A lot packed into this article. Some highlights:
Dan Campbell was not happy
Kicking the can (Bates has a bad day–perhaps creating an opening for another K to be brought in)
Biggest standouts:
Ifeatu Melifonwu – the safety lost his first rep in coverage to TE Shane Zylstra and then pitched a shutout for the rest of the drill. “Iffy” had a great day overall, including a pass breakup against Brock Wright on the sidelines in a situational drill near the end of practice.
Morice Norris – an undrafted rookie safety from Fresno State, Norris had one of the very few actual pass breakups in swatting a ball away, and he scored a victory in the pass rush drill too with a bull rush win vs. Sam LaPorta. No. 39 is having a very solid camp.
Derrick Barnes – Barnes beat David Montgomery for a pass rush win, the only loss No. 5 had in the drill (Montgomery did drop a pass vs. Jack Campbell later in the drill). Barnes also forced an overthrow by hustling in coverage after initially losing on the break. He did get smoked by Jahmyr Gibbs on a coverage rep where No. 26 just simply ran away from him.
Kerby Joseph – No. 31 had two clear wins in the coverage portion of the drill, but his emphatic and easy pass rush win over Brock Wright was a stunner. Joseph isn’t known for his work close to the line of scrimmage but he laid waste to Wright (very rough all-around day for No. 89, including special teams) and also won a split decision rep against James Mitchell.
Sean McKeon – handily the best pass protector of any of the TEs or RBs, the veteran tight end pitched a clean slate in that part of the drill. McKeon initially got open nicely on one route versus Brandon Joseph but a throw that was behind him cost him the win on the rep.
Secret superstar - Nate Lynn
Lynn still doesn’t have a photo in a Lions uniform, but the undrafted rookie EDGE from William & Mary continues to have an impressive summer. Wearing No. 57, he stood out several times in various drills on Thursday.
The best time to shine is in team drills, and that’s where Lynn thrived. Often working against rookie OT Giovanni Manu, Lynn effectively lived in the backfield on passing plays. He had two reps vs. Manu that were certain sacks, one on an instant pressure off an inside rip, and another (this one against Connor Galvin) where he flushed Nate Sudfeld into a sack by Mitchell Agude coming from the other side of the defense.
I didn’t catch every rep of Lynn’s in the pit drill, but I had him credited with one win against Ike Boettger and a draw with Colby Sorsdal, his college teammate. He showed out very well with some family in attendance.
