Detroit Lions training camp Day 7 stock report: Signs of life at left tackle

Training camp rolled along, and the penultimate day of open practices drew to a close on Sunday. The team took it a bit slower than they have on most days of practice, likely due to the energy they expended at the mock game on Saturday. So while it wasn’t the most exciting day of training camp, it was easily one of the best in terms of player performance. I’ve gotta tell you, it’s days like these that make a format like this a little tough. There weren’t really many players who had bad days, and the ones that did were pretty miniscule. Let’s dive in!

Stock Up: Greg Robinson, OT

Robinson easily had his best day of camp on Sunday. He got the better of Anthony Zettel on nearly every rep they faced off and he also stonewalled both Jeremiah Valoaga and Alex Barrett on some reps. There were a couple reps that weren’t great in the run game, one in particular where he allowed Tahir Whitehead to spin him around and get off his block, but aside from that it was a very productive day. With Cyrus Kouandjio out for the day, Robinson had the first practice where I can say he put some distance between the two.

Stock Down: Anthony Zettel, DE

The flipside to that coin is that Anthony Zettel didn’t play well at all. Robinson continually had his number and Zettel was unable to counter anything Robinson threw at him. Even on a rep where Zettel timed the snap perfectly and was able to beat Robinson off the line, Robinson quickly recovered and nearly broke the second-year defensive end in half. There has been some back and forth between these two and I kept expecting Zettel to toast Robinson, or at least give him some pushback, but ultimately I was left wanting.

Stock Up: Kenny Golladay, WR

Kenny G, the Jazz Man, G19, Babytron, the guy has a million nicknames and he’s only a week into training camp. We have to be careful to keep from letting the hype get out of control, but at the same time, I’m not sure anyone was really prepared to see the Lions third-round pick doing so well in camp.

Regardless of who is covering him or how well, Kenny Golladay makes the catch. Nobody got the best of him on Sunday and the hype train just keeps on keeping on.

Stock Down: Nevin Lawson, CB

Lawson gave up a touchdown to Marvin Jones that he really couldn’t have done much on. It was a quick throw and Jones had the space. He also gave up a pass to Kenny “Seriously, somebody guard this rookie” Golladay. On the other hand, he had a nice pass deflection on a back shoulder throw to Golden Tate that he played perfectly and one of the other catches he gave up to Marvin Jones was so perfectly thrown that any CB in the NFL would have given it up. It wasn’t a bad day for Lawson, but hey, gotta fit somebody here.

Stock Up: Michael Roberts, TE

Michael Roberts struggled a bit during the Lions mock game on Saturday. If I had done a stock report, he would have been the first stock down. His day was much, much better on Sunday with him catching the best throw Jake Rudock has ever made in double coverage between Jarrad Davis and Tavon Wilson. He later caught another pass in solid coverage for a touchdown. Roberts was hyped as a red zone nightmare when he was drafted and we got a view of what that could look like on Sunday.

Stock Down: Matthew Stafford, QB

Stafford was fine, he had a good practice overall. I gotta put somebody here, though, so I’m going to ding Stafford for making the worst throw he’s made all camp and a weird overthrow he had earlier. His bad throw was on pressure by Akeem Spence, who charged in through a massive hole created by Kerry Hyder and A’Shawn Robinson to get into Stafford’s face. This forced a throw by Stafford to Khari Lee in some dangerous coverage and it was almost picked off by Johnson Bademosi.

Quick Hits

Stock Up

Jared Abbrederis, WR - He was on Teez Tabor all day, and if you’ve been following along, you know that means he did well.
Alex Barrett, DE - Barrett, like Valoaga, has been getting a ton of reps and making the most of them. Barrett did better at LE than RE, however.
Jace Billingsley, WR - Billingsley had a good day running routes and catching passes, but he also lined up in the backfield and blocked Alex Carter out of his shoes on a play.
Joe Dahl, OG/OC - Dahl went from primary LG2 to reserve interior offensive lineman by taking center snaps on Sunday.
Darren Fells, TE - Fells continues having a strong camp and that continued with some stellar red zone work both catching and blocking.
D.J. Hayden, CB - Hayden has been pretty quiet, but he did well in drills and gave up little.
Jordan Hill, DT - Hill has been climbing up the depth chart and seems to be vying for that passing down interior rusher role. If he can stay healthy, he’s earning it.
Marvin Jones, WR - Jones is known for his work downfield and he did a fine job showcasing that talent on Nevin Lawson.
Steve Longa, LB - Longa had one of the best hits in camp and is making a strong case for a spot on the final roster.
Kasey Redfern, P - The Lions reserve punter has had a tough go of camp, but was booming punts in special teams drills including one that netted 70 yards.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB - Some strong special teams work has seen the Lions fourth-round pick getting more work on defense.
A’Shawn Robinson, DT - The Lions monster in the middle is just as much a wall as he was last season.
Ryan Spadola, WR - Spadola has shed the knee wrap and was running well.
Akeem Spence, DT - We haven’t heard much from the former Bucs DT, but Spence made some nice plays on Sunday.
Golden Tate, WR - No showing off today, just some Golden Tate doing some Golden Tate things.
Jeremiah Valoaga, DE - Valoaga didn’t get any pressure today, but he seems to have a firmer grasp on the defense than some of his teammates.
Cornelius Washington, DE - Washington was also running and doing some light work on Sunday.
Dwayne Washington, RB - Washington bobbled another kick on Sunday, but he got some nice work in as a rusher to keep his name in the mix.
Tahir Whitehead, LB - Whitehead seems fired up to be playing on the outside and has nice chemistry with Jarrad Davis.

Stock Down

Jamal Agnew, CB - He’s won the returner job, but he struggled in coverage on Sunday.
Thurston Armbrister, LB - A couple strong days by the linebacking corps and no Thurston Armbrister to be found.
Matt Asiata, RB - I’ve seen about a million more reps from Dwayne Washington than I have Asiata, and judging by reps that isn’t a good sign for the veteran.
Don Carey, FS - Carey hasn’t done anything notable on defense. With the secondary depth as it is, it’ll be tough to carry a player for ST value alone.
Alex Carter, SS - Carter has had a good camp, but he got blocked by Jace Billingsley on Sunday, which should never happen with that size difference.
Khari Lee, TE - After a strong start, Lee’s progress has stalled a bit and he’s rarely used even on second team.
Pat O’Connor, DE - With the undrafted pass rushers doing so well, we’ve seen little from the Lions seventh-round pick.
Laken Tomlinson, OG - With Dahl moving to center, and Tomlinson having done so little, he’s, at best, the fourth guard and, at worst, on his way out.