Thoughts on the Detroit Lions' offense after watching a week of camp practices
Allen Park — A week into training camp, with the preseason opener on the horizon, it felt like a good time to gather my position-by-position thoughts on the roster.
We’ll start with the offense today before looking at defense on Monday morning.
Quarterback
In my 14th season covering the team, I can’t remember a camp where the Lions had more effective quarterback play throughout the depth chart.
Starter Jared Goff is a known commodity. There’s not much to add here. He’s the accurate and efficient starter you’ve come to love during his time with the Lions. The mistakes have been minimal throughout camp, with just one interception in full-team work, and even that one could be more directly blamed on the receiver than the quarterback. The more critical evaluation of Goff will come when the red, no-contact jersey comes off in the regular season. That’s when we’ll be able to better process the impact of the team’s offensive line remodel, and the threat of additional inside pressure, alters his command of the pocket.
The more attention-grabbing development has been the backup competition. In his third season, Hendon Hooker is looking more and more like the player the Lions hoped he’d be when they took advantage of an injury-related slide down the board to snag him in the third round of the 2023 draft.
Hooker missed his rookie camp while recovering from an ACL injury, and was wildly inconsistent in his second year as he adjusted to retooled mechanics and an injured thumb on his throwing hand. His velocity and accuracy on intermediate and deep routes have been eye-catching this summer.
More importantly, his timing and anticipation are vastly improved. Last year, Hooker held on to the ball for far too long, far too often, eating sacks or relying on his legs to escape self-inflicted trouble. Those moments still crop up, but at a more reasonable rate as the ball is regularly getting out under 2.5 seconds.
Meanwhile, the third member of the room, veteran Kyle Allen, has been better than most of the backup options who have rolled through Allen Park the past decade. He has impressive poise in the pocket and matches the other QBs' knack for putting the ball where it needs to be, including some tight windows across the middle, even if the throws lack Hooker’s zip.
Running back
You might remember coach Dan Campbell raving about David Montgomery’s impressive conditioning coming into camp last year. Well, the veteran’s motivation is once again palpable through his preparation. Still in the heart of his physical prime after celebrating his 28th birthday last month, Montgomery looks like a man on a mission. He also sounds like one, talking this camp about wanting to remind everyone he's part of this record-breaking offense, as well.