From time to time during training camp Tim Twentyman will answer 10 good questions from his X account @ttwentyman in a feature we call, "10 Questions with Twentyman."
20man: I think the Lions really found something in third-round wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa out of Arkansas. He's come in a lot more polished than most rookie receivers I've seen over the years.
He has a 6-foot-4 frame, 4.4 speed and terrific hands. He always seems to catch the ball away from his body. I've seen very few drops from him in camp.
He's already garnered the respect of the veterans for his physicality and willingness to block. He just fits that room from a style and talent perspective. This is what Amon-Ra St. Brown said of TeSlaa on Thursday:
"You love to see young guys compete. That's the biggest thing," he said. "Isaac is putting his head in there blocking and that's something I feel as a young guy, us older players respect that. That's just telling us that when he's out there with us on Sunday, he's going to put his life on the line and go block that safety. For young guys to go out there and put their head in there and hit guys maybe they've never hit ... it's one of the best things they can do."
I will also say rookie guard Tate Ratledge is coming on strong and has looked really good the last week. TeSlaa, Ratledge, and first-round pick Tyleik Williams are all expected to play key roles early on.
20man: I feel good about where Detroit's secondary is at from both a talent and depth standpoint. It's the most talented secondary going into a season I believe the Lions have had since I started covering the team in 2009.
Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are the best safety duo in the NFL, combining for 13 interceptions and 28 passes defended last season. I expect Branch to have a monster season from a statistical standpoint in Kelvin Sheppard's defense.
Cornerback D.J. Reed has been a perfect fit in the heavy man scheme and has been better than I even expected. We all expect Terrion Arnold to take a big leap in Year 2. He's had a really nice offseason and camp which tells me he can take that leap.
Then there's Amik Robertson, who gives the Lions versatility to play a really nice nickel corner role but can also jump outside and play equally as well out there. Remember how he played Justin Jefferson Week 18 last year. Rock-Ya Sin and Avonte Maddox give the team experienced depth behind the starters.
Detroit's secondary has a chance to be really good in 2025 if they stay healthy.
20man: We have seen Jahmyr Gibbs become running back 1A in camp this season. He typically starts team periods and has been a big part of John Morton's offense in camp, not just running the football but also catching the ball out of the backfield and in the slot.
Head coach Dan Campbell is still going to use a two-back system with David Montgomery, who is also having a nice camp. What a luxury to have the best running back duo in the league in Detroit. The Lions will use both backs, but I expect that if both players stay healthy all season it will end up with Gibbs having the slightly bigger workload.
20man: Watch out for fourth-year wide receiver Jameson Williams.
I know he had his first 1,000-yard season last year but the way he's looked in camp, I think he could significantly surpass last year's totals of 58 receptions, 1,001 yards, and seven touchdowns.
He's not just the deep threat in this offense anymore. He's got the entire route tree at his disposal and has really made a living in camp generating space from the threat of going deep, which the defense has to respect because of his speed, and then putting his foot in the ground and coming back to quarterback Jared Goff. It's been short, intermediate, and deep plays for Williams all throughout camp and I have a feeling he is going to be a big storyline for this offense in 2025.
20man: It's still the interior of the offensive line for me. I really like what I've seen from right guard Ratledge, center Graham Glasgow, and left guard Christian Mahogany over the last week. They look like they are settling in nicely and feeling more comfortable playing alongside one another.
There are still going to be some questions that need to be answered early in the season. How will Glasgow perform as a full-time center? Mahogany looked good when given an opportunity to play last year as a rookie but it's still a small sample size that needs to be validated. Ratledge has had a terrific week and seems to be really settling in nicely next to Penei Sewell at right guard, but he's still a rookie and usually there are up-and-downs with rookies in this league.
Campbell said Thursday he likes the way the offensive line has been playing since left tackle Taylor Decker returned from shoulder surgery. Let's hope they keep trending in the right direction. It's an area that's been such a strength for Detroit in Campbell's tenure. We haven't had this many questions that needed answering regarding this unit heading into a season.
20man: An undrafted rookie free agent has made the initial 53-man roster out of camp in each of the last four seasons with Brad Holmes and Campbell at the helm, but this roster is getting to a point where that's a tougher and tougher feat to accomplish for undrafted rookies.
