Inside Allen Park: Okudah and St. Brown Continue Epic Battles

Here are the general observations of Friday's training camp practice at the Detroit Lions' Allen Park practice facility.

There is a growing rivalry that has taken center stage at Detroit Lions training camp. 

The battles between rookie wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and second-year cornerback Jeff Okudah are becoming appointment viewing. 

During Detroit's first padded practice on Wednesday, St. Brown caught three consecutive passes against Okudah, with the second-year defensive back making a stop at the line of scrimmage for what would have been a minimal gain on one of the reps. 

“He wanted me to go against him again,” St. Brown told reporters. "So, he called me out, and I cut the line again and I went again.”

For his efforts, St. Brown has garnered the attention of offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who told reporters Thursday that he has been impressed with the rookie wideout's toughness and route-running savvy. 

St. Brown commented further, “For me, just going out there, playing my game, doing what I do -- making plays, catching the ball, blocking hard and just going out there and being myself. Not thinking too much. This is my first NFL training camp. So, you hear these stories, ‘It gets tough, this, that and the other.' So, for me, I’m just going out there and trying to do my thing, and show the coaches what I can do.”

On Friday, the battle continued, as Okudah made an outstanding adjustment to break up a deep route up the seam. Despite the heated rivalry, both embraced on the sideline after the rep, and the level of mutual respect has been evident. 

St. Brown got the upper hand in a one-on-one tackling drill, as he hurdled Okudah, punted the football in celebration and proceeded to pose Lebron James-style in front of fans. 

General observations of Friday's training camp practice

• Early, all three quarterbacks were emphasizing footwork in warm up drills.
• As the Lions started the warm up period, Nick Williams and Quinton Dunbar were not spotted. 
• Tyrell Crosby, Michael Brockers, Alex Brown and John Penisini were present, but did not suit up in full pads.
• Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin was spotted on the field with the linebackers unit, but was not wearing pads. He was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list at the start of camp, so he could be close to returning to the active roster. 
• Early in practice, cornerback Corn Elder was in coverage against wideout Breshad Perriman. After the rep, Elder was observed holding his left leg and proceeded to limp to the locker room. 
• There were more fans in attendance than on previous days and audible 'Let's Go Lions' and 'Jared Goff' chants broke out at the halfway point of practice.
• Safety Tracy Walker continued his use of the video board to hone his craft, and to make adjustments on passing routes. While special teams drills were occurring in front of him, Walker came over to the board to review a previous play-action pass that was overthrown by Goff. The intended target was wideout Kalif Raymond, who made a move inside to split the safeties in coverage. Walker studied the angle he took in order to make the proper correction. 
• The Lions offense made a concerted effort to throw the football deep on many more reps. Unfortunately, the execution was still not where it needed to be in terms of completion percentage on deep attempts.
• One of the early deep completions was thrown by backup Tim Boyle, as he connected with Damion Ratley with Jerry Jacobs in coverage. 
• Running back D'Andre Swift and tight end Brock Wright had the most notable drops on Friday. Swift is continuing his load management, as his workload was not as high as in previous practices. 
• Wideout Breshad Perriman stayed down for a few moments after a nice deep ball was thrown by backup David Blough. The veteran wideout returned to practice after taking a couple of reps off. 
• Goff was visibly frustrated following an incomplete pass to tight end T.J. Hockenson. Despite the poor rep, one of the best reps was a completion from Goff to Hockenson, who split defenders and secured the reception in traffic. 

Detroit Lions Family Fest

The Detroit Lions Family Fest will occur Saturday, August 7. The practice at Ford Field is free and open to the public. All guests must have a ticket in order to attend the open practice. 

For admission, fans can register for up to eight tickets to the event by visiting www.detroitlions.com/familyfest. Gates are set to open at 10 a.m., with practice beginning at 11:30 a.m.