I saw he referenced Chris Burke from "The Athletic". In case people were curious about the other observations made in that article:
? My first reaction to seeing C.J. Anderson on the practice field was to wonder if the Lions had signed a new fullback just prior to practice. With temperatures drifting toward the cool side, Anderson wore a hooded sweatshirt and rolled his jersey up about halfway, each move adding a little heft visually. Even so, the dude?s an absolute bowling ball. The Lions list him at 5-feet-8, 225 pounds, and I?m not sure he?s that tall or that light.
That?s not a knock on him as being out of shape or overweight. Just compared to the rest of Detroit?s backs, you can see why the Lions might envision him as their power, inside option.
? As least as far as a non-contact practice on a Tuesday morning in May goes, T.J. Hockenson was every bit the natural pass catcher he?s been built up to be. He hauled in several nice grabs, including a back-corner, end-zone route from QB Connor Cook. The rookie stood out.
So did ? in a less obvious way ? newcomer Logan Thomas. The QB-turned-TE is in the mix to be Detroit?s No. 3 or No. 4 tight end, and early evidence suggests that the coaching staff might play with how it uses him in the offense. He saw time Tuesday as a fullback, an F/move tight end and split out wide lined up across from cornerbacks. If there?s more to that versatility than just show, it could give him an edge on incumbent Michael Roberts.
? One reason that guys like Thomas, fellow tight end Jerome Cunningham and running back Mark Thompson had to step in at fullback was that the only full-time fullback on the roster, Nick Bawden, is still working his way back from last season?s knee injury. He worked off to the side with a group of recognizable names Tuesday ? Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay, Trey Flowers and Justin Coleman among them. None of those players did any work during positional or team drills.
? It?s possible it happened at some point Tuesday, but I did not see rookie Jahlani Tavai and Jarrad Davis on the field together during 11-on-11 drills. Instead, Tavai played the MLB role with the second-unit defense, spelling Davis. He was moving well when asked to drop in coverage, with one exception: Theo Riddick absolutely put him in a blender with his trademark angle route out of the backfield. The QB on the play (I missed the number) threw to the end zone instead, but at one point Riddick was open cutting across the middle as Tavai was facing the sideline.
? The Lions? highlight package from Day 1 of OTAs (which was closed to the media) flashed a shot of Frank Ragnow playing center. He was there again on Day 2, almost exclusively, with Graham Glasgow playing right guard and Kenny Wiggins in Ragnow?s usual left guard spot.
Patricia downplayed the shift, chalking it up merely to getting Ragnow extra reps in the middle. Glasgow, Patricia said, has ?a little bit more experience than Frank does playing center in the NFL right now. It?s just a great opportunity for us to get a look at all different sort of combinations of players that we have.?
Something to keep an eye on moving forward, though. Glasgow certainly has shown that he can be a starting guard, and Ragnow?s college position coach, Kurt Anderson, told The Athletic last year that Ragnow ?is about as natural a center as you?re gonna find.?
? Two more quick O-line notes: 1) Wiggins was in with that first unit all day, with Oday Aboushi taking reps as the second-unit right guard. 2) There continues to be very little evidence that the Lions view Tyrell Crosby as a potential guard. Again, the media only saw one of the two practice days so far, and that could change, but Crosby worked at tackle (both left and right) Tuesday.
? Teez Tabor has an INT during each of the Lions? OTA sessions thus far. On Day 2, he nabbed a pass to the outside. (The Day 1 pick was included on the aforementioned in-house highlight video.)
With Slay absent and Coleman not practicing in full, it was Tabor and Melvin mainly working as the top outside cornerback pair, with Agnew in the slot. A play here or there this time of the year won?t solidify Tabor?s spot on the roster, but he can use any boost he gets. There?s still a lot of available playing time opposite Slay, as the depth chart currently stands.
? Amani Oruwariye sighting: On the first play of inter-positional drills, the Lions? fifth-round pick fought through an Andy Jones-Chris Lacy rub route to make an excellent play breaking up a slant. He wasn?t all that visible the rest of the day, as he stuck with the second- and third-team DB group, but there should be a lot more to come from Oruwariye.
? The early group of kick/punt returners: Agnew, Danny Amendola, Tommylee Lewis, Brandon Powell and UDFA Tom Kennedy.
? Even with Harrison absent, the Lions have some bulk up front. Rookie P.J. Johnson, at 6-feet-4, 334 pounds, is a noticeable presence in the trenches ? that?s the same height but 12 pounds heavier than A?Shawn Robinson. Detroit also rolled out 320-pounders Darius Kilgo and John Atkins, plus Smith (305 pounds) and 285-pounder Kevin Strong. They obviously won?t all stick on the roster, but the well-stocked group speaks to Patricia?s desire to control the trenches and stop the run.
