Minicamp Takeaways: Lions' Defense Shines, Team Embraces Hype

Lions' defense will not back down from offense.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) shakes hands with quarterback Jared Goff (16) / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Lions' current mindset is to learn from their stunning loss to the San Francisco 49ers, to ensure that if the opportunity again presents itself, the team is able to handle pressure situations better.

At minicamp, the offense and defense competed at a high level, with neither wanting to back down to avoid facing angry coaches or a significant amount of trash talk from the opposing side.

While the intensity was not the same as training camp, the team worked to improve and begin the journey of preparing for a pivotal 2024 season.

Dan Campbell noted it was too early to tell if the rookies were intimidated by the presence of the veterans. However, he did express that the sooner the young players acclimate, the better it will end up being for the organization as a whole.

"I think it’s too early to tell," said Campbell. "Some of those guys, there’s always going to be a little bit of – it always cracks you up, because rookie minicamp, they’re it, right? And then, all of a sudden, the vets come in, and then it’s a team meeting in the auditorium and you’re in a rookie minicamp and they just take the seats like, ‘Yeah, that’s my seat.’ Then, when you have a team meeting and the vets are here, well that’s the vet’s seat. So, then the rookies, pretty soon they’re standing over at the wall.

"I do feel like our veterans have done a good job of – and it’s something we’ve talked about. We’re going to need these guys," Campbell explained further. "We don’t know entirely who they are going to be, but we’re going to need these rookies. Some of these rookies are going to help us win games, so the faster we can help them come along and embrace them, the better off we’re all going to be. We can’t just isolate them and not talk to them and not help them, and expect them to help us when we’re going to need them. Our guys know that, and they’ve done a really good job of helping them. Now you still have to remind them that they’re rookies, which they do. But, we embrace them.”

The latest Lone Wolves podcast examines the main takeaways from the last three practices of mandatory minicamp.

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Additional reading

1.) Alim McNeill on Playing Next to Reader: 'It Looks Like Destruction'

2.) Minicamp Observations: Lions Practice Comeback Scenarios

3.) Khalil Dorsey Misses Minicamp Practice with Ankle Injury

4.) Dan Campbell: 'We Can't Do the Ron Burgundy'