Detroit Lions 2024 Season Outlook | Exclusive with Jeff Risdon

all right we're talking Detroit Lions on the ourlads football network the RADS football YouTube channel and of course that means Jeff risen's on the program managing editor of the Lions wire Jeff good to have you back again always good to be with you it's a fun time to talk Lions oh yes it is uh and it's it's been a long road even just the two of us talking it's been a long enough Road uh following the team and talking about them here on the work uh but things have obviously gone really well recently and now they're going to enter the season uh as uh the hunter uh oh the hunted they're gonna be uh teams hunting the Detroit Lions uh and we'll see how they handle that I'm sure they'll handle it really well uh but before we get into breaking down the depth chart and going over a whole bunch of other stuff how's how's the mood regarding that like this is a camp where it's unusual for them to go there and I'm sure they're having interviews National interviews about how good they were and you know Super Bowl aspirations how are they handling all this you know they're trying to downplay it as much as possible like they acknowledge it they know they're good they know that uh you know the bar has been raised they're ready for that that's something that Dan Campbell's talked about uh Al R st Brown has brought it up Jared Goff has brought it up Aiden Hutchinson's brought it up it's like yeah we're we're we're ready to we're ready to be that you know it's been a long time coming uh they know they know they're a very talented group and they know that they're uh the expectations are there and they they're not running from it yeah and and then and the thing too is that the division uh is is getting really tough and can be tough if the Chicago Bears uh do their part and I'm sure Lions fans don't want to see that but uh they do have Caleb William yeah they uh they sweat they they don't they the Bears defense does not get enough love I think their offense gets too much love I don't think their defense gets enough love but uh you know we we'll see they're they're they're formidable Packers Packers are a good football team no running away from that they're they're the primary competition in my eyes anyways and uh they'll they they should be expecting to make the postseason as well but the lions are too lions are very good that's uh that's something that it it's tough as a lifelong Lions fan you know somebody that's been around since the 70s to accept the reality this is a really good football team that should be considered one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl um and we say that with zero sense of irony or and like it it's real and it's it's it's a lot of fun yeah and I I look I I wouldn't even be surprised if Detroit and Green Bay were playing in the NFC championship game that's how uh as long as they pick up where they left off last season um and then of course Minnesota I mean they've had just a house of horrors type of offseason yeah so unfortunate but it is what it is okay so uh let's get started uh first of all uh Jared gof gets his new big deal I believe uh I think this we didn't have this news the last time we spoke but he is pretty much set now Prime of his career big contract uh cash Detroit Lions organization to goof uh so I'm sure he's pretty stoked oh well he's pretty lowkey about it but yeah he's he's definitely he's he's California excited that's sort of the way that he is he's not somebody who really he's on he's kind of the always the same guy no matter you know if they've just won a game or if they've lost a game you know he's he's marrying a supermodel um got all the new money but he still sounds like you know a guy that wouldn't wouldn't be opposed to you know going down and and you know having McDonald's and buying the the the the employees there at their dinner like that's that's just sort of who he is uh but he's he's earned it it hasn't always been easy for him in Detroit when he first got here it was rough but he has played his way into being one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league and he's he he absolutely deserves it he's earned it he is a fringe MVP candidate I don't think he's going to get it just for a variety of reasons uh but he's he certainly belongs there he's he is he's been so effective in Ben Johnson's offense and in making the right decisions making the right reads and keeping all the trains running on time um and that doesn't do that doesn't give him enough credit for how good he is but that's that's the Crux of what he is and he's very good at it I did a show a couple days ago um a Playbook experts YouTube channel uh with these Hall of Fame handicappers that I produced their show and they were going getting their picks for the NFL MVP and and uh Jim Feist who's like one of the Legends in the industry he actually he actually picked Jared Goff he said Jared gof is my pick uh now of course nobody's it'd be you know monkeys could pick the favorites but you know we're trying to pick uh odds wise some good options and he thinks that Jared G's great option I think he's 20 to one I think that's the number that's not a bad investment if you got a little bit of money to play if you're gonna buy a lottery ticket that's that's not a bad one to buy not at all and it also you mentioned Johnson it just shows you how fortunate some quarterbacks are and how some aren't uh when they uh are able to be matched up with the right coach the right staff the right scheme because it's like gof has shown his best moments and of course now he's older and more experienced but with two of the better offensive Minds in football and he's been very fortunate about that now that doesn't make every quarterback great but you have to have skill he's got skill and he's been matched up very very fortunate uh with Ben Johnson uh and we've talked a lot about him over the last few years so is there anything that he has to do though and and let's throw Johnson into this as well because Johnson didn't have a lot of experience of course in big playoff games calling those things so uh what does Ben Johnson and Jared G have to do better to get that to that next step I think just keeping their confidence level high uh gof is a guy who needs to feel that love from the coaching staff and from his teammates he didn't always have that in Los Angeles that's why he's in Detroit uh he's got it right now but I think I I am a little curious if if this team for some reason and I don't expect it but if they get off to a poor start and golf is part of that poor start I do wonder how he'll react to that but beyond that that he's just keep doing what you're doing build on it the creativity of the offense and knowing when to to throw those weird punches from out of left field gol has a really good sense of that and Ben Johnson does too and uh as long as the two of them keep their their mind Mel together know they created this offense together this isn't just Ben Johnson's offense jarro go had a lot of input in it as well um understanding that this is what I do well this is not maybe what I want to do so well and uh as long as that stays fresh they're they're going to be really good with the and I guess you could take a look at the last game uh because you can be if you lose it well you you you you weren't perfect of course and and you made mistakes and not everything was your fault but was there something that was a carryover from that game from either of them uh because I remember I forget exactly what it was where there was some fans that were critical of uh I I think it was late in the game was it on Ben Johnson some of the play calling there yeah so you know not not getting the ball to your Primary Weapons uh Ben Johnson does get cute at times he he designs yeah um that's a that's a very fair criticism of Ben Johnson and he's heard that um he he disagrees with it but he's heard it yeah you know they in in critical junctures in that game they threw the ball to Josh Reynolds who was their number three receiver and Craig Reynolds out of the backfield who's the number three running back they have run designed plays in critical moments for Brock Wright the backup tight end instead of Sam lorta or Aman R Brown there there's there's there's a little of that um third and one they're