There was a play Thursday in a team period between Houston's offense and Detroit's defense where Lions rookie defensive lineman Tyleik Williams beat his blocker and met Texans running back Nick Chubb right in the hole.
Chubb is one of the more physical running backs in the NFL at 227 pounds, but he was no match for the 330-pound Williams, who extended both arms to give Chubb a shove in a non-tackle portion of practice. It knocked Chubb backwards and right on his behind.
Williams has gotten most of the first-team reps at defensive tackle alongside DJ Reader in camp with Alim McNeill still rehabbing a torn ACL. Detroit's first-round pick has looked disruptive and will be a player the Lions count on in the middle of their defense to make an impact right away this season.
Lions veteran edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson was asked Thursday if there was a young player who has impressed him in camp, and Williams was the first name out of his mouth.
"I think Tyleik has made a lot of strides," Hutchinson said. "He was such a great prospect coming out, I think how he's been able to evolve as a player in this camp. I've been working really close with him because a lot of times we're next to each other on the field, so communication has to be on point. You see it on a week-to-week basis. You see the steps. That's really important."
Williams should benefit from playing next to a talent like Hutchinson, and teams might be forced to double Williams because of his power and bull rush.
Either way, both players are excited to play next to each other and it's a great sign that Hutchinson thinks Williams is on the right path in his development.
EDGE DEPTH
The Lions thought veteran edge rusher Josh Paschal might be available to return near the start of the regular season, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Thursday that Paschal is now expected to return a little later than they originally thought. He didn't say exactly what that new timeline is.
With rookie Ahmed Hassanein injuring a pectoral muscle in last week's preseason game vs. Miami, the Lions have some question marks at the backup edge spots behind Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport.
That's an opportunity for players like Al-Quadin Muhammad, Nate Lynn, Isaac Ukwu and others. There's also the possibility Lions general manager Brad Holmes looks outside the organization for help too. Veteran Za'Darius Smith is still unsigned. There will also be over 1,000 players released on Tuesday and maybe there's an edge rusher there the Lions feel can help them. Stay tuned for how the Lions round out the position.
THIRD QUARTERBACK?
One of the more interesting decisions come roster cut-down day will be if the Lions end up keeping just two quarterbacks or three on their initial 53-man roster.
"If you do that, you lose depth. D-Line, or O-Line, or receiver, or defense back, or linebacker or, you get the point," Campbell said Thursday. "So, how important is that relative to the other positions.
"What's hard is – look, call it what you want, when you have a year like we did last year, you get affected a little bit by it. It has an effect on the way you think. Depth, depth, depth. We've got to make sure that we have the depth."
Needless to say, Saturday is an important game for Hendon Hooker, who right now looks to the No. 3 quarterback in the room behind Jared Goff and Kyle Allen.
