Thoughts on the Detroit Lions' defense after watching a week of camp practices
Allen Park — Through the first week of Detroit Lions training camp, it’s felt like a relatively seamless transition from former coordinator Aaron Glenn to Kelvin Sheppard calling the shots.
Following up on Sunday morning’s thoughts on the team’s offense, here’s a deep dive into what I’ve seen from Sheppard’s group through six practices.
Edge
Through the first few camp observation posts, I didn’t mention Aidan Hutchinson. For several of you in the chat and comments, this unintentionally served as some sort of red flag. In reality, there wasn’t much to add from OTAs, where Hutchinson looked to be moving fine. It felt best to wait until the pads came on at the end of the week before providing fresh insight on Detroit's whirling dervish.
It didn’t take long into the first of two padded days for Hutchinson to do something worthy of sharing with the masses. By now, you've read the stories and likely seen the clip of the defender putting All-Pro offensive tackle Penei Sewell in a blender with a wicked inside spin move.
Of course, a single rep rarely tells a story. However, in this case, it was emblematic of where Hutchinson is in his recovery from last season’s broken leg. A few minutes later, Hutchinson lined up on the opposite side of the line and blew past Dan Skipper with equal ease. Carrying that into team drills, Hutchinson has spent enough time in the backfield to merit paying local taxes. If he’s not all the way back, he’s only a fraction of a percentage away.
Opposite Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport has also hit the ground running. Last year, the former first-rounder had rust to knock off after being held out of the offseason program. That’s not the case this camp, and it shows. Davenport’s power has been an asset for the defensive front, resulting in the big-framed defensive end making several plays in the backfield.
Your skepticism with Davenport is understood. I have no counterargument. He has to prove he can stay healthy. Regardless, at this moment, it’s easy to see why the Lions were willing to make the bet.