you know they they're they get a little predictable you know second and long they're going to run the ball like it's there's a lot of things that I think Johnson could be as creative as he is there's also sort of a predictability to when he goes unconventional now they've worked hard at at avoiding that but yeah there's there's times where you know just line up and run the ball um there was a play I I I remember the play now that that got me and it was pan playing right tackle and Taylor Decker playing left tackle and their assignment on a specific play was to block the guy lined up opposite the other one on a okay like there there's a little too much of that okay like just just go beat beat the hell out of the guy in front of you um they don't do that enough and that that's a very fair criticism of pen Johnson and he has heard that H and how about Goff uh was there anything are the fan at all wondering whether or not like is there some sort of part of his game that the fans are concerned about it's it has more to do with who he's throwing to honestly um you know will will he ever develop that chemistry with Jameson Williams down the field okay um but generally speaking most fans and by the way most media members put that more on Jameson Williams than they do on Jared go but in terms of like decision making and running the offense there's always to be a fan a skeptical group of fans in every fan base yeah they're they have a lot less less meat to chew on right now with sherov than I think they want that's absolutely and that that that that by the way is very good thing uh because uh you know I'm I assume we have to talk about the backup quarterbacks there is absolutely zero threat from Nate SFI or H and hooker to approach Jerry golf anytime soon and the golf contra sort of put all that the rest which was a very nice thing yeah so hooker uh this was supposed to be the year that he takes over that number two job so what's uh how has he looked he hasn't quite buried sudfeld yet and I I will give Nate sudfeld some credit a year ago at this time well he got hurt a year ago at this time but he was so bad last summer that they basically begged Teddy br water to come to Detroit and he did um and they got a lot of benefit out of Teddy that but he was subv was awful last year there's no no way sugar coding that he's been better this summer but not better enough that t that hen hooker shouldn't beat him out and henden hasn't quite done it yet you know there there's inconsistency in this play one of the things that Dan Campbell and and really all of the Lions coaches talk about is they want to see progress up yeah steadiness consistency of performance and hooker just isn't quite there yet he played great and in the second preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs LED them to a victory which was awesome for him okay but then he comes back and two of the first three throws that he throws in Tuesday's practice which was the first practice since then um one was in the dirt about three yards in front of the receiver and the second one got picked off and taken back the other way and that's that's just sort of okay he hasn't he hasn't ironed out those negative points yet and until he does sudfeld is going to be around um we we we are still wondering if it will be Nate sudfeld or henen hooker that goes into a game if Jared gof gets hurt okay we've gotten mixed answers on that all summer and you know I would like to think that senden hooker I was a big fan of him coming into the draft I know what Nate sudfeld is I know what he's not he's certainly not highend like henden hooker can be but until hooker proves that he is that guy yeah it's it's tough to say I will say this Dan Campbell clearly trusts Nate sudfeld yeah I don't agree with that but I'm not the coach well that's typical you know they're going to feel more comfortable with the guy who's been more experienced it's not gonna make the bad play or the dumb play just make the easy play I know we all know hooker I mean you know I'm sure he understands hooker is a more talented player and could do more of the wow plays but hey we're a good football team if we need a win one game one quarter I I just can't trust you right now I just can't you know that's probably the thinking there which is not unusual so no it's It's Not Unusual at all um and that's but hooker um they have one preseason game left it would be great ifer came out and and nailed it I think that would uage a lot of fears okay so in the backfield uh Gibb seems to be okay right yes he will be fine dealing with a hamstring um that's a speed guy injury he's a speed guy and the good thing of course is that if either Montgomery or gives were to miss any time the other can be a Workhorse for a short period of time so they're in great shape in that backfield and Craig Reynolds is a guy that uh is one of those guys on the team that it's it's always hard to get rid of you're trying to get rid of him you're trying to get somebody to pass him that's more talented uh and uh and and the Lions use a fourth round draft pick on a do everything kid from Utah how is that going so Reynolds has had a phenomenal Camp he looks better than he ever has in the past he's catching the ball very well out of the back field he is of the entire group he is Far and Away the best in pass protection so he's not going anywhere but cion vaki is carving himself out of roll he's catching the ball very well out of the back field you can tell that he's not played as a full-time running back before he played Safety primarily at Utah the lions were the only team that drafted him with the sole intention of playing him only at running back and it there there's times frankly where he just doesn't see the hole uh he's going to run into prank ragn now's butt a few times that's just because he's inexperienced it doesn't mean that he's bad ADM and he hasn't done it before so he is running back four but he will never leave the field on special teams he is already really really good on special teams and you that's that's the niche where he can come in and if he's your fourth running back and you can come in and play a handful of stamps on offensive game if you need him to that's that's that's great and if everybody's healthy that's going to be the room right that's it those four yeah yeah absolutely uh now of course leor had a big year at tight end uh you've mentioned Brock Wright he seems to be a really good backup tight end and is there I know some of the guys on the depth chart are pretty familiar names uh yeah but has anybody done anything different we just looking at the same pretty much unit as last year we're we're wondering who's going to be tight end 3 and if they keep on tight end four there are four guys in Camp all of them could be number three all of them could be number six it sort of depends and they're all different guys Parker hessie is more of an h-back fullback like motion kind of guy James Mitchell more of a a big Target inline blocking guy Shane zra is a guy that I don't think should ever be near a tackle he should be in the slot or lined up out wide he's much more of a super sized wide receiver and Shan mun is sort of a a like Jack of all master of no trades at tight end so we we don't have a good feel for who's going to stay um I I've been looking through the 53 man roster projections my own and and others who I respect and we're all different like nobody really knows what's going on there so we know the first two three and four are still to be determined but they they're not gonna they're not gonna play lot Brock Wright is a guy um we're gonna get to the wide receivers here in a second so I'll preempt it but Brock Wright as tight end two will get a lot more Targets on this team than wide receiver for do I feel very confident about that okay does that speak more about scheme or about depth in the Lions receiving room it's definitely the depth in the Lions wide receiving room they have three I'm on R st Brown um I would not put it out of the realm of possibility that he leads the NFL in targets and receptions this year and he could very well set the NFL record for both this year and that's MO look he's phenomenal he got paid this off season he earned every penny of it he is an allpro and a worthy one but there aren't a lot of targets Beyond him like Jameson Williams