Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media Thursday. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from those media sessions:
1. Glenn said the next stage for edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson going into his third season and coming off his first Pro Bowl nod is to take the next step where he's considered among the best defensive players in the league, if not the best. After watching the tremendous offseason and training camp Hutchinson had, Glenn thinks that goal is very attainable.
2. Third-year wide receiver Jameson Williams has come 'a very long way,' according to Johnson, who said his confidence level in Williams is as high as it's ever been and continuing to grow. The expectation is for Williams to have a very productive season in this offense that is so good at manufacturing favorable matchups in space.
3. Teams got very positive feedback regarding a drop in injury rates from the preseason on the new kickoff play. It will be interesting to see what teams decide to do strategy-wise with the play starting this weekend. Fipp said the average starting field position in the preseason was the 28.8-yard line. Will teams just kick it through the end zone and not risk the big return to only gain 1.2 yards on average allowing the return? Fipp thinks we'll see a combination of both.
4. Glenn is looking forward to the test the Rams' offense will provide his revamped defense Week 1. Glenn has a ton of respect for Rams head coach and offensive genius Sean McVay and his ability to make a simple play concept look very complicated. Glenn said the most important thing for his defense Sunday night is not getting wrapped up in all the pre-snap movement and eye candy McVay and the Rams like to use to shift defenders out of position. Glenn is preaching to his players just to trust their keys.
5. Johnson had a great line when asked about Terrion Arnold and what he saw from the rookie cornerback in camp: "Yeah, he's sticky. He's sticky as all get out. He's given us some issues there here in training camp. We've tried to pick on him a little bit and it hasn't been super successful, so I'm encouraged to see where he's at. He certainly lets you know he's out there, in more ways than one."
6. Jake Bates will make his regular-season debut as Detroit's place kicker Sunday night and Fipp feels great about the young kicker and his future after watching him develop in camp. Bates is one of the most talented kickers Fipp said he's ever been around with tremendous upside. He's still an ascending player and the Lions plan to be patient with him.
7. Expect to see second-year defensive back Brian Branch all over the field on defense Sunday night. Branch will play safety, but he'll also play some nickel and will be down in the box too, according to Glenn. He wants to put Branch in as many different positions as he can to allow Branch to make plays.
8. Week 1 of the regular season is always the great unknown around the league and that's how Johnson feels this week going against a Rams' defense with a new defensive front and secondary. There's a lot of in-game adjustments that take place Week 1, and Johnson said he'll do his best to isolate and attack certain defenders once he learns more about them.
9. Listening to Glenn talk about his defense heading into the regular season he definitely gets a little more animated talking about the defensive line and the linebacker group. This is arguably the best collection of talent and depth Glenn's had in the front seven in his tenure as defensive coordinator in Detroit, and because of that group in particular, Glenn said his expectation is for Detroit to have a 'damn good defense' in 2024.
10. How does Johnson keep evolving his offense year over year? There are obviously core concepts he believes in that will aways be a staple, but he said his wheels really get turning starting in free agency when looking at other NFL offenses and evaluating free-agent players. It goes into overdrive when he throws on the college tape while evaluating the draft. Quarterback Jared Goff has marveled at Johnson's ability to continually evolve as an offensive mind.
