Jeff Okudah Participating in Individual Drills, Taylor Decker Held Out
In this story:
Entering his second season as head coach of the Detroit Lions, Dan Campbell has some experience under his belt.
After struggling early in the season last year, the Lions played inspired football down the stretch of the season. The impact the coach had on his players was clear.
Now, the focus becomes winning. Alongside him is Aaron Glenn, the Lions’ defensive coordinator who came to Detroit with Campbell from New Orleans.
Glenn was a popular candidate for head coach openings across the league in the offseason, having led many to believe that Campbell may have been in the market for a new defensive coordinator just one season after taking over.
“I have a tremendous amount of trust and confidence in AG,” Campbell said. “I just do. He is more than worthy of being a head coach. He’s more than qualified to be a head coach.”
In the end, Glenn wound up staying in Detroit after interviewing for multiple jobs. For his head coach, the end result came with a sigh of relief.
“I thought he was gonna be gone,” Campbell said. “I was gonna be happy as hell for him, but the thought of losing him, I just had this feeling that I was gonna be walking around without any pants on. I would say that having AG, there is a comfort level.”
© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
Injury updates
Having several players see their seasons end early, it’s natural to wonder about the state of certain players heading into the organized team activities stage of the offseason.
Cornerback Jeff Okudah, who was drafted No. 3 overall in 2020, suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in the season opener in 2021. While the injury takes a notoriously long time to heal, the team is optimistic he will be ready to go soon.
Defensive end Romeo Okwara suffered a similar injury, putting the two in a similar category moving forward.
“To be honest, it’s hard to put a timeline on that,” Campbell said. “Let’s see that when we get them in here for camp, and see what this next month of recovery does for them and make that assessment then.”
Offensive lineman Taylor Decker is also dealing with an injury, though Campbell said he isn’t worried about the severity of it. The Ohio State product left the 2021 season finale early with an injury, one similar to what he’s dealing with now.
“It’s the same area, but not the same injury,” Campbell said. “We’re just being smart with it. If he had to play right now, he could play.”
Confidence in young players
The Lions have a very young core. The team has picked in the top 10 of the NFL Draft each of the last five seasons, and has relied on young players to contribute throughout the last few seasons.
As a result, the inexperienced players on the roster have become experienced very quickly.
Some of the expected key contributors are second-year players such as Penei Sewell, Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike. All drafted in 2021, each player played significant reps in last year’s campaign.
Though the season was up and down, Campbell maintains confidence in those players heading into their second season.
“For all those young guys, that class of guys last year,” Campbell said. “There is a level of confidence in those guys and kind of a business-like approach. It’s impressive to see out of a bunch of young guys.”
A position that will highlight the team’s youth is linebacker. This group features a little bit of everything, from veterans like Alex Anzalone to rookies like Malcolm Rodriguez.
Not much is set in stone at this point, but Campbell is excited about the competition the Lions will have at that spot.
“It’s gonna be a bloodbath in there,” Campbell said. “There’s a ton of experience, there’s a ton of youth, there’s a ton of energy. On top of that, every one of the guys in there is competitive. They’re highly competitive, and I just think when we come out with the two or three that are left standing, I think we’re gonna be excited about those guys.”