has improved he's going to get a lot more work this year he looks a lot more comfortable he's I expect a big year out of J as wide receiver two okay kie FR khif Raymond as wide receiver 3 the team loves him they love him like no question about it um in fact U I had an interaction ction with a a lion staffer um when I had written something that sort of questioned whether they had wide receiver three and and I thought he was goingon to strangle me like it's Leaf dude come on like so he and leaf is undersized and and and this is the the problem where the perception is he's 5 foot eight and he's not a slot receiver he's an outside guy yeah that's that that's a tough sell um and it's limited but gof trusts Trust Living Daylights out of out of leaf Raymond so but number four good question uh because that we don't know who that's going to be yet Isaiah Williams as an undrafted rookie out of Illinois is probably the best option that's nice he's five he's a five foot n slot guy uh who doesn't really block much kind of limited in in what he can do and you know their slot guy is I'm on St Brown who's the best in the business so if you want to go to four wides where does he fit you know it's you know Donovan peoples Jones was given the keys to the kingdom and lost them wow dor dor Fountain the first week of training camp I would have told you was wide receiver four and we' be great with that you know we talked about wanting to go up he's going the other way wow and it's it's rough uh you know Kaden Davis has had his moments he had a great touchdown catch and run against the Chiefs he's a guy that he at the first sign of contact wilts uh he's just not he just doesn't have a lot of playing power so that's a tough one U very easily rerouted off of where he needs to go um but at at his size that that's not a good thing you know we we were hopeful that TR Clon Smith could come in and do some things he's out for the season they put him on IR he hadn't necessarily lived up to expectations anyways so it's uh it's tough the top three are great top I shouldn't say great amanra is great J Mo can be great and leaf can be everything that they need him to be if any of those guys get hurt though this is this is a a big big problem area uh the depth at wide receiver no doubt about it is this also I mean could this also be a potential issue though for someone like I mean Randall's been there the whole time right Campbell so I mean has he really has he done anything to develop anybody he has with yes uh with with with with uh really all three of the top guys um kif FR khif Fran is a better receiver now than when he got here he came from Tennessee um was sort of a they had him pegged more as a return guy and he's developed into a decent receiver Jameson Williams has taken a massive step forward this offseason and antoan Randall deserve some credit for that uh and St Brown St Brown's kind of a self-made guy like but he he would tell you that that he he's appreciative of what what Rand L has done for him but they haven't really had like the young guys come in like they've had you know Tom Kennedy is perennial summer Superstar that's who he is former of lacrosse player they haven't had they haven't really drafted anybody for him to work with in that regard other than than Jameson Williams so it's you know people came in Via a trade um I had covered him in Cleveland and he was kind of the same guy there like there's more promise with him than actual results and that's kind of the way he's been here too so you know it's there were a lot of fans and I will raise my hand in it as well this was a great wide receiving class in the draft and they didn't tap into it that was a little frustrating and I think that if again if the receiving becomes a problem that's going to reflect poorly on the organization but until that happens everything's still hunky dory but it's uh it's certainly an area of emphasis for the next offseason we can say that already if you're doing a mock draft for 2025 in the Detroit Lions and if you if if it's not a wide receiver or an interior offensive lineman you're probably wrong I'm just saying that right now well I mean then it's it's possible that that at some point you you might see some movement there right I mean because there are out there with I know I I just take a look like Houston's step chart at wide receiver it's like come on like eight guys they Robert Woods or John mie is not gonna make that team they would be wide receiver four here in a heartbeat yes and we I have floated the idea and I'm not the only one that's done it of a guy like James Houston or um kindall vildor somebody who's On The Fringe on the defensive side of the ball flip them for one of those guys uh and that's that's not a super popular take with fans but I I kind of like the idea fans just want to give up like a 2025 seventh round draft pick you know it's like yeah exactly rather than but we've seen we've seen in the last couple of days you know player for player swaps for you know Carolina and Seattle did one where they they traded Michael Barrett the linebacker the the rookie for Michigan um for Michael Jackson like I really hope that that's something that catches on around the league where you trade players Jan doson going from from Washington to Philly now that was for draft picks but know I I hope that there's more of that coming in the next few days as we approach the the cutdown deadline here because that's it Mak it makes too much sense that I I wish the aspirations of Detroit this year they cannot it doesn't even has that a reflection of the starters either because right if one of them gets hurt yeah yeah and just look at we talked about the tight ends James Mitchell might not make this team you send him to Houston he's tight end three he might be tight end two make make things work like that you know yeah I I wish I wish the NFL was more open to it it seems like they're getting that way but they're not you know that's something that you know as a basketball fan they basketball teams do that all the time like my 12th man for your 12th man because you know you need a backup point guard we need a backup big like that happens all the time it doesn't happen in the NFL I wish it would okay so uh the offensive line one of the better lines of course in the league uh for some time now so uh there have been you know a couple of injury concerns but overall H how is the uh how is the camp this season is everybody healthy uh just going over the starters first yeah um Kevin zeitler has not practiced in a little bit he's he should be fine I saw him Wednesday of this week uh he he he looks good to go okay they're not playing in the preseason none of them would be playing the preseason regardless but uh yeah he they should be good to go and that starting five is for my money the best in in football in terms of overall I think I think Philadelphia might be a little bit better in pass protection but this is certainly the best run blocking team in the league and I I will take you know with how good they are in pass protection as well uh they're going to be really good pan had a foot injury scare this week he'll be fine um sounds like a low ankle sprain and he'll be good good to go week one against the Rams thank God and then as now you mentioned there so there's an issue inside on on the depth and mahogany was a player that we talked about after the draft as someone that you really liked you know we we we we saw some a little bit of inconsistency production wise but again you had an injury situation in college so that was the thing that we had talked about what what's the situation with him right now so he is still on the non-football illness list he has not been in Camp yet uh he was placed on that at the start of Camp they are working him back and Dan Campbell sounded optimistic that he would be ready to go and get activated before the the first four games um because if you're on the NFI when the season starts you got to miss the first four games okay we'll see about that uh I think the fact that he's been he he was legitimately sick and uh he lost some some weight and some conditioning so what was it I kind uh can't can't say uh but uh he he was definitely ill and you can tell um I saw him in person at the end of last week and he did not look the same uh he was guy that looked like he