Lions training camp notebook: Day 2 observations from an interesting morning

Without any doubt, the defensive player I’m asked about the most is first-round cornerback Terrion Arnold. As such, I focused on him whenever he was on the field today.

Arnold, at times, looks very dominant in man coverage on the outside. His low pedal, his burst, and his cat-like reflexes looked fantastic on several reps. He showed mercy on Amon-Ra St. Brown in not sending him to the grave, let alone the hospital, on a bad, late choice by QB Jared Goff on a short route that the rookie read perfectly. But Arnold did get beat a couple of noteworthy times, including a rep where he lost a hand-fighting duel with WR Daurice Fountain and got torched on a deep post route.

This is just my observation, but it seems like Arnold is learning the intricacies and styles of all the wideouts as well as the defensive assignment playbook all at the same time and hasn’t mastered it yet — which is 100 percent understandable and acceptable for a rookie. He’s a corner who personalizes his coverage based on the wideout he’s facing and the rapid recall index isn’t fully loaded just yet. After watching him again today and seeing him all spring, anyone who clings to the criticism that Arnold is not fast enough simply has no grasp of reality.

The running backs conveniently worked out right in front of the media viewing area after warm-ups. It was interesting to listen to RB coach/Lions assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery work with his players in a couple of different footwork and agility drills. Montgomery had one key focus word,

“BURST!”

Other words, many of which are not fit for print, came around it, but Montgomery had to have yelled it at least twice during every rep of every back. It’s clearly a point of emphasis.

Two RBs earned the most praise from Montgomery for their burst out of cuts and through “holes”: Jahmyr Gibbs and Zonovan Knight. Gibbs just naturally exudes the twitchy, instant acceleration that Montgomery wants; he’s on a different level than any RB I’ve seen in Lions camp in over a decade of being part of the media here.

Knight has a bit of a long stride, which makes his burst even more impressive. He can really move when he gets his feet and hips aligned right, which doesn’t always happen. Knight also caught the ball well in a different drill.

This was a drill where fourth-round rookie Sione Vaki struggled some today. The footwork part of the drill, which involved quick-stepping over pads and jump-cutting, is definitely not natural for Vaki, who was primarily a safety in college at Utah. He needed a gather-step a couple of times before bursting into the open.

One necessary note here on David Montgomery: he’s not a “burst” guy. That’s not how he wins with his running style. Having said that, his burst is still pretty impressive for an RB listed at 5-11 and 224 pounds who looks a little bigger than both those measurements.

After Wednesday’s initial practice, I talked with Lions play-by-play broadcaster Dan Miller on the Huge Show about an unexpected player who stood out to him. Miller responded with undrafted rookie Jalon Calhoun. That set the stage for a different young wideout to seize the day on Thursday.

Kaden Davis isn’t a rookie, but the 25-year-old wideout has little name cachet. He wound up doing a lot of the wideout reps in the same grouping as Calhoun, and in today’s practice, it was No. 88 who shone. Davis showed very sharp, crisp footwork and an impressive catch radius for his 6-foot-1 frame. He made a couple of all-hands catches well outside his body, including a toe-tapper on the right sideline on a throw from Nate Sudfeld that was about three yards outside where Davis expected it at the release.

One of the keys to making a name for yourself as a wide receiver in Ben Johnson’s offense is to block well. In team drills, Davis absolutely locked up a DB on a wide run rep. He and Daurice Fountain both earned praise from WR coach Antwan Randle El for their blocking work during the practice. Fountain was a very close runner-up here and logged the best play of the day, a highlight-reel post route and catch that burned Terrion Arnold, who couldn’t keep the jam through Fountain’s release.

Calhoun also had a very good morning session, but he was not as athletically dynamic as running mate Davis on this day.

Newcomer Jake Bates handled all the kicking duties in practice, from the live kickoffs to field goal attempts. Michael Badgley was in uniform and did some light work on the second field, but it was all Bates today. Punter Jack Fox, who handled kickoffs most of the last two seasons, also did not do any work on kickoffs on Thursday.

The field goals were a perfect 6-for-6 from Bates. Interestingly, he started out by making the longest kick (53 yards) and then worked into closer kicks. A 37-yarder from the right hash was barely inside the right upright but landed on top of a building some 25 yards behind the goalpost. Another kick appeared like it was going to land on the Southfield Freeway.

His kickoffs were all over the place, and perhaps that was by design. Several of the kicks appeared to be intentionally short and to a side for the return drill portion of the rep. I did not notice one touchback or kickoff out of the end zone. Bates did have one that would have almost certainly landed out of bounds around the 10 if it wasn’t fielded.

The Lions are auditioning many for the kick return role. WR Kalif Raymond and WR Maurice Alexander separated themselves from the other aspirants on Thursday, a group that included Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Khalil Dorsey. The tackling wasn’t live and the blocking was only walkthrough speed, but Alexander’s instant acceleration and quick feet sure stood out as a returner.

–Rookie guard Christian Mahogany did not practice. Campbell said before the session that Mahogany is dealing with an illness and it’s nothing long-term.

–Brodric Martin took the vast majority of first-team reps at NT next to Alim McNeill.

–Martin is in there because veteran newcomer DJ Reader remains inactive as he recovers from offseason quad surgery. Reader was running up the hill on the northeast side of the practice field, generally known as “Mt. Patricia,” and working with trainers throughout practice.

–On the UDFA interior offensive line front, it was Bryan Hudson getting some second-team work at center late in the team portion. Hudson is one of three UDFAs competing, along with Kingsley Eguakun and Duke Clemens. I did not notice Clemens in any reps but with no pads on, the lines are admittedly not my focus.

–Former Michigan Wolverines and longtime Tennessee Titans tackle Taylor Lewan was among the outside media in Allen Park. Lewan has lost considerable weight from his playing days and looks great. After practice he walked into the Lions locker area with his college teammate Graham Glasgow, the Lions’ starting left guard.

–Wrestling icon Hulk Hogan and local champion boxer Claressa Shields were celebrity guests on the sidelines during practice. Shields ran routes on the field after practice and she’s definitely a good athlete up until the catch point. Hogan is in Detroit to launch a custom beer.

–The Lions staff had to bring out an extra JUGS machine after practice due to demand from the players wanting to get reps after practice. The defensive backs, notably CBs Khalil Dorsey and Steven Gilmore, took extensive reps on it after practice ended.

–Dan Skipper took a lap around the practice fields after practice. Nothing unusual about that, except he was barefoot and had spent a few minutes in the ice bath tank beforehand. Not something you see everyday, which was a theme for this Thursday…

–Derrick Barnes is adapting well to his more pass-rush-centric role on defense. He led a group that included Mathieu Betts and James Houston after practice that was working on rip moves and selling body and head fakes off the snap. Barnes’ polish and leadership were both readily apparent.