Detroit Lions training camp observations: 2 undrafted CBs have a shot at roster spots

The Detroit Lions surprised some when they left April's NFL draft without addressing the cornerback position.

They missed on the draft's top cornerback, Illinois' Devon Witherspoon, with the sixth pick; he went to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 5. They passed on Oregon's Christian Gonzalez, the draft's No. 2 corner, for running back Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12. And while they took Alabama safety/nickel corner Brian Branch in Round 2, they didn't add another defensive back until undrafted free agency.

Well, two of the UDFAs the Lions signed in May have played prominent roles with the second-team defense this summer, and a week into training camp, both are making convincing cases to be on the 53-man roster this fall.

BACK IN ACTION: C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee) returns to Lions practice; rookie Antoine Green out

PENEI SAVER: The rising star of Lions OT Penei Sewell: 'He's a man on a mission'

Starling Thomas V had an impressive spring and has played regularly as the Lions' No. 3 outside cornerback this summer. He has been on the No. 1 field (with starters and top backups) for every pre-practice installation period in camp and has gotten a smattering of first-team reps in team drills.

For most of the past week, since free-agent signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson left practice with a knee injury, Steven Gilmore has joined Thomas with the second-team defense; on Saturday, he was one of the stars of practice with an interception, a forced fumble and at least one other pass breakup.

"We like Gilly," Lions coach Dan Campbell said before practice. "We liked his tape, too, when he was coming out and he has some awareness about him, he has some instincts, he has ball skills, pretty good movement skills. I think for him, it’s going to be some of it — along with development, is the physical development. He’s not a real big guy. He has to get a little bit of mass on him, get a little bit stronger. I think that will be — that’s kind of going to be part of what, with him, how fast can those things come to really help him? But we see growth out of him."

The younger brother of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore, Steven had seven interceptions in his final three seasons at Marshall and has shown a similar nose for the ball this summer.

On Saturday, he made an easy interception in team drills when Nate Sudfeld and Maurice Alexander had a mixup on a play, then punched a ball loose from Denzel Mims two periods later when Mims lowered his head to try and run through the cornerback on a short sideline route.

"He left the ball loose so I just went for the ball," Gilmore said. "Our coach A.G. (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn), he’s been preaching us knocking the ball out, so I see him telling us that, I just try to go out here and do it."

Both Gilmore and Thomas have taken a head-down approach to camp, working with vets to learn the defense and letting their play speak on the field. Gilmore said he talks daily with his brother — a five-time Pro Bowler with the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers — for advice and support, too.

Gardner-Johnson returned to practice on a limited basis Saturday, which should allow his fill-in, Will Harris, to see more outside cornerback reps soon, and Emmanuel Moseley is due to report to the team next week after undergoing a procedure on his surgically repaired knee earlier this summer, so Gilmore and Thomas could see their workloads shift in the coming weeks.

Both players have made favorable impressions so far, though, and the Lions haven't been scared to keep and play UDFA corners, such as Jerry Jacobs, in the past.

"We’re just out here trying to get better each and every day," Gilmore said. "Starling, we’re in the same position, just come out here hungry. Just try and make our impact every time we step out here on the field. Having a guy like that that’s been in the same position as you, it’s always good to see them do good as well, so it’s been great."

More observations from Saturday's practice:

Praise for Spielman

Campbell opened his pre-practice news conference Saturday with a thank you to Lions special assistant Chris Spielman.

"He does a lot for us and he’s kind of a little bit unseen and not always heard on the outside, but I’ll tell you what, he’s an important confidant and I’m glad he’s here," Campbell said. "He’s somebody that kind of — he certainly helps keep me straight and tells me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. So I always appreciate that about him. I just wanted to get that off my chest."

Spielman, the former Lions great, rejoined the organization in December of 2020 and helped run the search that lead the team to hire Campbell and Brad Holmes. He wears myriad hats for the organization — on any given day, he might lend a hand with coaching or scouting or simply being a sounding board.

No job is too small for Spielman, as a fellow reporter pointed out: He was filling in divots on the practice field Sunday with a bucket of fill labeled, "Chris's Magic Mix Bucket."

"I just I got to thinking about him and I’m like, ‘I don’t give him enough credit,’ and he needs that," Campbell said. "He does. Not for him, because he’s not looking for it, but he just does.”

Glasgow going strong in return

The Lions practiced without two of their top seven linemen Saturday as Halapoulivaati Vaitai sat out his second practice this week with a sore back and Penei Sewell did not participate with an undisclosed injury. Matt Nelson took first-team reps at right tackle in Sewell's absence, and Graham Glasgow worked as the starting right guard for the fifth time in six practices.

I'll share my thoughts on the top position battles in camp sometime next week in the space, after seeing a few more padded practices, but Glasgow certainly seems to be the man to beat for the right guard job for now, based on both his health and spot in the pecking order.