lost 25 30 pounds so okay uh so he's got some work to do to get back but yes I'm very excited about him but that's more of a long-term term thing uh shortterm you're looking at Coyote Aika uh Kingsley aukon has stepped up he is been taking first team reps at right T or Right Guard with Kevin zler being sidelined and that's been he hasn't always handled it perfectly but for a an undrafted guy out of Florida he looks looks like he's safely on the roster as a backup center SLG guard and then uh you know Michael nce was getting those reps and he's kind of another guy that kind of going the wrong direction as Camp ends a little bit I will say this um last year Graham Glascow was their backup center and he they would move him to from guard to Center and bring in another guard everything I've seen this summer indicates that they want to keep Glasgow at guard and would have a guokun or Michael N if he happens to make it as the backup center so that's that's a little bit of a change from from the deviation but uh okay you know that's that's uh I I feel pretty good about aun's chances um although again if you look around the contemporaries people that I trust and respect in the media there are some that don't have him on it so um still to be determined there all right I guess we'll find out who knows their Detroit Lions that's right we'll see uh so what about soral he was a a pick last year is is he and he's it looks like is he is he the backup at right tackle he is um For Better or For Worse that's another guy started Camp up here and oh jeez it's been uh bad he had a five playay stretch in Kansas City where he was guilty of a penalty um did not touch his assignment on a pass rush did not touch his assignment on a run block that got uh zonovan Knight just buried in the backfield almost as soon as he got the ball um and then he was guilty of a holding penalty they they didn't call it but he was clearly guilty of it um and the the Chiefs player that he was holding let him know it uh it's been rough and it it's frustrating because I like Kobe soral a lot I'm I'm glad they're moving him back to tackle they tried to move him inside last year it didn't really work they're moving him back to where he played at William and Mary it's I the the biggest injury fear I have and like every team has existential injury dread like that's part of part of what we are take away the quarterback the most indispensable player on this offense is pan Su or Taylor Decker and some of that is because those guys are awesome but some of it is also because the drop off to Kobe sorol and or Dan Skipper is Monumental and they're both well ahead of Giovani Manu the fourth round rookie who was and Dan Campbell has basically come out and said you know we drafted him as a redirt like we know he's not going to play we know he's not going to be ready um having said that he played pretty well all in Kansas City it was nice to see but this is a guy like his college offense at the University of British Columbia they had four plays didn't he didn't didn't play football until his sophomore year there had never played American football before that so you're looking at a guy who is a complete athletic project now he's he's coming along pretty nicely but it's it's backup tackle is it's bad everywhere like no doubt about that I'm sure every single guest had has complained about their offensive tackle depth Detroit is no exception put it that way okay let's slide on over to the defense and this is really the part of the team that has got to take that next step uh because the offense is is gonna healthwise if they're healthy the offense is g to do fine it's up to the defense uh to make the big plays and to shut best teams down come postseason time if everything goes well uh first let's talk about some of the guys here in red because they're all dealing with injuries reader should be back soon right yes uh he could be back week one although it's probably I expect him to be activated and uh he might not play week one but I think week two week three he will be in there um we saw him uh he got to talk to us a little bit he didn't talk to us he talked to the coaches who related to us but uh he was physically at Camp he looks fine he had a little bit of a setback from his torn quad um he'll be good uh again might not be week one and he might be EAS in where he's playing 25% of the snaps the first week and then up you know gradually up from that but he's look hav covered him in the past I covered him when he was in Houston I I I'm so blessed to have this guy we are very very lucky as Detroit Lions to have him in here and just what he's done for the guys around him and and we might have talked about this before but bradick Martin who is his backup essentially um and and and we'll make this team and he talked about how he had never met DJ reer before and the first time he meets DJ reer reer had gone through all of his college tape even going back to when he was at the University of North Alabama before he was even at Western Kentucky and picked it over and gave him things that he could Point like what he observed from him like wow that that's that's what you're getting a DJ reader that's that's special that's rare and that's that that that's why I say we're blessed to have him in Detroit even if he's not a top five nose tackle anymore he kind he was on The Fringe of that last year in Cincinnati and has been for some time if he's top 15 even we're good we're good um Kaminsky so he suffered uh A Late July fly knee injury yeah how's he coming along he will be on ir and it could be very well that he's out for the entire season but they want to give the potential for him to get back for a playoff push and or the playoffs at the end of the year uh Toren MCL with him he's already had the surgery uh but he W he will be put on IR at the start of the Year okay uh and then Mosley now speaking of acl's so Mosley uh trying to make his way back so how how does he I mean what's the he he's done uh he he's I forget what the exact injury it wasn't his ACL again um so he tore his ACL in 2022 uh in San Francisco came in played two plays in 2023 and tore the other ACL and this time I think it was a peck I think it was a torn peack when was that um uh not not terribly long ago um the it was the week I want to say it was the week leading into the Giants game which was the first preseason game uh but they he will be on IR um there's I guess there's some limited chance that he could get back but this is a guy you're talking about a guy going again going back to college he's had massive injury issues I I say this as somebody who likes and respects him a lot I really hope he decides that it's time to be done and move on to the next part of his career because he's going to he's going to be a hell of a coach he's going to be hell of a position coach Som um hopefully he gets into that sooner than later because he's an asset this is a guy again kayman didn't have an off season last year you know was out didn't get activated until end of the year because he had complications from his ACL in San Francisco was with the team the entire time plays the two plays doesn't go home after he gets hurt again stays with the team and is with them on the sideline talking to guys in in huddles while he's in reserve after that like these are people he doesn't really know that says a lot about his character too uh so I I would love to have him around this team this year and if he's on IR for the entire season he he he'll still find a way to contribute uh as weird as that sounds all right well then let's talk about uh the the spots there yeah uh that need to be filled so what what about because who would be considered the the backup nickel right now uh so nickel right now is uh am meque Robertson has uh and i' say this having ripped him mercilessly for how bad he played in the slot in Las Vegas has looked good in the slot and I'm very happy about that uh right now it's Andis rraw getting the second team reps there oh okay and he will also be getting he'll also get second team reps outside he's sort of floating between the two we have seen Kindle vildor in there at times uh but Kindle's better outside so that's sort of where and you will still see Brian Branch slide up there occasionally yeah um especially when the the opposing team let's say they're in you