Pressers and scrums: Overlapping QB stories, new secondary additions, McNeill's pending return and Hutchinson pays up after lost bet

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Allen Park — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, receivers coach and assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery, quarterback Jared Goff, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and defensive tackle Alim McNeill met with the media on Thursday. Here are some highlights from those conversations.

Comparable QBs

Both comfortably in the early-season MVP conversation, we were inevitably due for a fresh round of compare and contrast with quarterbacks Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield ahead of this week’s matchup.

Mayfield went through the wringer a bit more on his journey to Tampa Bay. Still, it’s easy to draw parallels otherwise, given both were former No. 1 picks discarded by the team that drafted them, despite reasonable early-career success.

Campbell admitted he has a soft spot for players who weathered adversity the way Mayfield has.

“I respect the player he is, the person he is and really what he has overcome,” Campbell said. “I do. In that regard, it is a lot like Goff. There are a lot of people or teams that told you that you’re not the guy, and you hang in there, continue to work, improve your game, keep your confidence, don’t listen to that mess, and you find the right fit. You find the right fit and then, boy, you take off. That’s really what he’s done. And I just think he’s resilient. I love that about him.”

Campbell noted the passers have some overlapping characteristics that extend beyond their shared adversity.

“Well, I think they’re both tough,” Campbell said. “To me, they’re both really tough, dependable, resilient guys. I think both of them have overcome a lot. I think when you watch those guys, and just the nature of the way they play, like our quarterback will sit in there, he’ll make throws. He had to do it the other day. He’s getting crunched in the pocket and has to deliver the ball. He’s not afraid of that. They both deliver in critical moments. They don’t get frazzled.”

Mayfield has shown a different level of poise this season, overcoming the absence of several of his key weapons to get the Buccaneers past the 49ers last week, moving his squad to an NFC-best 5-1 on the season.

“He’s playing good football,” Campbell said. “And those receivers are doing what they’re asked to do. I would say it’s a pretty detailed, disciplined group. They’re where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there, and then the rest is up to Baker.”

For the season, Goff is second in passer rating, Mayfield is sixth. Goff is first in touchdown passes, while Mayfield is tied for third. The Buccaneers quarterback holds the edge in yards, yards per attempt and interceptions, having thrown just one through six games.

Regarding his strong start to the season, Goff said particularly pleased with two stats.

I’ve always tried to get the ball in my guys’ hands and avoid sacks,” Goff said. “Those two things, completion percentage and low sack numbers, are something I work on and something we’ve done a good job with up to this point.”

Goff is completing a league-best and career-high 75.9% of his throws. If he can maintain, he’ll set the NFL’s single-season record, held by Drew Brees, who completed 74.4% of his passes in 2018.

With the sacks, Goff has taken nine, putting him on pace for 26 for the season. That would be five fewer than last season.

Shifting schematics

Detroit’s defense has played more zone in recent weeks. The schematic shift backfired against Kansas City and could be problematic if they stick with the strategy this week against Mayfield, a QB who thrives against those coverage looks.

“Well, I think we’ve adjusted well (to playing more zone),” Campbell said. “You do what you’ve got to do per opponent and where you’re at, too. So, we felt like going into the last two games where we were at, that was the right thing to do, for the most part.

“But every game’s different, and you always assess and decide how you’re going to play that game,” Campbell continued. “And just because it’s been that way a tick more, doesn’t mean it’s staying that way. …It’s always going to be that fine balance between, all right, you play a ton of zone, well then they pick you apart and they bleed you out. But, then, if you play too much man-to-man, are you setting yourself up for explosives?”

Where the Lions have been “at” is shorthanded in the secondary. Against Kansas City, the team wasn’t only missing its top-two corners, but starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch were both game-time decisions with lower-body injuries, which potentially impacted their range and mobility.

Detroit is expected to be without starting cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and DJ Reed again this week, while Branch is suspended for the contest following a postgame altercation with Kansas City receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Never too good to correct

One of the more costly plays in last week’s loss to Kansas City was Amon-Ra St. Brown’s dropped fourth-down pass in the second quarter, which provided the Chiefs a short field, allowing them to take the lead for good shortly before the half.

It was an uncharacteristic play for the typically sure-handed St. Brown. Montgomery was asked if it was something that even needed to be addressed by the coaching staff.

Montgomery laid out why you never miss the opportunity to coach up a player, even a reliable All-Pro like St. Brown.

