Right after finishing an offseason vacation Detroit Lions second-year defensive lineman Tyleik Williams stepped on a scale and was shocked by the number he saw.

He decided right then and there he had to get serious about his weight and conditioning.

"It was pretty bad," Williams said. "I, like, took pictures from the side seeing how my stomach looked and stuff and it was just somewhere I didn't want to be, so I knew I had to make a change."

Williams reported to the Meijer Performance Center two weeks before the start of the offseason training program in the spring, letting the team know the situation and devising a plan to get back into top shape. Credit Williams for putting in the work as he lost around 50 pounds to get back to 325 pounds and has looked great to start camp.

"Really proud of him," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of Williams this week. "He's a man of his word. Before we drafted him, we sat up there, Brad (Holmes) and I did say, 'Is there going to be an issue with your weight ever?' 'No.' He came in, he noticed that he was a little bit heavy in the spring, came in two weeks before our program even started and was pretty heavy and said, 'Hey man, I want to get this right.' And he put in the work.

"(Director of Performance Nutrition) Scott (Nealon) did a hell of a job with him, nutritionist, all that, got him right. And then he's just put the work in. And I'll tell you what, man, he's a man of his word. Came in 325, made his weight, crushed the conditioning test. And like I told him, told the team and so now he's put some money in the bank of trust, it's awesome and respect. So really fired up, man, that's a credit to him."

Williams has looked stronger and quicker on his feet to start camp and has provided some early pass rush from the interior of Detroit's defensive front that's been a nice development.

"I've had a couple good days and a bunch of more pass rush stuff that's been going on," Williams said. "I think it's helping me tremendously. I'm glad I did it."

The Lions see Williams as a versatile player who can play nose tackle all the way out to the three-technique. He said he plans to contribute a lot more in the passing game than the one sack and three pressures he had in 17 games as a rookie in 2025.

TIGHT END PLAYMAKING

The tight end position was struck hard with injuries last year as both Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright missed significant time.

Getting both players back has been a big boost for this offense early in camp. LaPorta is one of the best overall tight ends in the game. He had a crucial catch across the middle in a late situational period during Friday's practice to help the offense win the drill. He's gotten off to a great start in camp. Wright can do a little bit of everything and really excels in the run game as a people mover.

Drew Petzing's offense in Detroit has been described as 'tight end friendly,' and that's certainly looked to be the case early on with LaPorta and Wright back in the fold.

"Health is everything," Wright said after practice Friday. "You see the teams that make it the furthest each year are usually the healthiest teams and to have a playmaker like (LaPorta) healthy and out there on the field … brings a lot of energy, a lot of juice to the offense and it's important to have all of our guys rolling."

PASS PRO IMPROVEMENT

Friday was the first day back at practice for third-year guard Christian Mahogany after coming off the Active/Non-Football Injury list.

Mahogany worked back into first-team reps and said after practice he felt good. He played in 11 games last season, missing Weeks 10-15 due to a leg injury before returning the final three weeks of the regular season.

Mahogany earned a 59.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in the 2025 season, 46th among 81 qualified offensive guards while playing 699 offensive snaps on the season. His PFF pass-blocking grade of 40.7 ranked 77th among 81 qualified offensive guards as he allowed 27 pressures and six sacks, per PFF stats.

It's that part of his game Mahogany said he really worked on this offseason.

"That was the biggest concern," he said. "No excuses, but playing left guard for a full season, I haven't done that in a long time. So, just working on footwork … polishing up the pass pro a lot this offseason."

The Lions have a lot of good competition for the left guard spot between Mahogany, Ben Bartch, Juice Scruggs and Miles Frazier. The team is hoping that competition pushes everyone to be better and the Lions get more consistent play from that position in 2026.

EXTRA POINTS

• The team waived tight end Zach Horton and signed tight end Anthony Firkser.
• Safety Christian Izien (flu) is expected to be back on the practice field Sunday after missing the first three days of practice recovering from the flu, per Campbell.