Hutchinson turning a corner, no more nickel for Rakestraw, new drill for Branch, and more from Lions' defensive coaches

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Allen Park — Following Tuesday's sessions with the offensive coaching staff, the Detroit Lions' defensive coaches (and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp) met with the media on Thursday. Here are some of the most interesting items from those chats.

Hutch on the mend

Telling someone to touch grass is usually used as an insult. But in the most literal sense, it’s the latest sign Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is inching closer to full strength after breaking his leg last season.

“I went over there during individual (drills), and I said, ‘Hutch, you know how I know you’re back?’” defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard shared. “He said, ‘How?’ I said, ‘Because you’re touching that ground when you run that hoop.' That’s his little thing that he does, like he’s some supernatural cat — which he is. But I’m like, ‘That’s how I know you’re back, big dog.’”

Detroit’s early OTA practices haven’t been open to the media, and we haven’t spoken with Hutchinson since before his injury, so our updates have largely been the same as the public’s — social media posts and random podcast appearances.

To hear that Hutchinson's football-specific movement skills have reached this stage is encouraging.

“He looks really good,” defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers said. “I'm sitting here just imagining what this guy went through, what he worked on to get back in case they made it to the end last year and didn't. Then to see where he is right now is just, this guy, he's a trooper pro."

Sheppard said there’s not a more resilient, mentally tough player on Detroit's roster than Hutchinson. And the young defender, who was leading the NFL in quarterback pressures and sacks at the time of his injury, has been a ball of energy during the early stages of the offseason program.

“He’s out there, he’s the most energetic guy on the field,” Sheppard said. “He’s ready to make the call out the huddle today. …The relationship he has with his peers, his teammates. You would not know he’s the caliber player that he is by the way he carries himself. The way he works, his attention to detail in meetings, the way he helps people, the way he wants to be pushed and coached hard.

“…He’s a guy that’s all-in, and I’m elated to have him out there on the grass.”

No concerns about Anzalone

Linebacker coach Shaun Dion Hamilton declined comment when asked if captain Alex Anzalone was participating in the voluntary portions of the offseason program, deferring to coach Dan Campbell.

In recent days, Anzalone has shared a couple of posts on social media, including one of my film reviews from last year, highlighting his on-field value. Making a relatively safe logical leap, the veteran appears to have issues with his contract status, with his current deal set to expire at the end of this season.

I asked Sheppard if he had any concerns about the situation.

“Zero,” Sheppard said. “Me and Alex are all good. I have zero concern. That player’s a leader here, he’s been a leader here. He’s been an (integral) piece in building the culture that’s here, and I’m gonna pay the respect that he’s earned and that he’s due.

“Whatever his private situations are, I’ll let Alex address those when he’s face-to-face with you all,” Sheppard said. “What I can tell you, as far as it concerns me, it has no effect on how I see Alex or how I view him. That’s one of our captains. He’s been one of our captains, and I still see it as such.

Locking into a role

After splitting his time between outside cornerback and nickel as a rookie, Ennis Rakestraw’s attention will be focused on the former entering his second season, according to position coach Deshea Townsend.

“In this league, you can only travel with so many,” Townsend said. “Right now, we're going to let him focus on outside, let him go compete out there. Amik (Robertson) has done a really good job (at nickel). We have Avonte (Maddox), who is another positional flex type of person. I think that will help (Rakestraw), as well.

Rakestraw was set to join the starting lineup early last season before suffering a hamstring injury during pre-game warmups. That issue lingered, eventually resulting in a lengthy stint on injured reserve.

Townsend said injuries are something often outside of a player’s control. However, he expects Rakestraw to benefit from having a full offseason where he could focus on his development instead of preparing for the draft.

“The thing I do like about how he came back is just his mindset,” Townsend said. “You can tell he understood what went wrong last year.”

Being on the outside, Rakestraw is unlikely to have an opportunity to see significant playing time, at least while starters Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed are healthy. Still, he can earn a critical role as the top backup, given the high rate of injury at the position.

Bring on the returns

It’s hardly a surprise to learn special teams coordinator Dave Fipp is thrilled about the league’s adjustment to kickoffs. Touchbacks will now come out to the 35-yard line, which will undoubtedly lead to more returns and enhance the importance of Fipp’s units.

“I’m fired up,” Fipp said. “It’s going to be great. We’re going to get a ton of plays. I think it’s going to change quite a bit.”

The league initially overhauled the kickoff play last offseason. However, most teams quickly determined that the risk outweighed the reward when it came to encouraging returns, reverting to settling for touchbacks.

Now, with a year to study the dynamics of the play, Fipp is more comfortable and confident that his players will be able to capitalize on the setup.

“I feel great about it,” he said. “…I definitely feel like I have a much better grasp of it. We will definitely play the play a whole lot differently than we did a year ago, in a lot of respects, not only obviously forcing a return — we didn’t do it a ton a year ago, for a lot of different reasons — but just how each player will play. We’ll play a lot more on the attack, a lot more aggressively, a lot more trying to create negative field position.

Fipp said another component of being able to play more aggressively on kickoffs is kicker Jake Bates, who has a year of experience in the league, and the confidence that came with that.

“That wasn’t necessarily his strength going into the season,” Fipp acknowledged. “We didn’t want to add a whole lot to his plate. …We kinda stayed away from some of that to help him a little bit, to be honest with you. But he was out there today kicking his balls. He looks great doing it, so I’m excited.”

New paycheck-protecting drills

Lions safety Brian Branch has had issues with penalties and subsequent fines. The coaching staff has previously said they're reluctant to tone down his aggressiveness. Still, they’d like to find a way to eliminate the 15-yard infractions, and he’d certainly prefer to stop the league from docking his paycheck.

Safeties coach Jim O’Neil is on the case.

“(Equipment manager) Tim (O’Neil) got a custom bag about that high off the ground,” Jim O’Neil said, holding his hand about waist high. “We're going to live on that post-practice and save some of his money.

“He's not trying to hurt guys out there,” Jim O’Neil said. “A lot of times, as you guys know, those are bang-bang plays. If I'm a DB, I have my aiming point of where I'm about to strike a guy, and then if a guy catches and his aiming point drops, it ends up helmet-to-helmet or shoulder-to-helmet or shoulder-to-neck. That stuff is a lot easier to coach in slow motion than it is in full speed. The answer is you just go lower, but now you're hurting guys. We'll work it. That's a real thing. Tim got that bag for him, so we're going to use it. We'll see if BB can punch a hole in it by the end of the season."