“Yeah, you address it,” Montgomery said. “You always address it because you have to go to the technique, the fundamentals. That’s my job, teaching the technique and fundamentals. Was it something we could have done differently? Maybe. But have I seen him make that catch a thousand times?

“The first thing I look at is how can I change him fundamentally to make it a little bit easier?” Montgomery said. “Awareness of what down it was in the situation. Was that a hook, slide catch opportunity? Or was it just like he was doing, taking his eyes down, pinkies up, below the thumbs right there?”

Montgomery said he anticipated St. Brown to be eager to get on the practice field to correct the mistake and move forward.

Defensive studs

There’s going to be plenty of talk about Tampa Bay’s offense this week, one, because the unit is playing well with Mayfield, and two, because of injury absences. But the team’s defense merits attention, as well.

Yes, they’ve struggled to limit damage on the scoreboard to begin this season, surrendering more than 25 points per game, but they are led by some stellar players, headlined by defensive tackle Vita Vea and former All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Vea has given the Lions trouble in the past, including a dominant showing against retired center Frank Ragnow a year ago.

“He’s a good player,” Campbell said. “Look, the size is one thing, but his quickness to get off the ball, he’s got explosiveness, and he’s got really good feet. When you’re a man that big, and you can move like he moves, then you’ve got to do everything right. You’ve got to play with leverage, you’ve got to have the get-off of your life. We have double-teams. We’ve got to be able to fit the double teams together. You’re off just a little bit, and he’ll split you, he’ll crease you, he’ll get an edge. He’ll do that in the pass game, too. He’ll swim sometimes. And so if you’re not locked in and you’re not perfect fundamentally, he’ll get on you.”

As for Winfield, he was an All-Pro two years ago, but faded from the forefront of the conversation of best safeties in the league after battling injuries and failing to generate a turnover in 2024. He’s healthy again and isn’t lost in Detroit’s game-planning this week.

The do-everything defender contributes in multiple areas for the Buccaneers, the same way Brian Branch does for Detroit.

“He is the real deal,” Montgomery said. “He’s a problem, not only in the deep third, because he can catch the hell out of the ball, but they use him in pressure packages, where now he’s a problem for our backs trying to slow him down, especially with the movement skills that he has. He tackles well in the open field. He is definitely a great player. So we’re going to have to adjust. There’s no doubt about it. And he does have that kind of effect, the BB (Branch) effect, where even in our offseason, our training, we have a BB rule in the run game that we have to adjust to differently than if there’s any other safety playing. There are things that we’re going to have to do to account for him, no doubt.”

Getting to know new additions

The Lions added a pair of defensive backs this week, signing Jammie Robinson to the 53-man roster and veteran Kendall Fuller to the practice squad.

Before committing to playing either, the Lions want to take a minute to understand the capabilities of each defender.

“We liked him coming out (of college) and (general manager) Brad (Holmes) and I were talking to him,” Campbell said about Robinson, who the Lions poached off Kansas City’s practice squad. “Brad’s kept an eye on him for a while, always kind of tracked where he’s at, when he’s been available.

“It’ll be good to get a look at him,” Campbell said. “We do like him. He’s an aggressive, pretty tough kid, can play special teams. We think there’s nickel-safety flex. (He’s) probably starting with safety.”

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Robinson was a fifth-round pick out of Florida State in 2023 and spent his first two seasons with the Panthers, appearing in 21 games, including two starts.

Return of the Mac

The Lions have effectively announced that Alim McNeill is playing this week, and the defender can’t wait after more than 10 months since his last action.

“I’m 100 percent locked in right now and ready to go,” McNeill said. “This is the only thing I’ve been looking forward to. I don’t know how to explain it to you. I’ve been waiting on this day for a long, long time.”

The Lions have been heavily leaning on a three-man tackle rotation of bigger-bodied options in DJ Reader, Roy Lopez and rookie Tyleik Williams. The expectation is that McNeill will bolster the team’s interior pass rush.

“Yeah, I mean Mac brings a lot to us,” Campbell said. “Feel like he’s going to bring a lot in the pass game because he is a guy we believe can win one-on-ones in the pass game, but also all that he can do in the run game. I mean he’s stout, he’s aggressive, he’s powerful. So, I just think he’s another player that can elevate those around him.”

Paying up

St. Brown approached teammate Aidan Hutchinson with a friendly wager ahead of Michigan’s game with USC last weekend. With St. Brown’s alma mater emerging victorious, Hutchinson conducted his weekly press session in a cardinal and gold sweatshirt.