Inside Allen Park: D'Andre Swift, Jeff Okudah Present at Voluntary Workouts
The Detroit Lions' coaching staff is relishing the opportunity to work with the team's young players.
On Monday during voluntary workouts, both linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard and defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant referenced the molding of clay, when discussing working with the young roster.
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell expressed last week what he is most satisfied with as organized team activities wrap up and what the team needs to further improve upon.
"I feel like our fundamentals are a little bit better than they were this time of year. Of course, a lot of that is natural, because we’re teaching them from the ground-up how we want things done and the way we teach things. And so I feel good about that," Campbell said.
"We still have a lot of development and growth to take place overall as a team. We need a lot more situational work, and we have no idea what we’re going to be until we put the pads on," Campbell explained further. "Man, that’s just the bottom line, there’s going to be guys that look really good right now, and all you guys know that we’re going to go out there in pads, when we’re able to do it in training camp, and they’re going to disappear. Then, vice versa. Some guys don’t look very good right now. They look like old pick-up trucks, and then all of sudden, you put pads on them, and they come to life and that’s the nature of it. But, I think that from that regard, we’ve got a ways to go. We still -- we’ve got a ton of situational work that we’ve got to get much better at, if we want to win games this year, a lot more than we did last year.”
Even though voluntary workouts are reserved for rookies and inexperienced players, both running back D'Andre Swift and cornerback Jeff Okudah have decided to remain and participate.
Rookie Josh Paschal was not spotted at the portion of practice that was open to the media.
Attendance
Here is the list of players spotted at practice on Monday.
- Jeff Okudah
- David Blough
- Kalif Raymond
- Tim Boyle
- Brady Breeze
- Corey Sutton
- Trinity Benson
- Jameson Williams -- Limited
- Saivon Smith
- Ifeatu Melifonwu -- Limited
- Bobby Price
- Jermar Jefferson
- Kerby Joseph
- D'Andre Swift
- Godwin Igwebuike
- Cedric Boswell
- Chase Lucas
- Jerry Jacobs -- Limited
- Nolan Givan
- Malcolm Rodriquez
- Craig Reynolds
- Natrez Patrick -- Limited
- Derrick Barnes
- Anthony Pittman
- Penei Sewell
- James Houston
- Demetrius Taylor
- Obinna Eze
- Matt Nelson
- Logan Stenberg
- Kevin Jarvis
- Zein Obeid
- Tommy Kraemer
- John Cominsky
- Josh Johnson
- James Mitchell -- Limited
- Kalil Pimpleton
- Shane Zylstra
- Tom Kennedy
- Quintez Cephus
- Aidan Hutchinson
Malcolm Rodriquez and Derrick Barnes continue to develop
Rodriguez is not difficult to spot on the field, as he is oftentimes near the football.
The coaching staff continues to rave about his development and readiness to step out on the field his rookie season.
Barnes should be the benefactor of the scheme change, as he appeared out of sorts for much of his rookie season.
With an emphasis on tackling and running downhill, Barnes should battle for more reps on the second-team defense all throughout training camp.
© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
Shane Zylstra emerges in tight end battle
Zylstra is a player who certainly has taken advantage of increased reps, with rookie tight end James Mitchell being out during minicamp.
On Monday, Zylstra was on the receiving end of several targets, and successfully hauled in a touchdown reception from Tim Boyle.
Demetrius Taylor is often around the football
With Penisini abruptly retiring, Taylor has an opportunity to make the roster as an undrafted free agent.
He was on the receiving end of a tipped pass, and secured an interception off of David Blough.
End-of-practice competition
David Blough took on Tim Boyle in a battle of accuracy, as both launched numerous passes at a moving cart approximately 30 yards away.
Blough was victorious, as he demonstrated much more accuracy in the competition.
Cornerback Bobby Price was defeated in the same competition by wide receiver Tom Kennedy, who took a more measured approach by focusing on accuracy over the speed of his tosses.
Kennedy punted the football away in celebration after winning.
Media combine
My fellow colleagues decided to sign up for the Detroit Lions media combine.
The events featured field-goal kicks, catching punts, punting, passing accuracy, receiving passes from the JUGS machine and a 3-point shootout.
At 43 years of age, I respectfully declined the invitation, and hit the keyboard as soon as practice wrapped up and my podcast interview concluded with Rodriguez.