know uh you know 12 Personnel he's at safety and they Flex their guy like he's G he's going to be the guy that rotates up there so okay you'll still see some of that too now what how how does the secondary look in general because uh as we talked a few months ago uh big transformation yeah and you would hope and it looks for the good so how is it going how's all the new faces adapting Carlton Davis will be one outside corner Terry and Arnold will be the other outside corner they're both new Arnold is dealing with a chest injury right now he'll be fine week one I have no doubt about that he uh made had The Misfortune of trying to tackle Aman St Brown in a practice a couple weeks ago and got the worst of it um happened right in front of me it was it looked a lot worse in real time I was worried that he'd like you know broken a torn a pack or broken a rib or something it's not that serious he could play this weekend if he needed to Carlton Davis has been everything they wanted in an aggressive in yourface press man outside corner Arnold is the same way Rik straw is the same way um he's a lot quieter than those two but he is a very physical at the line not going to let you get a clean release type type of player and that's exactly what Aon Glenn wants if you remember Aon Glenn is a player he played that way he's never had quarterbacks who can do anything close to what he did as a player he's got him now yeah it's gonna be gonna be fun to watch how that develops and I will say there's a lot of pressure on Aaron Glenn to to deliver because he's always had the crutch of like they're starting they're starting week one quarterback last year one of them was Jerry Jacobs um who couldn't get signed this offseason he finally lashed on with the Rams last like two weeks in practice now he's out on an injury settlement but like he wouldn't be number seven on this depth chart this year like that's how that's how good it is and and I will give kindall vildor and khil dorsy both a ton of credit they've both played exceptional this summer they are worthy of making this team and it could be the only one of them makes it and uh that's that's a sign of real progress for this team okay and out of all of those depth guys uh who do you think or what's take because Robertson's new Davis is new we know about branch and Arnold's and rraw are both the the the top rookie guys so everybody else who do you think could take who do you feel confident would take like another step that's tough um so at safety uh Brandon Joseph has taken a big step up he has kind of taken over the third role um from Fatu malif fanu um who lost his starting job because Brian branch moved back to Safety in that spot um mifan has been injured some this summer which has kind of been a recurring theme for his career he's much more of a in thebox or Edge type safety he did phenomenal at that down the stretch uh but that's that's not as big of a rule as it has been in the past uh Brandon Joseph more of a coverage guy so they're going to sort of mix and match on that at least that's seems to be the plan you know cornerback step Gilmore made this team as an undrafted rookie last year I don't really see any way he makes it this year uh he's a guy that I hope he latches on somewhere else because he has had his moments this summer but he's clearly number seven right now and uh they're not keeping more than six they might not even keep more than five okay all right uh let's move up to the front seven uh do you expect Jack Campbell to take a big step I hope so uh the team does I'm hopeful he does too I'm not as sold on Jack Campbell being being great as what the team is and what some of my colleagues are I think he's going to be I think he's going to be good I think he's going to be fine but I'm not sure that he is the next coming of Randy gradishar as he's being made out to be um bonus points for anybody who knows who Randy gradishar is oh yeah even though he just played the hall of fame um was was as a kid growing up in Ohio um in the 70s Randy gradishar was the freaking man one of my very first football heroes so I had to had to throw him in there but uh absolutely Campbell had Campbell has his moments he also has some where he's still flat footed a little bit he still sometimes overp pursues um will choose the wrong hole from time to time and run defense coverage he can be like a tick late to pick up on things he's getting better uh and the team certainly trusts him I'm I'm very H I'll put it this way I'm very happy that Alex anzelone is still there is he's really smart and really good at what he does and I think that takes some of the pressure off of Jack Campbell and Derek Barnes playing the Sam roll um has seeded that that other off ball linebacker role to Barn to uh Campbell but he's still there he's still helpful and he he looks he's playing the role that he played at Purdue okay and it's baffled me for years why the Lions haven't used him in that role they finally they finally got him back to doing it and he looks great and one of the functions of that is they are playing more with three linebackers on the field than they ever have under Dan Campbell okay um I I don't know if I had to put a number on it in practices I'd say it's probably over 35 to 40% somewhere in that range and just the 2022 season they had 11 snaps the entire season with three linebackers on the field yeah so they they have been straight base nickel the entire time and that is changing a little bit and some of that is because Barnes is really effective at Rushing the passer and they're looking for that but also Campbell and anzalone in coverage have have done enough and Brian Branch moving back to safety solidifies the backend coverage enough that they feel like they can do that and get bigger and and and be more of an attacking defense um which they can't do as much when you're a nickel okay so it is more of now we have the Personnel this is what we wanted do or is it well we have the Personnel we might as well do it what do you think it is so that that's a very good question I like the way you phrase that I think it's more of the ladder I think it's like we have this Personnel let's let's use it the way we want to okay um but you know Derek Barnes he he improved a lot as an off ball linebacker but there were still times where you're like Jack Campbell should probably have that role and that's what they did so it's good all right so you maybe what you're saying is is uh you haven't seen it yet maybe you will see it with Campbell you just don't think that you've seen it yeah and yeah and it's not consistent um there are times where he's been great uh he played really really well in the joint practices against the Giants uh he's looked very good at times in Camp uh he had a dominant day when was it not this week it was the last practice before Kansas City game um he was all over the field and making plays everywhere uh so it it's there it's it's just one of the things he's he's in his second year he is in a different system than he played in in college and he's he's adapting to it um I I he he will certainly be good I have no doubt that he will be good but if there's some people that are writing some pretty pretty lucrative checks about his impending greatness and I'm not there yet with him okay but but he'll be good no no doubt about that and up front uh Aiden now do you think that he is going to take a really big step this year do you think that he has that type of top three for Edge rushers NFL greatness in them 100% And I I said this uh on a radio program I was on earlier today if you are looking for a value investment betting on Aiden to be the NFL defensive player of the year is a worthy one that I that's a lottery ticket I would absolutely Buy in fact I might have bought one of those he has so I covered miles Garrett I covered JJ Watt towards the end of his Houston Prime Aiden Hutchinson is every bit as good as either of those two that I ever saw from them this Summer he has taken that proverbial Next Step he is nasty he has been consistently beating pan SU and pan is the best right tackle in football and that's not about pan that's about Aiden Hutchinson that's that's the best way I can say it well he's 11 to one to win the NFL defensive player of the year so he is behind watt Parsons Garrett Crosby and Nick Bosa he belongs he