During pass-rush drills between the offensive and defensive linemen at Lions training camp practice Tuesday, second-year tackle Giovanni Manu had a great rep against edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, keeping the Pro Bowl sack artist in front of him and clearly winning the rep. There was also another rep where Manu was cleanly beaten by another rusher.
It speaks to the inconsistent nature of last year's third-round pick out of the University of British Columbia that Lions head coach Dan Campbell talked about on Tuesday.
"He'll take two steps up and then one step back, and so that's kind of where he's at," Campbell said of Manu. "He'll have a good day and then there's a couple of things that'll slide that we've got to keep working on with him. And he knows this.
"As long as he keeps pushing, he'll be fine. That's what he's got to do is learn from it, listen to what Hank's (Fraley) telling him and Steve (Oliver) and those veterans and work on it, improve and just get better every day."
Where Manu was last year at this time vs. where he is now a year later is really night and day. He's transformed his body, and his comfort level has increased significantly.
A big reason for that is the work he put in this offseason with veteran left tackle Taylor Decker and some other teammates in Arizona. It was Decker's idea, and Manu said it was invaluable working with him and a number of the league's tackles out in Arizona.
"I got to learn so much from him," Manu said after practice Tuesday. "We even talked about non-football stuff. He wanted me there to workout with him and he's a great guy. He's a role model to me. There's so much I've learned from him. Just the way I carry myself, too. Hopefully one day I get to fill his shoes."
The Lions moved up to draft Manu in the third round of last year's draft because of the player they think he can be. They knew he was raw coming out but loved the physical tools and knew they had some time to develop him with Decker and All-Pro Penei Sewell still under contract at tackle.
Detroit hopes Manu can take the next step of competing with Dan Skipper for the swing tackle role and being an active player on gameday as a reserve.
"I think he's starting to gain confidence in himself," Decker said of Manu. "He's obviously physically gifted. Like, incredibly physically gifted. It's been a step up obviously coming from college. Not only if you come from college in the United States to the NFL, but from Canada. I think a step up in the competition and having to learn the playbook against really good competition just took a little bit. Now he's starting to gain some confidence.
"He just needs reps and he's going to get a lot of reps. I think he's going to continue to improve and I'm excited to see him get more opportunities in the preseason to be able to be in a game scenario and do it because that's another step after practice."
View photos from Day 3 of Detroit Lions training camp on Tuesday July 22, 2025
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Tim Patrick (12) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (97) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (59) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions center Kingsley Eguakun (65) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (2) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Dan Jackson (28) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Pat O'Connor (95) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions guard Kayode Awosika (74) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Tyson Russell (35) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (59) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Dan Jackson (28) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Dan Skipper (70) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Christian Mahogany (73) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jakobie Keeney-James (80) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman DJ Reader (98) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Dominic Lovett (19) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Malik Taylor (86) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (97) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (59) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (97), Detroit Lions defensive lineman DJ Reader (98) and Detroit Lions defensive lineman Tyleik Williams (91) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Shane Zylstra (84) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Dominic Lovett (19) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Tyleik Williams (91) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) and Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (6) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Grant Stuard (15) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Grant Stuard (15) and Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (2) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) and Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed (4) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center on July 22, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Manu was working with teammates after practice Tuesday on technique for about 30 minutes and then ran the hill by himself for another 10 minutes before stopping to talk to media members.
He came into OTAs in the spring at 365 pounds and is currently at 340 pounds with only 21 percent body fat at 6-foot-7. There's still a lot of development to be done with his game, but we're seeing more good plays than bad plays and the physical gifts are undeniable.
"Last year I felt like I drinking out of a fire hose. That's literally what me and Hank and Steve were talking about," Manu said. "Still a lot of mental errors I'm doing out there, but confidence at least is up there. Every time I'm on the field there's times I do hesitate but I'm counting more times where I'm not hesitating compared to last year.
"I just want to show them that I'm the player that they wanted me to be. I'm the player they drafted and I'm the player they saw toward the end of the year which was that aggression and that high confidence. I just want to take it up a notch from last year and I want to prove to them I have what it takes to step on that field when I need to be called on."