He took a few reps in place of center Frank Ragnow in team drills for the first time this summer Saturday, too. Glasgow dislocated a finger on his snapping hand years ago and plays with his ring and middle fingers taped together. When he plays guard, he wears a glove on that hand. When he plays center, he doesn't. So in the middle of practice Saturday — before going out to snap — he had to take his glove off and get his fingers taped by trainers, then put the glove back on when he went back to guard.

Houston hurt?

One other injury of note: I did not see what happened, but James Houston finished practice Saturday watching from the sideline in slides. Houston was still in his pads, so I can't imagine he was dealing with anything serious, but his absence was notable nonetheless. Charles Harris has taken most of the first-team reps at outside linebacker this summer, and Julian Okwara was out there for the Lions' lone situational period at the end of practice Saturday.

Highlight reel

The Lions ran about 60 plays of 11-on-11 over six periods Saturday, so I had a notebook full of observations. Some of the highlights:

∎ Rookies Brodric Martin and Jack Campbell both played with the first-team defense Sunday, and Martin in particular made his presence felt early in a physical run period. On the first play, Martin tossed Ragnow aside to stuff David Montgomery for a loss. One play later, Aidan Hutchinson shed a Brock Wright block to make another tackle for loss.

FRIDAY'S OBSERVATIONS: First day of pads an eye-opener for rookies

Martin, as I've noted before, stands out for his size (6 feet 5, 330 pounds), but both Ragnow and Glasgow reiterated Saturday what Dan Campbell noted Friday: Martin needs to play with better pad level. I don't think Isaiah Buggs is in danger of losing his starting job to Martin soon, as he's a solid run defender who played well in 2022. But the Lions are feeding Martin reps to see how quickly he can come along.

∎ The defense outperformed the offense as a whole. Linebackers Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez also had would-be tackles for loss against the first-team offense in the run period. Rodriguez shed a blocker to make his stop on Montgomery, while Barnes came flying in from the backside for a tackle.

Jack Campbell had a would-be sack in the same period while playing with the second-team defense, and Josh Paschal beat a block from Germain Ifedi for another TFL while working with the twos.

∎ Jared Goff threw incomplete on his longest pass of the day, a bomb to Josh Reynolds with Cam Sutton in coverage. Reynolds had Sutton beat on the play, but Goff hung the pass up long enough for Tracy Walker to come over and help. Marvin Jones, who is rehabbing from a back injury, walked by just as the pass fell incomplete in front of a group of fans and said, "I've been waiting to get one of those."

∎ Running back Jermar Jefferson tried to hurdle Chase Lucas on a run play midway through practice with no luck, but a period later, Amon-Ra St. Brown drew "ooohs" from the crowd with a nice open-field cutback that caused Walker to slip on the wet grass.

∎ The defense got two stops in the Lions' situational period at the end of practice, a first-and-10 from the 49 with 51 seconds on the clock. Trailing 26-20 and with one timeout, Goff opened the offensive drive with a short checkdown to Craig Reynolds but coaches kept the clock running, deciding Reynolds didn't get out of bounds.

Goff threw incomplete on second down then completed a 23-yard pass over the middle to Mims on third-and-6. After a timeout to stop the clock with 20 seconds left, Goff threw clock-killing incompletions the next two snaps. Julian Okwara got enough pressure on the second that it might have resulted in a game-ending sack, so Dan Campbell reset the situation, putting the offense in third-and-10 from the 15 with 9 seconds left.

Goff threw a short checkdown to Khalif Raymond on the first play, and Charles Harris ended the drive with a would-be sack (though coaches let the play continue and Josh Reynolds dropped a pass in the end zone).

∎ Parker Romo made all five of his field goal attempts — from 33, 41, 44, 47 and 50 yards — while Riley Patterson went 4-for-5 with what looked like a miss from 33 yards. It's still far too early to pick a winner in the kicking competition.

∎ In one-on-one passing drills, St. Brown got good separation to catch passes in his both his reps against Sutton, creating a big cushion both times, while Sutton blanketed Reynolds the only time they matched up. Raymond shook Branch with a great route when he faked an out and ran a post, Khalil Dorsey had two pass breakups on throws to Chase Cota, and Alexander finished with a catch on a comeback against Gilmore after dropping the first ball thrown his way.

Fandemonium

The Lions had a good turnout of more than 2,500 fans for their first season-ticketholder practice of the spring Saturday, especially considering the weather — rain before and at the end of practice, and mostly overcast skies. Just a reminder, all public tickets have been claimed for the Lions' open practices this summer, so unlike past years, you can't drop in to Allen Park on a whim to take in a workout.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions camp observations: UDFA CB Steven Gilmore has a big day