Moving up depth chart: The first four defensive linemen on the field Thursday for the Lions during the offense vs. defense team period were Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Tyleik Williams and Tyler Lacy (6-4, 300). Detroit likes Lacy's versatility and athleticism with him being able to play inside in the three technique or outside in the big end position. He played in 10 games with the Lions last year with four starts and racked up 21 tackles and a sack. We saw him get a lot of first-team reps in the spring and he's already being worked into the rotation early in training camp.

Barnes interception: The Lions might be looking for linebacker Derrick Barnes to play a little bit more off ball and in space this season. He had a terrific interception off quarterback Jared Goff in an early team period Thursday. He made Goff believe he was blitzing through the B-gap, but instead dropped back and stepped right in front of the pass intended for tight end Sam LaPorta coming across the field. It was clear Goff never saw him. Barnes has worked hard this offseason to improve that aspect of his game.

Checking in on Bates: Day 2 of training camp practice was the first time Detroit designated some practice time to field goal kicking. Jake Bates is coming off a 2025 season in which he made 79.4 percent of his field goal attempts (27-for-34) after making 89.7 percent (26-for-29) in his first season in Detroit in 2024. Bates made six of eight kicks in practice Thursday ranging from 33 to 53 yards. His two misses were back-to-back from 43 yards - both wide right.

Kickoff returns: After working on the punting game Wednesday, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp and his unit worked on kickoff coverage and kickoff returns Thursday. The NFL saw kickoff returns grow from 32.8 percent in 2024 to 74.5 percent last season. It's back to being a very important play in the game. Who will return kickoffs for the Lions in 2026? The list of names back there Thursday were: Wide receiver Greg Dortch, wide receiver Tom Kennedy, running back Isiah Pacheco, wide receiver Dominic Lovett, wide receiver Malik Cunningham, wide receiver Lawrence Keys, wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Keeping offense in front of them: Coordinator Drew Petzing and the offense worked a lot Thursday on the screen game with the running backs, tight ends and wide receivers, so there were a lot of short route concepts mixed into practice. That being said, the defense did a better job overall on Thursday keeping the ball in front of them. There weren't many attempts down the field in the passing game and when there was, there were usually two defenders in place to contest it. I thought it was a good day overall for Detroit's defense.

Catch of the day: The one big play the offense had in the passing game Thursday was a terrific one-handed catch by wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. down the right sideline on a nicely thrown ball by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, fitting it just over the outreached arm of cornerback Khalil Dorsey. Wilson is trying to earn a reserve role in Detroit after stops in Miami, New Orleans and Dallas with 126 career receptions and 12 touchdowns to his credit.

Right tackle edge: It's hard to evaluate offensive and defensive linemen in the acclimation period to start camp when there are no pads on. That said, it seems like rookie Blake Miller might have the edge for the starting right tackle spot. He's taken most of the reps with the first-team offense and has shown good athleticism and quick feet with some nice reps against Hutchinson Thursday.

Working after practice: The last player off the practice field Thursday was third-year running Sione Vaki. He spent close to half an hour after practice working on his route running. Vaki is one of the Lions' top special teams players, and he has more of an opportunity to show what he can do on offense with Jahmyr Gibbs missing the first two days of practice. Vaki said after practice he's enjoying the chance to play extra reps and hopes it might lead to more opportunities there.

Lightning quick: Dortch is going to get an opportunity to win both the punt and kickoff return jobs in Detroit as well as play a key reserve role at wide receiver. One thing that's stood out to me about Dortch the first couple days of practice is the lateral quickness and his stop and start ability. He's lightning quick off the line of scrimmage and in space. I could see Petzing trying to utilize his quickness and speed in space in certain packages.