certainly belongs in that conversation with all those guys and by the way there are six guys the top that are considered the top six and he's in them and then there's a drop off from 11 to one to 30 to one when you go to the next group so he's he's hanging with that first group little on the outside but he he's there he's like the best bargain out of that six being 11 to one so that's that's why you buy it yeah I like it I still favor miles Garrett I I freaking love miles Garrett I'm not gonna that but we were talking about because they were we were given uh on that we were doing that show and we were doing predictions on everything and as far as the MV as far as all those Awards and uh they were couple of guys said yeah miles Garrett we're gonna say he's gonna win again defensive MVP and then we were looking at the odds for NFL MVP and could I could not believe that Miles Garrett is 200 to one to win the NFL MVP but it's not because of who he is it's just it's those are the odds yes because it's like they're basically Vegas is just spitting in the face of the NFL and who and who gives these Awards on saying you're not gonna give him the award no matter how good he is so we'll put him at 200 to one that's how pretty much an offensive award I I'll say this Aiden Hutchinson probably deserves more love than he's getting in those odds as well for NFL MVP that's a Quarterback Award we know that I know unfortun I will say if the Lions have the same offense that they last year and they're they're top five for the third year in a row in in yardage and scoring and I'm on Ross St Brown sets the league record for receiving receptions and yardage you probably won't get yardage but I I really do think he's going to set the NFL record for receptions in a season this year he probably deserves more love than he's getting in those odds too for NFL MVP let's see where do I see H St Brown here you probably have to scroll down a little bit let me see who's the first non-quarterback that would be well that's definitely mcaffrey and mcaffrey is 40 to one and he's the first non he's really good yeah and then you got Tyreek as the first receiver but yeah I'm having to go way down here H past miles Garett it looks like a 200 and Aman is at 250 yeah that's a good one I like that one because at least he's on offense so that's right if he has like a Jerry Rice type of year then why not I mean if he if he's get it's very realistic for him to get 12 targets per game consistently um and there will be some weeks where he might get a few more than that I don't see him I don't see any game where he plays the entire game where he doesn't get 10 targets and he's going to catch 70% of those 17 games that's a lot of catches that's a lot opportunity to show off and he is incredible after the catch and Johnson is a wizard at designing plays for him to get yards after the catch I like that I think I have the third or fourth pick in my year-to year League this year so I know I'm not I wouldn't be able to get him on the with my second pick so I'd have to really be ballsy enough to think about taking them but you know what in our league because we have our rules are really about like we have rules that really favor like if you're you're a big play player no matter where you know you're if your wide receivers are starting to get drafted early so any any other fantasy fans that are watching this because I would definitely consider rolling the dice and being aggressive and taking your advice and saying he why not I'll take same PR whatever I have three or four why not so the the caveat with fantasy is he might not get a lot of touchdowns interesting and his yards per catch or he's not gonna touch he's not gonna Touch where Tyreek is um but he he's not gonna be Justin Jefferson Jamar that's that's not who he is but he's going to get you a solid 12 12 and a half um might lead the might lead the league in total Yak I don't know if it'll be per catch but like total yards after the catch yeah yeah that's that's an easy one for me yeah I know the league on men doesn't have that but there are and reception point so that that would definitely favor him more than other leagues okay so um Davenport now this could be another big this this is this is a player that really does need to produce so far so good okay so far so good he's been healthy he looks good he's a great scheme fit with his length and his ability to go speed to power or power to speed he can do both we've seen it he has been very good in Camp just for the love of God stay healthy play more than 12 games play more than two games that's that that would be great because the the one of the biggest questions on this defense and we all have it from fans to Media to the coaching staff itself who's opposite Hutch who's going to be that second pass rusher guy that's one of the reasons why they're playing Barnes more at Sam because he's very good at that and that brings a different angled Dynamic you can line him and Hutchinson up next to each other good luck blocking that but teams will try so if they do that who's the guy from the backside I really hope it's Marcus to dport and I say that knowing that Minnesota fans and New Orleans fans are laughing their butts off at me for hoping that but so far so good he's go like you said he's got to stay healthy and if you stay is healthy then uh he's still at the prime of his career so he looks good he's a good fit who is the next guy because this is another area I would think of concerned depthwise that of anything were to happen to Aiden um I'm not saying for the season just saying yeah that's that's tough um Josh Pascal has stepped up some but this is a guy who's missed a lot of time going back into college pretty much every year of his career he has and we actually got to talk to him the last practice uh he has embraced being a power guy um he's back up over 270 last year he played in the 260 range and sort of never really had a fit um you know as a stand-up rusher he's embraced being a power guy and it he's wearing it well so I think he's going to play more and more consistently but at Edge then you're then you're looking at James Houston um who's injured right now and missed most of last season with an injury and hasn't done a lot this summer um you go back to his rookie season he ended the year with with eight sacks in seven games it was phenomenal there's there are a lot of he's a very polarizing player there are a lot of fans who are still like oh you're gonna roll him back out there and he's going to get 20 sacks this year and there's then there's the reality of the fact that he repping with the third team defense consistently this summer and hasn't done a lot there um he flashes from time to time but there was a play the other day um in their in their uh practices he lined up in at the right defensive end spot and immediately Nate sudfeld audibled to a um like a delayed handoff and he because he knew that Houston would run up the field and Craig Reynolds would have a hole and sure enough Reynolds took off and and ran 60 yards down the field not getting touched um that's that's the issue with James Houston right now and also the fact that he's not healthy uh I will say that Mitchell agude is pushing him I don't know if he's going to push hard enough to get him off the roster um Isaac uku has been a very pleasant surprise I remember watching this guy at Old Miss I'm like man that guy's athletic as heck but you know the the football elevator isn't going to the top floor well it's it's starting to go up he's he's made some plays uh and U it's one of those things where you're wondering now okay maybe Old Miss wasn't a good fit for him maybe maybe he needed to be somewhere else because he's looked good um at minimum both of those guys are like massive priority practice squad guys and uh if anybody gets hurt they're they're going to rush right into that and you know with the injury history with Houston and with Pascal and with Davenport you got to have some guys there uh at the ready because uh on all three of those guys to play all 17 games is nope not going to do it yeah that's why there there's got to be concerning that as much as the team wants and in a way could really need in a way maybe needs uh Davenport to step up and deliver yeah they do 100 per. it's it's asking almost like this is like a