Fun to end practice: The end of Wednesday's mandatory minicamp practice was short on running and long on fun. It was an offense vs. defense field goal kicking competition. The players were pretty animated throughout and the defense was the eventual winner, which meant pushups for everyone on offense – Tim Twentyman
Smart recovery: Brandon Powell fumbled the ball a yard or so deep in the end zone on a kickoff return, but he avoided compounding the error. Powell recovered the ball and downed it in the end zone rather than trying to run it out for what likely would have been a short return. Recovering in the end zone gave the offense the ball on the 25. It was a smart play on Powell's part. – Mike O'Hara
Pretty good day: As Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. continue to rehab injuries, it's been an opportunity for other pass catchers to show what they can do. One of the players that took advantage of that Wednesday was second-year wide receiver Chris Lacy, who made deep receptions behind both Rashaan Melvin and Teez Tabor in 7-on-7 and team drills. It might have been a great practice for Lacy had he been able to reel in the final deep ball thrown his way in the final team period. – Tim Twentyman
Breaking good: Rookie cornerback Amani Oruwariye made a nice breakup on a deep ball meant for Jonathan Duhart down the right sideline. It was a battle of big men – 6-2 Oruwariye against 6-3 Duhart. – Mike O'Hara
Working themselves in: Head coach Matt Patricia said at the beginning of OTAs a few weeks ago the team planned to work out different combinations upfront. We saw that Wednesday, with veteran guards Oday Aboushi and Joe Dahl getting a run with the first-team offensive line most of the day. – Tim Twentyman
Paddle ball: There is an array of devices that are used in place of players in practice to simulate some situations. One of them was a pair of long-handled paddles held high in the air at the line of scrimmage by a staff assistant during a passing drill. The paddles simulated blocking the passing lane, forcing the quarterback to make an adjustment. The paddles got a Tom Savage pass in one drill. – Mike O'Hara
Big target: Tight end Jesse James is a big target at 6-foot-7 and he needed every bit of that big frame and long arms to help the first-team offense finish up a 7-on-7 drill on a positive note. James stretched for a pass high and out in front of him and was able to snatch it and bring it in. He's probably the only pass catcher on this team that could have made the catch on that ball. – Tim Twentyman
On the move: Rookie linebacker Anthony Pittman, an undrafted rookie from Wayne State and Birmingham Groves High School, made a nice move on a delayed blitz, then hustled back to pursue the receiver after a short catch over the middle. – Mike O'Hara
Speed return: Darius Slay will tell you he's the fastest player on the Lions roster. He might be right, too, but two players that could give him a run for his money are Jamal Agnew and Ty Johnson. Both players were back returning kickoffs for the Lions in special teams drills Wednesday. It could be fun to watch if either of those players ever gets a lane to get out in space. – Tim Twentyman
