According to Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit, the first-round pick received starters reps on the outside, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering that’s where he’s projected to f Lions Wire noted that Arnold has an “outward swagger” and is very talkative.
Risdon was also impressed by the Alabama product’s burst.
Rakestraw saw his workload limited, likely because of his core muscle surgery he had earlier this offseason that was still impacting him during his pro day in March. He says the injury is no longer a concern.
“That’s just the plan they already had set for me,” he said, per Dave Burkett’s of the Detroit Free Press.
“I was trying to go, but they was like, ‘Nah, you trying to exceed your reps we already had for you.’
But what I got to do a great job of is sticking to the plan.
They’ve been here, they’ve got a ton of experience and just keep it like that.”
“I feel fine from my injury, they just still want — I tell them I’m fine but they want to 100% know I’m fine so I’m going to stick to their plan moving forward,” Rakestraw added.
When he did get reps, the Lions had Rakestraw working from the slot, where he says he feels comfortable.
“That’s how I played my freshman year as a starter,” he said. “I started at nickel and I started at corner, so to me, that’s just my home.”
Of course, in order for Rakestraw to earn the starting slot job, the Lions would have to use Brian Branch at safety, which is a possibility in 2024.
The Missouri product should also get a look on the outside, but nickel is his best avenue to significant snaps.
Risdon pointed out that while Manu was impressive in terms of his physical stature, “raw might not even be strong enough for his relative skill level,” citing some bad holds and hand placement the rookie displayed.
But Manu did have a perfect rep during the session and that left Risdon thinking about how good he can be if his potential is ever realized.
“There’s a lot of work needed before Manu could ever be trusted in a game, but if he comes even close to fulfilling the athletic promise he showed on that glorious rep, the NFL won’t be ready for him,” Risdon wrote.
Per Birkett, Vaki had a hiccup with a fumble during the special teams period, but was “easily the team’s most impressive player during special teams drills.”
Vaki shined in particular in kickoff coverage, where Risdon said how he was “unblockable.
” Birkett also noted, however, that he had a bad rep as a blocker himself
“I feel like (specials teams is) catered to my skill set,” Vaki said.
“Just being closer to the box and things like that, being able to be explosive right off the bat.
We’re only 5 yards away (from the blockers), so yeah, I don’t know. We’re going to watch this tape and see how good I did.”
There wasn’t a ton of information out there on Wingo, but we do know he took some reps at defensive end, per Risdon, who also noted that the LSU product got the better of and disrupted UDFA center Kingsley Eguakun on one rep.
Take this for what it’s worth, but Mahogany saw reps at right guard on Friday, according to Risdon, who adds that the Boston College product has “fast foot frequency while engaged and it allows him to unleash power even more than what he naturally has in wide-chested upper body.