ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions held out their top two rookies in the Hall of Fame Game to open the preseason. Dan Campbell said he was considering holding them out until this Friday’s exhibition against the Atlanta Falcons.
And while Campbell is leaning that way, nothing is set in stone regarding first-round defensive lineman Tyleik Williams and second-round offensive lineman Tate Ratledge.
“I would like to get them going this game, but I’m not 100% set on that yet,” Campbell said Wednesday morning. “Last night, we kind of talked about it a little bit. You have an idea, really, today, whoever is playing is not going to get enough reps to really, they’ll have plenty of juice to play in this game in Atlanta. You can kind of play anybody you need, too, you know?”
Ratledge has settled into life at right guard after opening camp at center. The Lions have shifted veteran Graham Glasgow back to center after Frank Ragnow’s retirement, and that appears to be the plan moving forward.
Williams has started to pop in training camp next to veteran DJ Reader on the D-line, with one of his best showings coming in Monday night’s practice. He’s powerful and stout against the run, flashing some of the untapped pass-rushing potential the Lions fell in love with ahead of April’s NFL draft.
Both Williams and Ratledge have been working with the first-team units, so while suiting up for a preseason game would be a worthwhile pieces. The Lions and Campbell have seemed to opt to work their starters in joint practices in more controlled environments while still getting good work.
The Lions have moved Williams around on the line in recent days, with Aidan Hutchinson getting a couple of interior reps and the rookie kicking outside some.
“What we saw on his college tape is really showing up here, and that’s his ability to really knock back into the backfield, and kind of recreate the line of scrimmage,” Campbell said. “He’s got a good shock and shed, sometimes a little too good, he’ll jump out of a gap if you’re not careful. So, we’re trying to stay on him with that.
“He can get an edge. His rush, he can get an edge. He is trending the right way. He’s growing. We just got to get him in better shape. That will come there again with reps. We’re going to give those guys today a ton of reps.”
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