Detroit Lions training camp Week 1 mailbag: Should you buy the Jeff Okudah hype?

With the first week of training camp in the books, it’s only natural for fans—and some media—to overreact from a handful of training camp observation notes. Jared Goff is horrible. Dan Campbell is a crazy man who incites violence. Aaron Glenn will eventually be the next Bill Belichick, and Jeff Okudah will jump to All-Pro status this year.

Wait... let’s actually talk about that last one. Okay, obviously expecting that big of a jump in one year is a bit much, but the 2020 third overall pick does look completely different in camp. And when I say completely different, I mean exactly that. He’s got a new number, he carries himself in an unrecognizable way, he’s smiling, he’s brimming with confidence, and, more importantly, he’s making plays and making life difficult for the Detroit Lions receiving corps.

But it’s just training camp. The Lions have barely had any live reps with pads, and Okudah certainly hasn’t tested out this “New Me” on a top-tier receiver yet.

So is it too early to buy the hype? Should we all just sit on our hands until at least a preseason game or should we throw any reservations in the trash and just enjoy the wild optimism?

That’s just one of many questions we answer on this week’s First Byte, as we welcome our own Erik Schlitt to the podcast to share his observations from camp. Other topics include:

• What’s going on with Levi Onwuzurike?
• Where does Quintez Cephus fit?
• Biggest surprises/disappointments from camp?
• Who is a bubble player we’d like to see make the 53-man roster?
• Is Jalen Reeves-Maybin in trouble?

You can check out the episode below, or catch it on our PODcast feeds, available on all of these platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio. Don’t forget to follow Pride Of Detroit on Twitch to get notified when we record and chat with us. Video replays are available on both Twitch and YouTube.