Lions Rookie Trending Upwards, Needs to Continue Getting in Shape

Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell pleased with rookie's early performance.

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (91). | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Tyleik Williams has impressed the coaching staff early in training camp.

With 11 training camp practices in the books, Williams has displayed the exact knack for run defending that the Lions saw on tape during his days at Ohio State.

Injuries on the defensive interior have necessitated Williams to be entrenched with the first-team defense. His performance against the Lions' ground attack has indicated to the team that he's already up to the task.

This comes as little surprise to evaluators, as he earned an 88.6 Pro Football Focus run defense grade last year at Ohio State.

Both general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell praised Williams' performance on Wednesday, with Holmes telling 97.1 The Ticket that he's been impressed with how well his skill set has translated to the professional ranks.

“He’s been exactly what we expected. He came in great shape, his body looks good, his weight looks good," Holmes said. "Everything that he’s been doing in practice, he’s been making plays, but we’re not surprised because that’s just what he’s done on tape. When guys have that kind of power and athletic ability and ability to bend, and he’s very smart. So he’s not being slowed down by the thinking, he’s just out there playing. But so far, so good."

Williams was billed as an NFL-ready run defender throughout the pre-draft process, though he has room to grow as a pass-rusher. Still, Campbell has seen good things from the rookie in that area.

A key for Williams to grow in the early stages of his career will be getting into game shape. While Holmes was impressed with the shape that the rookie showed up to camp in, Campbell noted that getting him into a position to handle the physical challenge of playing every-down will be important.

“What we saw on his college tape is really showing up here. That’s his ability to play, to really get knock-back into the backfield, recreate the line of scrimmage," Campbell said. "He’s got good shock-and-shed, sometimes too good because he can jump out of a gap if you’re not careful, so we’re just trying to stay on him with that. Then he can get an edge, his rush, he can get an edge. He’s trending the right way. He’s growing, we’ve just got to get him in better shape and that’ll come with reps.” 

Holmes also mentioned that the emergence of Williams, the Lions' overall defensive line stands to benefit. While Levi Onwuzurike is out for the year, Alim McNeill appears to be trending well in his rehab and DJ Reader has had a fully healthy offseason.

"I think Alim is doing very, very well in his rehab process so when he gets back then we’ll just be even more fortified in the middle there," Holmes explained. "The other component with Tyleik is that DJ Reader was able to have a full offseason, he was kind of rehabbing something when we signed him in free agency last year. He’s had a full offseason, and he looks amazing out here.”

Top picks could debut Friday

The Lions elected to hold their top two draft picks, Williams and offensive lineman Tate Ratledge, out of their first preseason game last week. However, Campbell is considering allowing both to get some game action against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about that," Campbell said. "I would like to get them going this game, but I'm not 100 percent set on that yet."

Campbell noted that he didn't anticipate anybody getting too many reps in Wednesday's practice to keep them out of Friday's game. He has traditionally not played starters in the preseason, and Friday could be more of the same.

"Last night we talked about it a little bit," Campbell noted. "You have an idea, and really whoever's playing today is not gonna get enough reps, they're gonna have enough juice to play in this game at Atlanta. So you can kind of play anybody you need to."