Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, offensive coordinator John Morton, and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media Thursday as they do every week during the regular season. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from those media sessions:
1. The Lions do something a little bit unconventional preparing for the draft in that they give a group of players for coaches to evaluate who are maybe outside their area of expertise. A perfect example is Packers rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden being part of Sheppard's evaluation group this year.
Sheppard heads into Sunday's matchup in Green Bay with a lot of knowledge of what Golden brings to the table for the Packers' offense. He compared him to wide receiver Jameson Williams in terms of his speed and said it's always tough facing a team that can run the football as well as the Packers can with Josh Jacobs and now have a weapon in Golden who can take the top off the defense.
2. Morton will call plays from the booth while passing game coordinator David Shaw will be Morton's eyes and ears on the sideline. Morton has always been up in the booth and said Thursday that he prefers it to the chaos that sometimes exists on the sideline. He can spot tendencies easier with the birds-eye view and just thinks it's easier calling plays from the booth.
3. There were a lot of things that stood out about rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa when it came to his play on special teams during training camp and the preseason. Fipp talked about his body type with the size and speed combo but what really stood out was his competitive spirit and physicality. Don't be surprised if the rookie has a major role on teams to begin the season Sunday in Green Bay. Morton was also very complimentary of TeSlaa and said there's a role for the rookie on offense too.
4. Staying on the topic of rookies, Sheppard is excited about first-round pick Tyleik Williams and the impact he can have in the middle of Detroit's defense. Sheppard cautioned that it might not always be on the stat sheet with Williams but his physicality, ability to knock blockers back, play on the other side of the line of scrimmage and eat up double teams is going to make everyone around him better and give Detroit's linebackers the opportunity to run freer to make plays.
5. Morton said Sunday's game for him is all about taking care of the football and being able to run the ball. Green Bay plays a lot of zone defense and gives a lot of different looks as all 11 players eye the quarterback looking to make plays. With the addition of edge rusher Micah Parsons, it's imperative that the Lions can run the football so he, Rashan Gary, and Green Bay's other pass rushers can't pin their ears back. Look for Detroit to try to establish Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, and the run game early and often Sunday.
6. Fipp expects to see a major uptick in the number of kickoffs returned this season. I asked him why the five extra yards making the touchback spot the 35-yard line as opposed to the 30 makes such a difference. He made a good point that throughout the course of a game those five yards add up to 25, 30, 35 or more yards of field position, which can be a lot in a close game.
He also pointed out how good place kickers have become from long distance and starting at the 35 means just two first downs and a lot of teams are already in field goal range. The Lions are going to cover kicks and try to pin offenses back and that's probably going to be the case across the league which will make it an impact play in 2025.
7. Where does Sheppard think cornerback Terrion Arnold has grown the most heading into his second season? Sheppard talked about the mental aspect of the game and Arnold's increased anticipation. He's done the work in the meeting room with Sheppard and defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend, and Sheppard has loved that initiative. Arnold is somebody who's poised for a big leap in Year 2.
8. Morton feels really good about where second-year left guard Christian Mahogany and rookie right guard Tate Ratledge are at in their development heading into the season opener. He used the word 'prepared' when talking about both players. He's got a ton of confidence that both players will live up the standard that's been established in that room over the last few years.
9. Fipp said the placement of kickoffs and making sure it hits the landing zone is something Lions kicker Jake Bates has gotten much better at over the last year. It's sometimes challenging for a big-leg kicker like Bates to put the finesse on that play but Fipp credited Bates with really doing a nice job with it.
10. The Lions obviously have a ton of starting talent on defense, but Sheppard appreciates the job general manager Brad Holmes and his staff did improving the depth talent on defense this offseason. He raved about veteran players like Avonte Maddox, Rock Ya-Sin, and Zach Cunningham. Sheppard said Cunningham is a starting-caliber player in this league after the training camp he had.
He said it's nice knowing he's got the kind of depth and versatility that no matter what happens he won't have to change the scheme or the core principles he believes in defensively if injuries occur because he has veteran players waiting in the wings to step in and perform.
