Friday open thread: Which Lions player are you most excited about after minicamp?

On Thursday, the Detroit Lions wrapped up their three-day minicamp. Because all three practices were open to the media, we actually got a decent amount of information about the team. We’re still far off from know things like specific schemes or who will end up winning training camp battle, but a few players have made early impressions and we’ve even seen some play new positions.

The offseason hype train can often be misleading. With no contact allowed during this phase of practices, we don’t get a true look at any of these players’ potential, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. As a result, some players who will end up having minimal or no role at all can shine in their limited participation.

That being said, every now and then a player lives up to the hype. A guy like Theo Riddick was someone who constantly stood out during offseason workouts, and the running back has emerged as one of the better third-down backs in the league.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which Lions player excites you the most after this week’s minicamp practices?

My answer: Kenny Golladay.

Golladay earned himself quite a bit of hype in his very first NFL game last season. Against the Cardinals, he caught four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. But for the rest of his rookie season, which was hampered by injury, Golladay failed to live up to the hype. In the remaining 10 games he played, he only caught 24 passes for 408 yards and one touchdown.

While I’ve never really doubted that Golladay would rebound in 2018, the reports coming out of minicamp have me giddy over his immediate potential. Check it out:

• “Golladay is torching everyone down there,” wrote MLive’s Kyle Meinke, referring to his red zone performance.
• From Justin Rogers’ Wednesday observations: “Kenny Golladay had a strong day of practice and beat Tabor for touchdowns on back-to-back plays in seven-on-sevens.”
• Meinke summarizes what this could mean for 2018 quite nicely:

“Kenny Golladay continues to just manhandle the defense in the red zone, this time beating Teez Tabor twice for touchdowns. And here’s betting you’ll see him do a lot more of that this season. He’s built like a WR1, but is going to be facing a lot of second-tier backs with defenses focusing their game plans on slowing Golden Tate and Marvin Jones. He should have some favorable matchups this year, particularly in the red zone.”

If that doesn’t get your blood pumping, I don’t know what will. Everything depends on how the Lions plan on using him in 2018, but I think Golladay is a serious candidate to score double-digit touchdowns this season and potentially lead the team in receiving yards, too.

Honorable mention: Teez Tabor

Your turn.