Detroit Lions CB Jeff Okudah's preseason debut 'encouraging' sign of things to come
Jeff Okudah got beat for a third-down conversion that set up the Atlanta Falcons' first touchdown, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he was pleased with Okudah's play in last week's preseason opener in his return from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
"Listen, he did some good things," Campbell said Monday. "It was encouraging. We came out of this game encouraged with Jeff."
The No. 3 pick of the 2020 NFL draft, Okudah played 18 snaps in a reserve role at cornerback, but entered the game on the Falcons' opening possession after Will Harris left temporarily with a hand injury.
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Okudah finished with three tackles — tied for second-most on the team — and was effective in run support while playing on the same field he injured his Achilles in the Lions' season-opener last September.
Okudah, who went 334 days between game snaps, and Harris have split first-team reps throughout training camp and both are expected to play a significant role on the Lions defense this fall.
On Monday, in the Lions' first practice since the Falcons game, Okudah started with the first-team defense, though Harris also played with the unit.
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"It was like, ‘OK, this is pretty good,’ just to see him get up there and press a little bit, challenge, and then, man, he’s getting involved in some of these tackles," Campbell said. "And so I would say we were encouraged. That’s the best way to say it, it was encouraging.”
Along with Okudah, Campbell mentioned two rookies, third-round pick Kerby Joseph and sixth-rounder Malcolm Rodriguez, when asked to name players who caught his eye against the Falcons.
Rodriguez made a tackle on the Lions' first kickoff and had one defensive stop in 21 snaps. He has played well all training camp and is pushing for a starting job on defense alongside Alex Anzalone.
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Joseph, who has worked primarily as a backup this summer, had a team-high six tackles and played 43 defensive snaps, tied with Juju Hughes for most on the team.
"I would say Kerby showed up," Campbell said. "Didn’t quite know where he was going to be at or what it was going to look like, and we’ve been on his rear in practice. I mean, we’ve been pretty hard on him, and now he’s needed it. But he showed up, I mean the lights came on, and he did some things on special teams and on defense that is extremely encouraging."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Jeff Okudah had 'encouraging' preseason debut