player that really hasn't delivered so it's like wow what happens if he doesn't deliver yeah then there's a big problem I don't want to think about that but yeah you're right it's um and that's where you know if Houston can recapture some of his former glory if if AUD can can do what he's done this summer if uku can do what he's done this summer there I don't feel I'm not frightened by it it's it's it would be a bummer but it wouldn't be one of those catastrophic things now if Hutchinson goes down for any length of time that's a problem but oh yeah again existential dread about losing your stars to injury is something that plagues every team oh yeah especially the ones that aren't used to the fan bases that aren't used to the success uh that's like the one thing that always creeps back in your mind is uh Something's Gonna Happ I remember cover I remember covering the Texans team when JJ Watt first got hurt and the the proverbial wind out of the sails just went the opposite direction that was tough but they got through it um they were they were competitive again they did it did yeah all right so give me a uh you've already mentioned a few of these guys uh so yeah have you mentioned the uh the college free agent guys you've mentioned all of them that need to be talked about then pretty much yeah um maai Wingo deserves some love he and Al Al mcneel um if you're looking for a breakout C Al mcneel Al mcneel is a monster this summer he has been unblockable and he's going against Frank regg now who is arguably the best center in the league and until yesterday was the highest paid Center in the league and worthy of that um Creed Humphrey great player too like okay that's good good for him he he earned it alim's been ridiculous uh and he has he has a maturity to him this this is his fourth year and you saw him kind of break out last year there's a different sort of determination and attitude with him this year um where he's not as wide-eyed as he has been and uh he's wearing that very well new defensive line coach Terrell Williams is you cannot say enough about how significant of an addition he has been uh for for Williams for bradick Martin coming along um for McNeil um bringing Kyle PCO with him Kyle PCO is gonna start at no sackle until DJ rer is ready to go and PCO has played very well he has been better than any other version of Kyle PCO I've ever seen and uh that's nice to see because again everybody who played no sack last year is gone Isaiah bugs Bonito Jones Tyson Al took a flyer on that like that's the past we we're we're much better now yeah and that's important too because if there is an issue on the edge depthwise having that much talent inside that makes up for it oh absolutely um just one one quick thing on the the undrafted guys uh Lauren Strickland uh safety out of Ball State um he is a big time hitter he will land on the practice squad uh they like him a lot uh they got to teach him some discipline and coverage but uh you do not want to be in the way of Lauren Strickland when he's coming at you okay that sounds like someone to keep an eye on then uh all right so by the way how special teams looking so we have a Long Snapper battle Hogan Hatton is a ridiculously athletic Long Snapper he actually played some linebacker in their preseason game against the Giants and looked okay he the first punt of preseason Hogan Hatton snapped the ball he beat Jack Fox's punt to The Return Man down the field okay but he might not win the job like Scott dy's been fine too so um how long is Daly how how old is Daly dy's dy's been around a while he got hurt last year and they brought in Jake McQuade um out of mothballs and Jake was fine um he he's retired now it's uh D this is his DA's third or fourth year in Detroit um Don muach is still on the coaching staff the the greatest Long Snapper in Lions history uh he's been around dy's fine he's he's a perfectly acceptable Long Snapper um it's just the upside of Hatton is admittedly exciting yeah and then the kicker yeah well you talked about by the way about Hatton uh when we went over there the the rookies to keep an eye on you you said keep an eye on this guy he might make the team and I I do think that Dy will get it but I don't know that um and I will say this the Lions will be the exceedingly rare team to keep a long Stamper on the practice squad if Hogan Hatton doesn't make it you better believe he'll be sticking around in Detroit they love them but you know so yeah yeah so maybe it wouldn't be special for people too but I guess he's coming from kicker Jake Bates Yes W UFL Superstar he's been all over the place there are times when you're like oh my God yes there are times when you're like can you make one extra point today please because he he misses I'm just going to do a quick math in my head he's missed about 20% of his extra points this summer between preseason games and scrimmages um he's got an incredible leg he's learning the kickoff rule pretty well um he he he will be the kicker for Better or For Worse do you believe that do you believe that they won't I don't think they're going after another guy I really don't um and talking to the Special Teams coordinator Dave FIP they they are very intrigued by him they did not bring another kicker into Camp specifically to get him reps so he would be more ready for this is a guy didn't kick didn't kick field goals or extra points in high school or college like okay it it he he started out at I think it was Central Arkansas he went to Texas State um was that Arkansas briefly I think um like didn't kick at any of those he was their kickoff specialist so he basically parlayed a good UFL season into being the Detroit Lions kicker now they have been very quick to jettison guys in the past um and I'll just say this had Michael Badgley not gotten hurt and he tore his hamstring um and it was an evulsion fracture he actually tore some bone off the hamstring as well um when that happened um he would have been the kicker but he's out for a very long time um wish the money Badger well because he's a good dude and was a good kicker but uh that that's certainly a question mark and you know but it it is what it is Jack Fox is great he's one of the best punters in the league I can't say he's the best because they're there's some there's some freaky good punters in this league Craig like there's incredible punting going on right now so for those of us who care about those things it's really been neat to see well he belongs in that conversation and and and with uh Badgley um that's that was someone like you said that he really was going to help them out uh and give them some stability there so yeah what's this so what exactly happened and and what's his status overall now he's he's done uh he tore his hand yeah um and yeah it's it's it's unfor um but he he's not a superstar type of talent as far as leg wise but you know uh look the do's open now for baits yeah let I'm I'm I'm very hopeful that he will live up to it he's a nice kid I'm rooting for him but I I don't trust it yet I just gotta be straight about that I don't blame you and then uh return jobs are up for grabs and some of this deals with Isaiah Williams does he make the team or does he not make the team I think he does I think he will be one of the two kick returners I think khif Raymond will be the primary punt returner but you will see some of you could see Williams there too um you could see C vaki back there as one of the kick returners you could see Craig Reynolds has gotten some looks back there and doesn't do bad with it um but they're still sorting through that too punt returner is is leaf to lose but if he's that important to the offense that's another one where okay we've got a great return guy at Isaiah Williams um who was phenomenal at that at Illinois let's let him do that and let's let's keep khif Raymond off the Special Teams where there's risk for him to get hurt um that there's a there's that's a big school of thought in Lion's land um we'll see how that goes uh because we don't that's one thing Dave FIP is an incredibly candid guy and when you ask him questions he answers he didn't have an answer for that which means which indicated to me that they don't know the answer to it because if he knew the answer he would tell us so there we are well it sounds to me though that there still could be some