The Detroit Lions came to play against the Indianapolis Colts in their preseason opener, and much like the joint practices they’ve had recently, it was pretty much the Lions game for all 60 minutes.

Stock Up: Kenny Golladay, WR

Golladay has been making waves all throughout camp with his size, hands and athleticism, so he was one that fans were excited to see coming into the preseason opener. He answered any outstanding questions handily by catching two high difficulty touchdown passes while being covered by the Colts second rounder out of Florida, Quincy Wilson. It’s not clear how many touches Golladay will get once the regular season rolls around, but he’s making it tough to justify keeping him off the field this early.

Stock Down: Graham Glasgow, OG

The offensive line is going to be a point of contention for a while, but it’s a bit disappointing to see a player like Glasgow that so many were high on not looking like he’s developed much. While other lineman were looking better than expected, the left guard spot continues to look shaky- enough so that I’m not sure how long it is before we’re seeing someone else jumping in and getting first ream reps at the position.

Stock Up: Greg Robinson, OT

Usage wise, it’s impossible to say that Cyrus Kouandjio is even in the running to start at left tackle anymore. Instead, the presumed starter while Taylor Decker recovers is still Greg Robinson and he has been slowly trending in the right direction. He looked good in the preseason opener despite a fairly tough assignment and after the first teams were off the field he stayed in and made short work of the Colts’ second and third team defenders.

Stock Down: Michael Roberts, TE

The Detroit Lions fourth-round pick has struggled with drops and ball control throughout training camp, and he had those same issues in real action against the Colts. Roberts fumbled once in bounds leading to a Colts turnover and points, and again he would fumble out of bounds later. Lions tight ends coach Al Golden could be seen giving him the business after he lost the ball that second time, so you can bet it is going to be a huge part of his work this week.

Stock Up: Jeremiah Valoaga, DE

When Kerry Hyder went down with an injury, the undrafted rookies got their time to shine. Valoaga showed in the Lions mock game that he can be a force off the edge if given a chance and he got to show that to the Colts first, second and third team offenses. He isn’t blazing fast, nor is he incredibly powerful, but his motor simply doesn’t stop and he has a good shot to be a George Johnson or, more recently, Kerry Hyder type of player.

Stock Down: This format

You know, sometimes not enough players perform well or badly enough to get up here. I need to rethink how I put these together. Whatever. Let me know in the comments who you think stunk badly enough that I should have dogged on them more.

Quick Hits

Stock Up

Ameer Abdullah, RB - Abdullah saw his first game action since his Lisfranc injury in 2016. He looked very good, promising for the future.
Alex Barrett, DE - Barrett has had a strong camp and was quick to capitalize on extra reps when Kerry Hyder went down.
Jace Billingsley, WR - The second-year receiver made a couple nice plays on second-team offense and looked fine on his special teams reps in the second-half.
Jarrad Davis, LB - The Lions drafted Davis to be the team’s field general, and he’s been at least that and probably more so far.
Bruce Gaston, DT - Gaston has a long way to make the roster, but looked good in his limited third-team action.
D.J. Hayden, CB - Hayden is a sure tackler, and his coverage skills were showing much better against the Colts than they have been in training camp.
Khari Lee, TE - Lee made a couple of nice catches including one late in the game where he fought off multiple defenders for extra yardage.
Steve Longa, LB - Longa, like any reserve LB, needed to make an impression on ST and he did so.
Pat O’Connor, DE - O’Connor repped very late behind two UDFAs, but he forced a fumble against the third team and that’s a good sign for his future.
Kasey Redfern, P - It means little for the Lions, but Kasey Redfern has been showcasing a rocket of a leg that might make him trade bait or a post-cut signee.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB - JRM looked solid on defense and excellent on special teams. He’s improved every practice in that regard and continues to do so.
A’Shawn Robinson, DT - Knocking down two passes is nothing to scoff at for a defensive lineman. A’Swat is keeping his 2016 momentum.
Jake Rudock, QB - Rudock wasn’t showing perfect accuracy on his throws, but his field awareness was top notch and his underrated athleticism was on display.
Travis Swanson, OC - Swanson was easily the best offensive lineman in the game, for either team. Good to see him back.
Teez Tabor, CB - The Lions used Tabor in off-zone coverage often and he showed fine click-and-close ability. More importantly, his tackling (a huge weakness in college) was very good.
Charles Washington, FS - Washington needed to show some ST ability with Don Carey sidelined, and he delivered.
Dwayne Washington, RB - Washington looked good as a runner, though his KR duties should be pulled as soon as possible.
Antwione Williams, LB - Williams has been lighting up camp and the Colts got to feel his energy first hand. The guy likes to hit, likes to tackle.
Paul Worrilow, LB - Worrilow won’t be starting, so he needs to contribute on special teams. When the gunners missed, he was there to make the play.
Anthony Zettel, DE - The second-year end has looked good all of camp and was finding his way into the backfield routinely for the Lions.

Stock Down

Matt Asiata, RB - Asiata came in as the fifth RB and looked pretty bad both running and receiving. Not a good start.
Adairius Barnes, CB - Barnes had one good play on special teams, but made an unforgiveable one later, nearly interfering with Jamal Agnew’s catch, and had a late PI.
Alex Carter, SS - I’m probably being picky here, but Alex Carter dropped an interception (which means it was a good play overall) that he really shouldn’t have.
Brandon Copeland, DE - Copeland looked slow and clunky in pursuit on a couple plays, a stark contrast with Barrett and Valoaga who both looked smooth and tough. Left the game later with an injury.
Joe Dahl, OG - Dahl had a tough start to the game and was vying with Graham Glasgow to see who could look worse on any given play.
Dontez Ford, WR - The rookie had a bad drop that nearly became a pick, then a penalty. He had a late TD, so he might last a little longer.
Tion Green, RB - Green repped only with the third team and didn’t do very many positive things when he had opportunities, including a third down drop.
Kerry Hyder, DE- As we wait for news, we can only speculate on how serious his injury is. That’s never a good sign.
Leo Koloamatangi, OC - Koloamatangi was, for the first time, not the second-team center. Instead, Graham Glasgow took those snaps.
Cyrus Kouandjio, OT - With Robinson owning the starting gig, it’s hard to put Kouandjio anywhere else.
Keshawn Martin, WR - For someone who has played well in camp, Martin had some deep, deep reps both at returner and receiver.
Matt Prater, K - Prater missed a kick that he usually makes. Better to have these mistakes now.
Laken Tomlinson, OG - Laken Tomlinson has now been relegated to the third team. I’m not sure the Lions even view him rotationally at backup, a surprise given Dahl’s struggles.

Wrap Up

We’ll be doing coach write ups as well during the season, but since we’re not there yet I’m going to just throw in a couple general observations. The Lions ran much more of the base scheme that Teryl Austin used in 2014 on defense, a very watered down version of it. That means more off coverage and more blitzes. The team blitzed Jamal Agnew late in the game, something they’ve done a ton of in camp. Despite losing Ziggy Ansah to PUP and Kerry Hyder to an unknown injury early, the Lions pass rushers outside, notably Zettel, Valoaga, and Barrett, look like they can be competent pieces in a rotation for the long term. That’s a good thing, but the Colts offensive line is known to be terrible and nobody stood out against the early team to think the pass rush will be a strength or even much less of a weakness. Still, it’s a good sign to have young players who look like they can contribute. Who impressed you against the Colts? Do you disagree with any of the stocks above? Let us know in the comments.