Pick city: Detroit's defense recorded 19 takeaways last season, ranking 19th in the NFL. Of those 19 takeaways, 13 came via interception. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard is looking to generate more takeaways this season so he had to love the performance by his defense in Tuesday's first minicamp practice as they generated three interceptions - one off each of Detroit's three quarterbacks.
Safety Chuck Clark picked off Jared Goff in a situational 11-on-11 period toward the end of practice. Rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder stepped in front of a Teddy Bridgewater pass for an interception in a 7-on-7 period. One throw after making a spectacular touchdown pass to wide receiver Tom Kennedy, rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer was picked off by rookie defensive back Aamaris Brown. Cornerback Khalil Dorsey dropped what could have been the defense's fourth interception of the practice.
Versatile defender: One player who hasn't been talked about a lot this offseason is defensive lineman Tyler Lacy. He has played a lot of the big end role throughout OTAs and in Tuesday's minicamp practice. Lacy played in 10 games (four starts) with Detroit last season with 21 tackles and a sack. Head coach Dan Campbell has talked about his versatility to play both inside and on the edge and he's been getting a lot of run in both spots in these offseason practices. It's something to keep an eye on.
Manu moving around: Heading into his third season, Giovanni Manu is trying to find the best spot where he can compete for a starting job and playing time. It's going to be a big training camp for Manu. He's played both tackle spots in OTA practices, and we've also seen him some at left guard. That's expected to be a good competition at left guard between Christian Mahogany, Ben Bartch, Miles Frazier and now Manu.
Williams' route running: I thought wide receiver Jameson Williams had a good practice Thursday, making a couple nice catches in a 7-on-7 period in the middle of practice. We get so caught up in Williams' speed and deep play ability that we don't talk enough about the significant gains he's made over the last year in his route running. He made a nice move at the top of an out route to gain separation for a nice catch and gain. A couple plays later he made a nice move again to gain a little room on a curl route for a key catch over the middle. Williams is really becoming a complete receiver for this Lions' offense heading into Year 5.
Working on the side: Things can sometimes get spirited between the offense and defense at practice and there's plenty of trash talk that gets thrown across the field, but there are also plenty of moments throughout practice where offensive and defensive players seek each other's advice. During a special teams punting period late in practice, tight end Brock Wright and linebacker Derrick Barnes were off to the side working on Wright's footwork as a pass blocker with Barnes taking him through some counter moves and how Barnes might attack him based on his footwork and hands.
Unexpected threat: Tight end Zach Horton had 61 receptions total throughout his college career and none as a rookie in Detroit last year. So it was a little surprising Tuesday to see quarterback Teddy Bridgewater tossing a perfect deep ball down the seam to an open Horton after he gained separation from a defender. Horton is a terrific blocking tight end but maybe there's more in the pass catching department than we thought.
Competition at cornerback: After watching three open OTA practices and Tuesday's first minicamp practice, I expect there to be a competition for the starting outside cornerback spot opposite D.J. Reed. Third-year cornerback Terrion Arnold was the starter there last year when healthy but he's going to have to beat out Rock Ya-Sin, Ennis Rakestraw and Dorsey for the job. All three got some run opposite Reed with the first-team defense Tuesday as Arnold continues to be a limited participant coming off a shoulder injury.
Tip drill: We talked about the interceptions by the defense earlier but there were also several tipped balls with defenders getting their hands on passes throughout 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills Tuesday. Detroit's linebackers were particularly active. Rolder had the interception, but Joe Bachie, Trevor Nowaske and Jack Campbell all got hands on passes forcing either an interception or an incompletion.
