The third phase of the offseason training program begins this week for the Detroit Lions. It's an opportunity for coaches and players to ramp up football activities.

During this phase of the training program teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or 'OTAs'. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are permitted. One in every three OTA practices is open to the media in its entirety, which this week falls on Friday.

Here are five things to look out for during OTAs:

1. New coordinators

Offensive coordinator John Morton has already said he doesn't plan on changing much offensively as he takes over the organization and play calling of Detroit's offense from Ben Johnson, who was hired by the Bears this offseason to be their head coach.

"I'm not changing much," Morton said. "I mean, why?"

Morton inherits one of the most complete and explosive offenses in the NFL. It's an offense he's very familiar with too. Morton was on staff in 2022 when the offense was put together building it around quarterback Jared Goff, and a lot of the concepts adopted then were principles Morton lives by and helped install. There are some things he'll look to add based off his experience, but he said they will be minor adds and the casual fan will probably not be able to notice a difference in the offense at all.

Defensively, Kelvin Sheppard takes over as coordinator after Aaron Glenn was hired by the Jets to be their new head coach. Glenn and head coach Dan Campbell have been preparing Sheppard for this role for a couple years now, and it's not expected the defensive scheme will look a whole lot different either.

It will be our first look at the entire team together with the new coordinators, and we'll start to see their leadership styles and any subtle nuances they have planned for both sides of the ball.

2. Guard rotation

Who enters the regular season starting at left and right guard? The competition for those two spots will really ramp up during training camp, but we'll start to see the early rotations during OTAs.

Veteran Graham Glasgow and second-year offensive lineman Christian Mahogany made starts at guard for Detroit last season, and both are back. Glasgow started 16 games at left guard last year, and Mahogany played in seven games with one start as a rookie and looked pretty good in the process.

Detroit drafted interior offensive linemen Tate Ratledge in the second round and Miles Frazier in the fifth. They also return veterans Kayode Awosika and Netane Muti and have floated the idea of cross-training Giovanni Manu at guard as well.

"Competition brings out the best of a unit," Lions offensive line coach and run game coordinator Hank Fraley said recently. "It will weed out the weak, too, the guys that just can't keep up. Talking with all our guys this year, there's a lot of opportunity to compete."

Ratledge seems like a great fit, and teams usually expect second-round draft picks to make an early impact. Which unit will he be on to start? How does the pecking order at guard look early on?

3. Aidan Hutchinson's return

Detroit's fourth-year defensive end has been fully cleared for football activities and has been at the Meijer Performance Center taking part in the offseason training program.

"I got cleared a while back, and now I'm just rolling with the boys and it feels like I'm back to being myself again," Hutchinson said last week. "I'm really looking forward to the season. I think this is the most excited I've been for OTAs in my life. This is the biggest hiatus I've had without playing ball. I'm pumped."

Sheppard said Hutchinson has looked really good from what he's seen from him so far in the offseason training program. We'll get to see him on the field for the first time since he broke his leg in Dallas Oct. 13 last year.

In just five and a half games last year, Hutchinson had already amassed 7.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hits and 45 total pressures. He was leading the NFL in all three categories and was the early favorite to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

It will be good to see him back on the field and making an impact for Sheppard's defense in practice. He's determined to be even better than he was during the first month and a half of last season.

4. Backup QB competition

Veterans Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen are competing to be Goff's backup in 2025, and quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell said it's a wide-open competition between the two.

Allen has played in 31 games (19 starts) for five different teams in his seven years in the NFL and has thrown 26 touchdowns vs. 21 interceptions while completing 62.7 percent of his passes. He's been in a number of different offenses and has game experience.

Hooker has seen only mop-up duty in his short time in Detroit and enters his third season with a lot to prove. He's going to have to earn the backup role in camp and the preseason.

The good news for both Hooker and Allen is the Lions have four preseason games this year because they were selected to play in the Hall of Fame Game. That gives Campbell, Morton and Brunell about six weeks of practices and four preseason games to see who comes out on top.

5. Second-year gains

Most coaches and players would agree that a player usually takes their biggest leap in development from Year 1 to Year 2 in the NFL.

Detroit didn't get a ton of impact from last year's rookie class other than first-round pick Terrion Arnold, who was a starter at outside cornerback from Day 1 and had a really solid rookie season. He's expected to start opposite veteran D.J. Reed at one of the outside cornerback spots and is poised for a breakout season.

Defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo played a backup role until injury ended his season prematurely. Running back Sione Vaki and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. played primarily special teams roles as rookies. Can they add more to their plate offensively or defensively? Mahogany got one start and showed promise when given an opportunity to play in some other contests and could be in the mix for one of the starting guard spots. The Lions treated Manu's first season as a redshirt year.

Now in Year 2, the team is expecting more impact from those players.

Can Arnold take the next step and have a breakout second season? Will Rakestraw carve out a role on defense, even if it is a subpackage role? Can Manu compete for playing time at guard or swing tackle? Can he be active on gameday?

To play more on offense, Vaki has to supplant Craig Reynolds in the third running back spot. Either way, Vaki is expected to have a huge role on special teams. Where does Wingo fit into the defensive line rotation? Will Mahogany earn a starting role?

All questions that will be answered more definitively in camp, but we'll start to see where they all stand to begin those pursuits in Friday's first open OTA practice.