The Detroit Lions’ OTAs and mandatory minicamp are out of the way. It’s time for the team to go enjoy the summer sun and do their own private workouts before they have to come right back to Detroit in late July to report to training camp.
Until then, we have time to talk about everything that went down over the last month and a half and pick some winners and losers. Let’s waste no more time and get into it.
Winners
Kaden Davis: This kid really showed up in a big way. he went from being a tryout player during rookie minicamp to a player that could be carving out a spot for himself on the 53-man roster when it’s all said and done. He made a lot of big catches, but it’s his return man possibility that’s going to give him a spot.
Amon-Ra St. Brown: Dominant on a daily basis. You couldn’t go a single day without hearing about St. Brown in the end zone or making big catches.
Jameson Williams: Not trying to make this a wide receiver party, but Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell called him the most improved player of the spring and you can see it. He’s been making some big plays and his ball tracking has improved a lot.
Levi Onwuzurkie: He needed to come out and have a good showing this spring. Before OTAs and minicamp, we were sure he would be cut. He’s making a spot for himself right now. Looking forward to seeing him when the pads come on.
James Turner: He’s been nailing just about every kick he goes out for. Even the long ones. The Lions might have got a steal here just based off the fact that nobody really saw him kick for distance because Michigan didn’t need him to.
Losers
Hendon Hooker: Just calm down. Just because you’re on this side of things doesn’t mean that it’s over for you. It just means there’s things to work on. Hooker did show some good stuff at minicamp, but he also showed a lot of bad stuff. There were multiple pick sixes thrown and he has a real problem with holding onto the ball for too long and it’s killing plays.. These are things that can be fixed.
John Cominsky: It’s not that Cominsky is really doing anything bad, it’s that guys around him are doing good things. Mathieu Betts has got some good reviews, Levi Onwuzrukie is having that good spring, Mitchell Agude is catching eyes and Mehki Wingo is getting work on the outside. Cominsky is starting to feel like a bit of an afterthought at the moment. That could change at camp.
Michael Badgley: While Turner is nailing kicks, Badgley is missing them. You just can’t do that. Especially when you’re in a competition with another guy and there’s a chance that a third party will enter the fray after the UFL season concludes.