The Detroit Lions hope competition breeds success when it comes to filling their No. 2 outside cornerback job opposite D.J. Reed for the start of the regular season in a little over a month.

Veterans Rock-Ya Sin and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. have received most of the first-team reps there, but reserve Nick Whiteside has been a consistent early playmaker in camp. Veteran Khalil Dorsey, who is known more for his special teams play, has also been mixed into some second-team reps and has made some plays early on that have caught the eyes of the coaching staff.

Ya-Sin has been the most consistent of the group in camp and looks to have the early edge for the role, getting the most first-team reps through first five practices, but there's still a long way to go as the competition will continue heating up.

"It's another position where, (Ya-Sin)'s making plays. We've been with (Ya-Sin), we know what he's about, we know the way he competes," head coach Dan Campbell said Monday.

"We've got high hopes for Rakestraw too. You see flashes with him, there's some good stuff. There's some just, same thing, inconsistencies with him a little bit. But then I would say those are less and less every day, which is good news."

Whiteside's name has become more prominent in the competition since the start of training camp as he's made a ton of plays early in camp and is working his way up the depth chart. His size (6-1, 200) is an outlier amongst the group.

"There has not been a day yet, we've had four practices, where he has not made plays," Campbell said of Whiteside, who played in nine games for Detroit in 2025. "So, this is about to get interesting. It's going to be really interesting."

Campbell also mentioned Dorsey and veteran Roger McCreary as names in the mix.

"The other is Dorsey," he said. "Dorsey looks good, Dorsey's making plays too. I mean, look, that cornerback group is, we've got a pretty good mix here, young players and some guys that have had experience, McCreary. So, look, I mean, this thing, we'll see, I mean, it's pretty exciting."

IRON SHARPENS IRON

Every time the offensive and defensive linemen take part in one-on-one pass-rush drills, the period opens with the two best players – All-Pros Penei Sewell and Aidan Hutchinson – going toe to toe.

That was the case again on Monday as the drill had a little more juice being the first padded practice of camp.

On the first rep, Hutchinson did a nice job setting up Sewell for an inside move to win the rep. Sewell smacked his hands together shaking his head, mad at himself after the rep.

The two got a second rep a few minutes later and this time Sewell locked his hands on Hutchinson while standing him up and Hutchinson had nowhere to go.

"I don't take anything for granted and I don't take those matchups for granted," Sewell said after Monday's practice. "Because not everyone is able to go against someone like that (Hutchinson) in practice every day, day in and day out, just battling. Every time our rep is about to happen, I just know I have to lock in. If I'm able to block that guy, I can block anyone."

Sewell is widely considered the best tackle in football, earning a 95.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus last season, first among 89 qualified offensive tackles, while allowing just one sack in 16 games. His run-blocking grade of 96.7 also ranked first at the position in 2025.

Hutchinson led the NFL in total pressures (100) last season and was third in quarterback hits (35), fourth in sacks (14.5), second in forced fumbles (4) and third in pass-rush win rate (23.1), earning him his first All-Pro nod.

Getting to work across the line of scrimmage against one of the best players at their position is such an advantage Sewell and Hutchinson have over the rest of the league and it's fun to watch every day at practice.

INJURY UPDATES

The Lions will be without a couple rookies for a bit after they sustained injuries at practice during the first week of camp.

Linebacker Jimmy Rolder suffered a hamstring injury Friday in a team 11-on-11 period. Edge rusher Derrick Moore left Sunday's practice with a groin injury that doesn't appear to be too serious.

"Rolder will be out for a while, got a hamstring," Campbell said Monday. "Moore, we're hoping about seven-to-ten days here. So just kind of a minor strain, which is good news.

"It's unfortunate for all the rookies though, I mean, these reps are valuable, man. You miss valuable, valuable time, but it also is what it is. So, good news is that, like I said, with (Moore), it won't be too long. For Rolder, it's a little unfortunate, but at the same time, it's not a season-ender. So that's good news."

EXTRA POINT

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs was working out on the indoor field at the beginning of practice Monday, and after he walked outside to watch practice and interact with teammates on the sideline.

"I mean, I think it's good to see," Campbell said. "He got a little work inside and to be able to come out and be around the guys, I think that's always going to be important.

"Look, he's still part of us and the guys, our players love him, we love him. And he's a part of what we do. So yeah, it's always good to see him."