Brad Holmes Reveals Lions Training Camp Battles He Has Focused On

Brad Holmes talks about the training camp battles at tight end and at the linebacker position.

The Detroit Lions have several interesting training camp battles that have emerged in the first week since pads have been put on.

General manager Brad Holmes recently joined SiriusXM NFL Radio to explore which battles taking place have caught his attention. 

"We've got some battles that --  you're talking about our number two tight end spot behind (T.J) Hockenson. We've got a lot of young guys. James Mitchell, who we drafted -- he's coming along very well where he's out there practicing and he's ready to roll. So that's going to be a good battle."

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson noted this week that Mitchell has stood out due to his mental capacity and his awareness of all of his responsibilities on the field. 

"James is a little bit different, though, than most rookies. I think he kind of separates himself a little bit from those guys just in terms of his mental capacity," Johnson said. "He has been very impressive in the meeting room and and walkthrough so far the stuff that he has been able to do. So from that aspect, I'm really encouraged. It's now how many more reps can we get them within practice, the full speed to get the play speed up to get the thinking up. But, yesterday was a good step. I think he had 17 reps yesterday, so we'll keep up in that and keep seeing where that goes."

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The battle that has intrigued several members of the coaching staff and the front office has been at the linebacker spot. 

After the first week, it is possible the Lions could use a rotations of four to five linebackers this season. 

"We got fierce competition in the inside linebacker room," Holmes said. "We got some young guys that are making noise. That year one to year two leap that we were talking about with Derrick Barnes. I mean, that's been extraordinary. And it's more so, he just knows what's going on now. ... Now, he knows what we're doing and he has been much better in the communication. Also, like a Malcolm Rodriguez -- he's been out here and he's been making noise. So, that's going to be a heated competition. And even in our secondary, at corner, you get that back into the safety group and let's see how well those guys perform on special teams."