Observations: Brian Branch Draws Praise from Teammates, Rookies Coached Hard

Here are observations from the final day of Detroit Lions' OTAs.

Just shy of 40 members of the Detroit Lions' roster returned for the final day of organized team activities. 

Veterans have been given the opportunity to not attend, as has been the case for the last two years with Dan Campbell at the helm. 

Prior to practice, several position coaches took to the podium to share their opinions of the roster and how players have progressed throughout OTAs.

Of note, running backs coach Scottie Montgomery indicated that he expects the battle for the No. 3 running back position to be an all-out battle, behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. 

Participation

• 41 - James Houston 
• 59 - Trevor Nowaske
• 48 - Zach Morton
• 12 - Hendon Hooker (Not practicing)
• 19 - Trinity Benson (Not practicing) 
• 65 - Obinna Eze
• 64 - Brad Cecil
• 63 - Max Pircher
• 75 - Colby Sorsdal
• 62 - Ryan Swodoba
• 18 - Adrian Martinez
• 4 - Emmanuel Moseley (Not practicing)
• 87 - Sam LaPorta
• 33 - Mohamed Ibrahim
• 35 - Brady Breeze
• 36- Steven Gilmore
• 46- Jack Campbell
• 40- Brandon Joseph
• 32 - Brian Branch
• 11 - Kalif Raymond
• 26 - Jahmyr Gibbs
• 27- Chase Lucas 
• 80 - Antoine Green
• 49 - Starling Thomas V
• 36 - Riley Patterson
• 88 - Chase Cota
• 83- Dylan Drummond
• 92 - Chris Smith
• 90- Corey Durden
• 98 - Brodric Martin
• 17- Michael Badgley
• 86 - Derrick Deese Jr.
• 50- Jake McQuaide
• 47 - Scott Daly
• 3 - Jack Fox
• 24 - Parker Romo

Observations

1.) Chris Spielman was on the field observing the final day of OTAs. The former NFL linebacker politely declined to be interviewed after the conclusion of practice. 

2.) The wind played a role in team drills, as the football was difficult to track for wideouts and for quarterback Adrian Martinez to navigate at times. The undrafted free agent was the only signal-caller practicing, as Hendon Hooker looked on. Martinez's first pass was intercepted by Steven Gilmore. 

3.) During the first team period, Martinez competed three passes, with Chase Cota and Jahmyr Gibbs being targeted twice. He overshot Sam LaPorta, with Brandon Joseph in coverage. 

4.) During 7-on-7s, Martinez fared much better. He completed six straight passes, before Brian Branch broke up a pass intended for Dylan Drummond. After quickly reacting to the play and breaking up the pass, Branch drew loud applause from his teammates. To conclude the period, wideout Antoine Green found himself wide open in the flat, and completely tricked the defense, which had shifted to the left. The seventh-round pick proceeded to get open. 

5.) In the red zone, Sam LaPorta was the reliable target. He regularly got open, and was on the receiving end of touchdowns. During one red-zone rep, Mohamed Ibrahim got in the way of an oncoming James Houston and put him to the ground. Houston's forward momentum was completely stopped by the undrafted free agent. 

6.) Green heard the ire of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who loudly expressed frustration at the rookie lining up incorrectly in the red zone. 

7.) Gibbs and Kalif Raymond were observed receiving booming punts from Jack Fox. Raymond was much more fluid and natural, as Detroit's No. 12 overall pick struggled handling the wind and moving fluidly to the ball. 

Brodric Martin Q&A

Q: Has the process of minicamp and OTAs been what you expected?

Martin: It's been more. Being grateful for all this, I've never been here before. But, yeah, it's just a blessing, man. I can't think of another word to put it. I'm just happy to be here.

Q: Through the process, what have you learned over the last eight weeks?

Martin: I learned how to focus on my body and to get my body right. I learned things about my feet that I didn't really know about. Just trying to strengthen my body, so that I can play in the league for a long time and all that. On top of that, with football, learning the game a little bit better. Getting coached by NFL coaches and all that.

Q: What veterans have you gravitated to as you navigate through your rookie season?

Martin: Alim McNeill, definitely. Christian Covington came in, he's played for a long time. I talked to Isaiah Buggs a lot, and (John Cominsky), definitely.

Q: What has been the veterans' message?

Martin: Just take it day-by-day. You're gonna mess up, don't be so hard on yourself and play. You've been playing football for your whole life. Just play.

Q: What are your goals that you want to accomplish in your rookie season?

Martin: My first year, just to make an impact. Be more than what this team wanted me to be when I got here. Yeah, I want to stop the run, but I want to get some sacks in there and all that. I want to just display me, and be better than what I was.

Q: Aaron Glenn and Dan Campbell have placed an emphasis on stopping the run this offseason. How have they presented that to you and your teammates?

Martin: You stop the run on the way to the quarterback. You don't get to rush the quarterback until you stop the run. They're gonna run all day if they can. So definitely, stopping the run has been an emphasis.

Q: What does it mean when you hear the coaching staff display confidence in your abilities on the defensive interior?

Martin: I thank them for that, but I'm gonna stop the run and I'm gonna also do more. I'm happy they got me where they got me. I'm blessed to be in that position. I'm gonna give them everything I've got.

Q: How excited are you for training camp and to finally put the pads on?

Martin: Very excited. I ain't got a chance to hit nobody since December 21st. Very excited.

Q: How much has stopping the run been emphasized by Aaron Glenn this season (after some struggles last year)? 

Martin: He puts it on the board: As the defensive line, what's the number one thing we do? Stop the run. It's very emphasized. You stop the run on the way to the pass. You only get to rush the passer, if you stop the run. It's emphasized a lot in everything that we do. We do run stuff out here first, before we go to the pass.

Q: Is that unusual?

Martin: It's not unusual, but I can tell that it's more emphasized here.