I wouldn't be surprised if the streak ends this year but I also wouldn't be surprised if it continues. I believe undrafted rookie defensive lineman Keith Cooper Jr. out of Houston has made the biggest case for inclusion.
He's shown the ability to play up and down the defensive line and be productive doing so. Campbell has praised his play on more than one occasion and he was taking some reps with the first-team defense in joint practice with the Dolphins on Thursday.
20man: It's a fair question. It's not easy trying to replace an All-Pro player like Ragnow at such a critical position. Glasgow has a ton of experience at center (38 games) and has a lot of experience playing with Jared Goff as his quarterback.
The leadership and preparation behind the scenes with run game coordinator/offensive line coach Hank Fraley and Goff is going to be fine. Glasgow is a pro's pro and a smart football player.
One of the things I want to see on the field is how Glasgow gets to the second level and plays in space. Ragnow's combination of athleticism and strength at the position was elite. It's what made him one of the best in the game. He was great pulling and being a lead blocker or getting to the second level to seal off the linebacker to run behind. He was good in space in the screen game too. That's going to be one area where I'll have a close eye on Glasgow early in the year to see if there's any drop-off.
20man: For those not familiar with the 'Hutch Rule,' it applies to edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and the fact that he's been so dominant in camp coaches have let the offense finish reps even when it's apparent Hutchinson would have sacked the quarterback just so the offense can get their work in.
Hutchinson and Sewell have had some good battles in individual and team periods over last three years and they typically split their reps pretty equally when going up against one another. Does anyone reading this have any concerns about Sewell heading into the season? Yeah, neither do I.
Decker was out the first couple weeks of camp rehabbing offseason shoulder surgery and Hutchinson certainly took advantage of Dan Skipper, Jamarco Jones and Giovanni Manu taking left tackle reps. That was a big part of it. The O-line has played much better collectively over the last week since Decker's return.
I just think Hutchinson has looked so good. I feel very confident having watched him over the last three weeks of training camp saying he's poised to have a spectacular season. He's looked even better than he did at the beginning of last year when he was leading the NFL in sacks and pressures the first five weeks of the season.
20man: I think it's been more of the latter. Adding Hutchinson back into the fold on defense changes everything. He's been so good and so disruptive in camp. Tyleik Williams and DJ Reader have been a handful inside. Don't forget Reader missed all of training camp and Week 1 last season due to a quad injury. He's in great shape and once Alim McNeill gets back that's a really nice trio inside for Detroit. Marcus Davenport has been good opposite Hutchinson and has played really well as the entire D-line has given the O-line all it can handle in camp. Then consider the fact that this is arguably the most talented secondary the Lions have had going into a season in some time playing behind that line.
The Lions were ranked seventh in scoring defense and fifth against the run last year. They were 30th against the pass. If we see significant improvement in that area, and I think just staying healthy is a significant improvement, this defense has a chance to be pretty darn good.
I thought it was telling that the best the offense has looked all through camp was the first time they didn't have to play Detroit's defense in Wednesday's joint practice with Miami. We know the Lions' offense is talented with tons of playmakers. I think Detroit's defense is out to prove the same thing.
20man: As far as new offensive coordinator John Morton goes, I don't think the casual fan will notice much difference. Even he said if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
There is a heavy use of pre-snap motion that's designed to get skill players in desired one-on-one matchups in space. Morton will attack any matchup he thinks he's got the advantage on. He's also a little more vocal than Ben Johnson was.
And don't forget Campbell has been heavily involved on offense. He doesn't get the credit he deserves for his offensive mind.
Defensively, Campbell has given over the reins to Sheppard. When I talk to defensive players about the scheme the one thing they tell me is Sheppard is a little more aggressive than Glenn was, and Glenn was pretty aggressive. I believe Sheppard thinks he has the ability to cover behind an aggressive front seven that is going to put a lot of pressure on opposing offenses.
I asked Campbell about the operation on both sides of the ball after the first preseason game. He said it went even better than he expected so I think they're in a good spot.
Campbell knows if they struggle at all on offense or defense the storyline will quickly shift to the loss of his coordinators. I think that's a little bit of a chip on his shoulder heading into the season and he does such a great job of using those chips as motivation for himself, his team and his coaching staff to play with an edge.
