Allen Park — Here are some notes and observations from Tuesday’s training camp practice.
► If you haven’t bought a passenger ticket for the Malcolm Rodriguez hype train, hurry up, because those seats are filling up quickly.
The rookie linebacker, a sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma State, is quickly becoming a favorite of Detroit’s coaching staff for his football IQ and willingness to lay the lumber.
During his morning pre-practice press conference, coach Dan Campbell noted that Rodriguez popped off the screen while reviewing tape from the team’s first session in full pads a day earlier.
“We’ve been pretty pleased with him — and all of a sudden, we go first day of pads and guess who shows up?” Campbell said. “…I’ll tell you what, his key (reading) and diagnose for a young guy right now is pretty good.”
With that early success, Campbell said he’s already had conversations with position coach Kelvin Sheppard about moving Rodriguez up the depth chart. And on Tuesday, Rodriguez kept his momentum trending in the right direction.
Rodriguez delivered arguably the three loudest hits of the day, drawing excited reactions from both coaches and teammates, particularly starting linebacker Alex Anzalone, who is likely serving as a veteran mentor for Rodriguez.
► The Lions lost Quintez Cephus to a leg injury early in practice. Additionally, defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike and tight end T.J. Hockenson weren’t practicing. There were no immediate updates on either player, but Onwuzurike was noticeably shaken up during Monday’s practice. He stayed out on the field, but was moving gingerly as he returned inside the building at the end of the day.
Additionally, running back Greg Bell remains absent. Campbell said the undrafted rookie’s back/hip injury is expected to keep him out for a bit, which factored into the team’s decision to sign veteran Justin Jackson Monday afternoon.
► It’s been a relatively quiet start to camp for DJ Chark, but the former Pro Bowl receiver showcased his tantalizing skill set in a one-on-one rep against Amani Oruwariye. The receiver got the cornerback off balance almost immediately with his release off the line of scrimmage before blowing past him for a long completion.
Oruwariye got a bit of revenge on a comeback route later in the drill, forcing an incompletion with tight coverage.
Kalif Raymond showed no such mercy to second-year nickelback A.J. Parker, twice getting by the defender for long completions.
► Rookie nickel Chase Lucas intercepted a pass in the one-on-one drills, but it’s unlikely he would have gotten away with yanking his coverage assignment down by the jersey just before the ball arrived. The interference wasn’t subtle.
► Linebacker Derrick Barnes, working with the first-team defense on back-to-back days, had consecutive snaps where he made a play in the backfield. On the first, he beat running back Jamaal Williams’ block on a blitz to flush quarterback Jared Goff from the pocket. One play later, Barnes blew up a run behind the line.
► The front seven had a good day getting after the quarterback on the whole, with Alim McNeil recording a sack, linebackers Jarrad Davis and Anthony Pittman coming together for another on a blitz and Austin Bryant batting a pass down at the line.
► Second-year running back Jermar Jefferson has struggled as a pass-catcher this offseason, but he came up big as a safety valve for David Blough, finding space down the left sideline with the quarterback under durress.
From there, Jefferson ran through three tackle attempts on his way to a long touchdown.
► There was some extra chippiness on Tuesday with cornerback Will Harris taking a swing at receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, safety Brady Breeze and running back Craig Reynolds locking up and tugging at each other’s jerseys for several seconds post-whistle and cornerback Saivion Smith driving and pinning receiver Kalil Pimpleton into the ground longer than necessary on a block.
The good news is the intensity of each of those moments quickly dissipated before blowing up into something bigger.
► Practice ended with a two-minute drive between the top offensive and defensive groups. Starting at their own 48-yard line with 52 seconds remaining, Goff had quick completions to St. Brown and tight end Shane Zylstra, moving the ball 25 yards in just 11 seconds.
But things stalled quickly with Aidan Hutchinson scoring a sack rushing from the interior, followed by a delay-of-game penalty. The offense ended up needing to settle for a 48-yard field goal by Austin Seibert.
► Both Seibert and Riley Patterson had good days kicking the ball. Patterson was perfect on four attempts, while Seibert missed one, banging a 54-yard attempt off the right upright.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers