Anthony Pittman made a nice pass breakup on a Goff pass to Hockenson in the first period, while Victor Bolden made the catch of the day, diving to snag a low pass from Blough in the left flat. Bolden earned a flying hip bump from Tyrell Williams as reward for his catch.
• Bolden had an impressive day overall. He made another head-turning grab in the second seven-on-seven period, when he reached up to pull in a comeback from Goff that was high and outside. I vaguely remember Bolden drawing some unprompted praise from the last staff, so he will be someone I’ll be watching come training camp.
• Seventh-round pick Jermar Jefferson did drop one Goff pass Thursday. I’d still make Jefferson the favorite to be the Lions’ No. 3 running back this fall, but with a potential Todd Gurley signing awaiting, training camp will be important.
• Michael Brockers was back at OTAs this week, while veterans Tyrell Crosby and Jamie Collins remain away from the team. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he expects Crosby at mandatory minicamp next week, as I previously reported was likely to happen.
Among others not spotted Thursday: Defensive tackle John Penisini, pass rusher Austin Bryant and linebacker Derrick Barnes.
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• I mentioned in my observations last week that Mike Ford stood out as the Lions’ best gunner on punt team. Well, the Lions didn’t spend as much time on special teams Thursday, but Ford still caught my eye at gunner. The Lions used Ford and fellow cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu as their top gunners Thursday, with Ratley and Raymond among other pairings.
• Another rookie of note: He didn’t make any standout plays that I saw, but the Lions did give rookie Adrian Amos some time opposite Tracy Walker with the first-team defense. The second safety spot could be trouble for the Lions this fall, so Amos’ development could be important this summer.
• That’s it for OTAs for the Lions, who have mandatory minicamp next Tuesday-Thursday then close their offseason program with a week of work for rookies (and any veterans that want to stay in town) June 14-17.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.