movement uh in personnel with this team I I know there's a lot of uh and I think maybe even and you never know but sometimes the the the talk that comes out of like say a player like Bates that yeah oh yeah we're sticking with him he's our guy sometimes that's yeah I mean we just saw Kade York traded yesterday um we want the guy to be we want the guy to hear that so he's confident and he doesn't think that we don't believe in him but like you said yeah anything can happen exactly um especially when you're a team like this it wouldn't surprise me if he missed two field goals in week one that they have somebody else in there week two yeah so and still some uh and by the way he knows that he ba that and gets it yeah he gets it he's not on uh I don't know uh you know Tennessee or the Patriots or something like that where right be a long season yeah exactly um even though Tennessee might be better than we think but I don't know they're that's one hard team to try to figure out they're they're they're a tough one yeah if Will Lis is good they could be good and I think he might be able to be good maybe we'll see rookie rookie staff and uh lot of young lot of Youth there but yeah tough division too Houston's really good the Colts are not going away way and I think Jacksonville was better than they played last year too yep yeah well Lawrence got hurt and it's like what happened with the dolphins everything was going great they were looking like a great team and then all of a sudden well what happened well they got injured a bunch of their guys got hurt and they were a Walkin wounded team head into the postseason so and again that's that's the hope that doesn't happen to Detroit this year because this team can go they can win this Super Bowl nobody would be surprised about that no not saying that they will but they certainly can but they got to have their key players healthy what's your prediction how are you feeling about you know the team uh this particular team uh I know you try not to get over so I think I think they win the NFC North I think they will host at least one playoff game and there's not a play there's not a team that they would see in the playoffs that they cannot beat home or Road doesn't mean that they will sure but can and uh I I don't see them being a oneandone in the postseason I think they'll win at least one um but you know weird things happen in the postseason but uh the the this the concept that this team could somehow fall I don't buy into that at all um I think their floor is um a injury leading second place to the Packers in the NFC North I think that's their floor yeah and you know nine nine and eight it's weird because they I think their win line is only 10 and a half excuse me and it's tough to see like the way their schedule lays out they got an early buy they have um I think it's five Road games in seven weeks so like the schedule doesn't favor getting 13 14 wins but they're good they're they're going to be a very very good formidable football team and you're going to see a lot of them on national TV this year and for once you will be grateful that you're going to watch a lot of Detroit Lions football yeah right no I I I just uh I I think that matter of fact I wouldn't be surprised that they ended up with the number one seed uh uh s's got that Super Bowl loser uh you know stigma to deal with it's not easy a lot of Super Bowl losers they sometimes that's a really good football team but they have pretty serious questions I I don't like their secondary at all uh I I think that that's a major weakness for them and I think that the lions are a team that can exploit that I think I think Philadelphia can exploit I think Atlanta can exploit that they're they're good not not gonna not gonna say that they're not legitimate Contender because they they're very good but they are not I think the gap between them and every other team isn't nearly as big as what 49ers fans want it to be well they're very well they've got really good structure organizationally and oh 100% yeah they are very well coached they have good depth um across the board other than their secondary and kind of their offensive line but like and their system much like Detroit they know who is not a San Francisco 49er one of the things that Dan Campbell and Brad holes done a great job at in Detroit is identifying this guy might be really talented but he's not one of us and they a void those guys San Francisco also does that exceptionally well and that's that's the Hallmark of a good football team that's how you stay good for a long time um that's not how some other teams that kind of rise up and then go away do it and uh Bal Baltimore Ravens are like that too we talk we joke about this i j with tan shakka back in the day down in St Pete we would look at a player like that guy's a Baltimore Raven like you just know by looking at him we're getting to that with Detroit now and San Francisco's kind of there too like you just like that's a lion that that's a fun place to be for for some of the god awful teams that I've covered it's very nice to have a a team with a positive identity I love it it starts with the coach it does it absolutely does that's why they have that identity and by the way the thing too with San Francisco that is even though it looks like at some point they're going to figure out um not I don't talking about about the iuk situation but the Trent Williams one uh is because if anything were to happen to Trent Williams that could be a domino effect that San Francisco would never recover from so uh he can't he can't play Forever no he cannot no so uh I'm not surprised he didn't report and wants to deal because he's got him what are they gonna do say no and at this stage of his career he could just say okay then I guess I'm that's it I guess I I'll be done and we you know I I'll wait you know younger guys that they don't hold out they have to play they don't have they just can't they can't not hold out I mean they can't not skip this it's just like so I think that situation is gonna get straightened out as well but um yeah if they lose Trent Williams they have no shot I think he's that's where Detroit comes in man yeah well either way uh I think it's going to be another great season uh for the Lions and it's going to be a lot of fun watching them play I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun covering them and uh we're going to talk again during the season of course so can't wait to pick uh pick the spots when uh when we can talk and uh especially as the team gets ready to go to the postseason again fingers crossed everybody's healthy and then uh and then it's uh it's it's it'd be really cool to see what they could do in the playoffs again and maybe take that next step so God I hope so it'll be great oh yeah I'm telling forward it and the fans in the NFL they they they want new blood anyway it's like nobody wants to see Kansas City and San Francisco or Kanas City and Phil enough of that let's get some fresh blood in the Super Bowl so Jets and lions let's go with that jets would be an interesting one I'm not gonna say it's not gonna happen but yeah jet line what's why not why not absolutely all right Jeff uh by the way for anybody who doesn't know this and I'm sure uh they do anyway but uh you have your uh YouTube channel the uh Detroit Lions channel the Detroit Lions podcast yeah Detroit Lions podcast how often uh do you do your shows on that podcast we will be doing we will be doing them live once a week you will get pre-recorded from me once a week and those other people that are coming on doing a lot of shows we actually have a medical doctor on staff who's doing stuff now um he he name is Dr Jimmy Leo I'll give him a shout out does great work on like breaking down the mechanism of the injuries recovery times and variables to go along with it uh definitely worth checking his stuff out too and you're on that show how many times a week uh once live and once on Memorex for those of you who remember the old ad from 80s and do you do a postgame show yourself I do not um that uh we do have a postgame show I'm not affiliated with that one other guys handle that one I'm a little busy yeah being managing editor that'll keep you busy no question yeah it does it it really does thanks Jeff appreciate it as always all right thank you so much for having me