Detroit Lions training camp stock report: Secondary bounces back

When we last took stock of the Detroit Lions roster, it was a pretty good day for the wide receiver group and consequently a bad one for the defensive backfield. With another day of practice in the books, the tables were turned a bit and it was the secondary that shined both in individual and team drills. Players like Johnson Bademosi and Ian Wells, who struggled previously, stood out among their peers. It wasn’t just the secondary that turned things around, as the offensive line got some sweet, sweet revenge on a defensive front that abused them in recent days.

Stock Up: Graham Glasgow

The rookie center has been playing almost exclusively with the third team prior to this point, but took almost every second team rep in practice. Glasgow is coming along slowly, but he held his own against an aggressive defensive line that had momentum from recent practices. So far, Glasgow’s methodic progress is mirroring that of Larry Warford in 2013 who had to fight to earn his starting job. He’s actually ahead of where Travis Swanson was at the same time, but Swanson was in a much worse position so it’s not a completely fair comparison.

Stock Down: Alex Carter

While a majority of the defensive secondary looked good in practice, one player in particular stood out for a different reason. Alex Carter looked sluggish and slow in position drills, failing to transition from his backpedal and reacting slowly in man coverage. This set him up for his worst play of the day, when he came into some first-team reps across from Golden Tate. I don’t think I need to explain how poorly those reps turned out, as you can imagine he was completely over-matched. You could take it as a good sign that Carter was given some time with first team, but it was not an impressive showing for the second year cornerback.

Stock Up: Stevan Ridley

I’m a noted critic of Stevan Ridley, but the free agent acquisition showed some things to justify his signing in practice. After a quiet Monday where he failed to make any impression, good or bad, Ridley had several plays that showed promise. He was noticeably faster in drills than he had been previously and had a nice move on the outside that sent one linebacker into the sidelines. Ridley also caught a tough throw from Jake Rudock that required adjustment and managed to get upfield yards on a play that in most cases would have been incomplete or a loss. Ridley still struggled when running up the gut, which will be his primary job if he makes the team. While George Winn and Zach Zenner showed decisiveness going up the middle, Ridley hesitated on several plays off center and had several instances of wasted movement you don’t want to see. This dancing behind the line has been my biggest criticism of Ridley, but if he can add value in other ways as he showed in practice, then it might not ultimately matter.

Stock Down: Jon Bostic

After a solid practice on Monday with the first team, Bostic had some moments that remind us why he never played Will before. Most embarrassing was a simple drag run by Eric Ebron where Bostic had position, which he then lost and gave up on when Ebron made the catch. It wasn’t ideal. Bostic was also the culprit on one of the runs up the middle, though he at least had the excuse of getting leveled by Michael Burton on that one. Bostic has been the primary backup in camp so far, but plays like that will get other guys looks.

Stock Up: Michael Burton

Speaking of Michael Burton, he’s pretty damn great. I’m not going to gush too much on how well he’s played in camp (great), but why his stock is up now is due to usage. The team used a ton of fullback plays in camp for all three teams and Burton as the lone fullback was in on all of them. In all but one of the big runs up the middle, it was Burton opening the biggest holes and the guy can add two or three yards to every run play. He’s violent as a blocker, even in practice, and he’s going to be a fun one to watch this coming season, especially if the line plays well as a whole.

Stock Down: Geoff Schwartz

Geoff Schwartz is a great guy and you should absolutely follow him on Twitter and check out his podcast. He also didn’t have a great practice. It wasn’t a terrible one, but from a stock perspective it ends up being so because all the other guards performed well. Laken Tomlinson was great, Larry Warford was violent, and Joe Dahl fought himself to a draw while showing off some strong footwork. With Graham Glasgow on the roster, the team will certainly be rostering two centers, and with Dahl onboard it means an extra guard is a luxury. Schwartz has to justify that spot, and he didn’t do anything to stand out in that regard.

