Allen Park — Reviewing the film from the team’s walk-through practice earlier in the day, Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown goes through a routine of dissecting his performance, scouring the tape for any areas he could improve. In doing so, something else, more specifically someone else, grabbed the Pro Bowler’s attention.
The team had been split between two fields for the practice. St. Brown was with the starting offense on one field. And on the other, the second group was working through the exact same call sheet. St. Brown would watch his snap, immediately followed by his counterpart on the other field. And to St. Brown’s surprise, this undrafted rookie’s attention to detail was often surpassing his own.
That’s been Dylan Drummond’s inaugural offseason in a nutshell.
Going unselected out of Eastern Michigan this offseason, Drummond wasn’t even signed as a priority free agent after the draft. He came to Detroit as a tryout player for rookie minicamp, part of a group of guys who are typically playing out the string on their professional football aspirations.
But Drummond stood out from pack immediately, and after the three-day minicamp, the Lions offered him a contract. An accomplishment, without question, but one providing almost no security. It still put him at the very back of the roster, where he could have been axed at any time for a more pressing need.
But Drummond survived through OTAs and into training camp. And, far more impressively, he’s thriving. It’s certainly far more than could be reasonably expected for a player who was looked over by every team in the league.
“You’ve got to do everything right for a guy like him,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “You’re not the only one who sees it. We see it. He makes plays every day. He really, mentally, can play all the positions, he competes in special teams, and I would say he’s hard to ignore. He’s just hard to ignore.”
Campbell noted the early performance has earned Drummond an opportunity to move up the depth chart. In recent days, he’s been working heavily with the second-team offense and hardly looks out of place. He caught several passes during Wednesday’s practice and on Thursday, seeing scrimmage snaps against the defensive starters, he kept the train on the track with a touchdown grab while defended by veteran cornerback Cam Sutton.
“I’m just trying to be in the right spots and always knowing what to do,” Drummond said. “I pride myself on being a smart person, and I really try to get in the playbook and stay in the playbook to know where I’m supposed to be and how I’m supposed to get there. If I’m in the right spots, I think the right things tend to happen.”
There’s little about Drummond’s profile or resume that suggested this was coming. He’s not particularly big at 6-foot and 186 pounds, and he posted unremarkable measurables at Eastern Michigan’s pro day, including a 40 time north of 4.6 seconds. Plus, it’s not like he had undeniable production for the Eagles, failing to lead the team in receiving any of his five seasons, peaking at 704 yards across 13 games in 2021.
But none of those past accomplishments, or lack thereof, have mattered during his first professional offseason.
“Honestly, I never thought I couldn’t (play at this level),” Drummond said. “I didn’t have very good production my senior year due to an injury and missing some games, but I knew that if I ever got the opportunity to get this level, I could show what I had and I knew I was somebody who could stick around.”
Coming out of college, Drummond modeled his game after some of the game’s best technicians at his position. He watched plenty of Keenan Allen, one of the game’s best route runners, as well as releases of DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams, trying to glean whatever tips and tricks he could add to his own toolset.
In Detroit, Drummond’s been able to further strengthen his fundamental base under the tutelage of position coach Antwaan Randle El, who played nine seasons in the NFL, as well as veterans like St. Brown, Kalif Raymond and Marvin Jones.
The presence of those veterans also means a path to a roster spot is a crowded one. That said, the Lions under Campbell have not shied way from rewarding previously unheralded players with jobs if they prove it on the practice field. And, if nothing else, Drummond has put himself on track for a practice squad job.
That’s too far in the future for Drummond to think about. He’s got joint practices the next two weeks and three preseason games to continue to validate what he’s accomplished to this point.
“I just want to continue to prove that I belong here and I want to show my coaches and teammates I’m dependable and I know what to do,” Drummond said. “Right now, I’m just focused on camp and being where my feet are. Whatever happens after camp, I’ll deal with that and keep pushing on.”
He’s certainly got St. Brown’s attention.
“He does everything right,” St. Brown said. “He’s crafty, he’s a good route runner, understands the offense really well for only being here for OTAs through now. He’s right there with me, in terms of understanding almost everything.
“I like him a lot. I can’t wait to see what he does in the preseason.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers