Allen Park — Here are some notes and observations from Thursday’s Detroit Lions training camp practice.
► Too many balls hit the ground during the day. Jesse James dropped an easy one coming across the middle in one-on-one work, rookie Quintez Cephus also let one slip through his hands while in the clear, and tight end T.J. Hockenson had a frustrating afternoon, with three pass passes escaping his grasp. To be fair, cornerback Justin Coleman gets credit for tight coverage on two of those incompletions.
► It wasn’t all bad for Hockenson. He flashed his underrated athleticism in one-on-ones with an separation-creating juke of Tracy Walker at the line of scrimmage. The second-year tight end also caught a deep ball when matched up against Jayron Kearse.
James also otherwise thrived in the one-on-one segment of practice, hauling in deep throws against Kearse and Will Harris. James had C.J. Moore badly beat on a route before the drop.
► It was another mostly dominant performance by the offense in two-on-two red zone work. Rookie corner Jeff Okudah surrendered a trio of scores, including two faulty assignment exchanges and another where he gave up too much cushion to Jamal Agnew across the middle.
It wasn’t a shutout, though. Okudah came up with a physical breakup on Cephus on one rep.
Marvin Hall continued his strong camp, running a pair of crisp routes for scoring grabs. Defensively, Desmond Trufant held Kenny Golladay without a touchdown on two targets and Amani Oruwariye capped the drill by knocking away a fade intended for Cephus, forcing the offense into a round of pushups.
► It’s generally an underappreciated aspect of a running back’s responsibilities, but it’s safe to say Kerryon Johnson has made some strides as a blocker. The knock on his build is the narrowness of his lower body, but he’s continually played with good technique to pick up blitzing linebackers throughout camp.
► The Lions worked a couple drills for the first time this camp, focusing on plays near the goal line. The first had receivers blocking defensive backs out wide, attempting to lead a ball carrier into the end zone.
Okudah split his reps, losing against a surprisingly effective block by Marvin Jones, but blowing through an attempt by Agnew.
► On the other field, ball carriers and tacklers went head-to-head in a small area where the offensive player had to power through for that last yard. Given the Lions had four reps going on at once, it was tough to absorb much detail, but Miles Killebrew was able to strip the ball from fullback Nick Bawden.
Killebrew also had a pass breakup in one-on-one work against the tight ends, tipping a throw away from Isaac Nauta.
Interestingly, Hockenson did not participate in the goal-line work, raising questions about how comfortable the team is with his surgically repaired ankle.
More: An early projection of what the Lions’ 53-man roster might look like (subscription required)
► Taylor Decker and Trey Flowers didn’t participate in any team activities on Thursday, with Tyrell Crosby taking over at left tackle with the first-team offense.
By the end of practice, the Lions were hurting for offensive tackle depth. Dan Skipper left the session midway through and starting right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai also had to head to the locker room with medical personnel.
It’s a second time in the past few days Vaitai hasn’t been able to finish a practice.
► The punters got quite a few live reps, but there’s still little clarity in the battle. Overall, Jack Fox has shown slightly more leg strength, and both he and Arryn Sippos had some really well-placed boots along the sidelines, but there are consistency issues with both options. Approximately 15-20 percent of both punters’ efforts are poor kicks, which is too high.
Neither really stack up against the consistency Sam Martin brought to the table in recent years. And while I’d still give Fox the overall edge for the entirety of camp, I don’t think we can rule out someone not on the roster finishing the year as Detroit’s punter.
► He started off camp battling an injury, but defensive tackle Kevin Strong is beginning to flash some of the backfield disruption that earned him a roster spot last season. After slipping on an early rep against Joe Dahl, Strong blasted past veteran Kenny Wiggins on another go.
► Rookie Julian Okwara continues to struggle in those one-on-ones, but he shows these flashes of immense power when he collides with Detroit’s offensive tackles. As he develops his secondary rush counters, you get the sense his game could really take off.