Quick Hits

Stock Up

Johnson Bademosi: Brought to the team for ST ability, he looked smooth in position and team drills.
Jace Billingsley: Gotta give the guy a shout out after a terrible outing Monday, didn’t drop a single pass that I saw and caught a bunch.
Anquan Boldin: Lions QBs are intentionally throwing bad passes at Boldin to see if he can catch them. He can.
Michael Burton: I know, I mentioned him earlier, just want a reminder that he’s really good.
Rafael Bush: Bush looked serviceable in team drills, a step up from previous practices.
Crezdon Butler: I didn’t see him play, but he took reps as the No. 6 corner -- highest he’s been so far.
Andre Caldwell: The veteran receiver had a couple nice plays and is on the short list for kick returner.
Don Carey: Back on the field, a good sign he can start earning his roster spot again.
Joe Dahl: Dahl got some second-team work and looked okay. Not a bad start.
Taylor Decker: He’s looked the best I’ve seen him and his college footwork problems were nowhere to be seen.
Marvin Jones: Jones has some seriously soft hands and continues to be a consistent downfield target for Stafford.
TJ Jones: Jones caught a pass in traffic against Darius Slay who was not only blanketing him but got a hand on the ball.
Jimmy Landes: It’s still rocky for this rookie, but he looked a lot better than he had on Monday.
Nevin Lawson: I didn’t see much of him play-wise, but he’s being treated like a safe starter by the staff, sitting out all ST drills and working solely with Slay and Diggs.
Keith Lewis: Lewis had an awful Monday, so looking just okay in practice is a big jump.
Cornelius Lucas: Rare you see his name here, Lucas played second-team left tackle and held his own.
Matthew Mulligan: Mulligan faces a tough road to the roster, but caught several passes and looked good with second team.
Riley Reiff: Finally got to see some of that aggression from Reiff we were being told about.
Andre Roberts: The free agent receiver made a couple nice grabs despite off-target throws and looked comfortable at kick returner.
A’Shawn Robinson: The rookie DT completely leveled Gabe Ikard. You don’t want him on the ground in that situation, but he won his fight and may have pulled a hold.
Jake Rudock: He wasn’t as terrible as Monday. Still bad, but baby steps I guess. Threw one pass about 20 yards from any receiver, that was a fun one.

Khyri Thornton: The former Packer did some work with first team and was impressive. Intrigued to see more.
Laken Tomlinson: The second-year guard looked smooth and powerful while acting as the pulling guard and won several battles man blocking straight up.
Larry Warford: Warford looked like his old self for a while, he didn’t win every battle but didn’t look sluggish or slow despite the heat and aggressive DL.
Dwayne Washington: He didn’t look great, but got some work as a returner and wasn’t carrying the football like a dirty diaper. That’s improvement.
Ian Wells: The undrafted rookie out of Ohio looked incredibly smooth in position drills, not out of place like he had on Monday.
Tahir Whitehead: Got his hand on a Stafford pass that was then intercepted. Good day for a guy that has largely been quiet.
Cole Wick: The guy continues to impress, what can I say?
Gabe Wright: His roster spot is still questionable, but Wright once again won several of his battles, notable on a day the OL was winning most.

Stock Down

Adairius Barnes: The rookie again had a bad day, one of the few that looked poor all day.
Josh Bynes: Bynes was already knocked out as the top backup LB and he got torched in a coverage drill where Kyle Van Noy looked spot on.
Orson Charles: Charles nearly took out Cole Wick when he ran the wrong route. He also dropped at least one pass that, while off target, was easily catchable.
Quinshad Davis: Still caught everything, but I got to see his movement skills in space and why he was undrafted became pretty clear.
Adam Fuehne: Who? Exactly. Made no impact while all the other TEs got more play.
Wallace Gilberry: We’re now two practices in for me, and I still haven’t seen him once. I’m sure he’s playing, but other guys are making actual plays.
Zaviar Gooden: Billed as a cover linebacker, Gooden hasn’t looked good in coverage yet.
Khaseem Greene: Greene hasn’t made any impact over two practices I’ve seen in a tough to break lineup.
Jeremy Kerley: He didn’t look as bad as Monday, but he was once again the odd man out on a day several receivers looked good.
Raphael Kirby: Finally sighted on the sidelines wearing a wrap on his knee, he’s likely headed to IR in the coming days.
Luke Marquardt: Had little impact, but at least one head-scratchingly terrible play where he blocked no one at all.
Caraun Reid: With Khyri Thornton and Gabe Wright making plays, and Reid doing the opposite, how long before he loses snaps?
Quanterus Smith: Looked out of place attempting to pass rush and had no impact.
Travis Swanson: Swanson didn’t look very good despite the line as a whole improving. Much like the second half of 2015.
Golden Tate: Don’t worry, he mostly looked good, just gotta ding him for dropping his first pass of practice.
Darrin Walls: If Lawson is truly locked in and Bademosi is improving, that’s not a good sign for Walls.
George Winn: Stevan Ridley and Zach Zenner each got increased opportunities on the day and looked good. Either Winn didn’t get those opportunities or didn’t do anything with them.
Anthony Zettel: If anyone finds Zettel, please let us know so we can return him to the team where he’s supposed to be fighting for reps on the defensive line.