Free Press sports writer Rainer Sabin looks at the Detroit Lions who helped and hurt their stock through the first eight practices of training camp.
Four up
WR Jameson Williams
The fleet-footed receiver was already an established star, having surpassed 1,000 yards each of the past two seasons. But he appears to have taken his game to another level entering Year 5, earning widespread praise for his performance thus far. During both individual and team drills, he has routinely made impressive plays. He has snatched passes in congested areas and outmaneuvered defenders, gobbling up yards in chunks. New offensive coordinator Drew Petzing noted Williams is “playing physical” and “attacking the football.” He has also run more precise routes at the short and intermediate levels,
creating space between him and the closest man guarding him.
“With his ability, man, the sky's the limit,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said in one breath.
“I love where he’s at,” he added in another.
It’s easy to see why.
EDGE Ahmed Hassanein
A pectoral tear suffered in the 2025 preseason interrupted Hassanein’s rookie year. Months after being waived with an injury settlement, the former sixth-round pick joined the Lions’ practice squad last November but never was called up to the active roster. This year, he is making the case he deserves to start the season on it. The EDGE has been a disruptive force with multiple flashes of talent, giving the blockers in his path fits, penetrating the backfield and zooming down the line to make stops. A player whose motor is always in overdrive, Hassanein commands attention.
“Ahmed only knows one way and that's full tilt,” defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said. “It's not fake, it's not phony, it's not fabricated. The energy is real.”
So is his upward trajectory.
LG Christian Mahogany
Before training camp, Mahogany’s starting role was no longer guaranteed. Campbell said in the spring that the Lions were planning to hold a competition at left guard, with new acquisitions Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs under consideration for the job. So was second-year lineman Miles Frazier. Mahogany would have to prove he deserved to stay in the top slot on the depth chart. And at the outset of training camp, the former sixth-round pick was placed on the non-football injury list for an unspecified reason and missed the first two practices. It didn’t seem to be a good sign.
But in a matter of days, Mahogany reestablished a foothold and now appears in line to retain his spot, with the threat posed by Bartch and Scuggs dissipating. After all, Bartch has yet to participate in team drills as he continues to work his way back from a major lower leg injury suffered last year. Scruggs, meanwhile, sat out the past two practices. Mahogany, in turn, has been afforded more opportunities to develop chemistry with his new neighbors on the line – center Cade Mays and left tackle Penei Sewell. He has also turned in some quality reps while demonstrating agility blocking in space.
CB Nick Whiteside
A member of the patchwork “Legion of Whom” secondary that defied expectations last October in the Lions’ victory over Tampa Bay, Whiteside has generally remained in the background throughout his tenure in Detroit. But the long-limbed cornerback and metro Detroit native has risen to the fore during training camp, providing sticky coverage and a series of pass breakups. He has also been given a chance to run with the first team, at times filling in for starter D.J. Reed, who has missed the past two practices. Whiteside hasn’t looked out of place either while challenging the receivers he’s guarding.
“It's not too big for him,” Campbell said. “He's all about business and he's going to maximize everything he's got. And he looks like he wants a spot and he wants a job.”
Right now, it appears he is on his way to earning it.
Four down
CB Roger McCreary
When McCreary joined the team in March, many saw him as a one-for-one replacement for Amik Robertson – the spunky nickel cornerback who defected to Washington during free agency. McCreary, after all, had logged 1,780 snaps in the slot and 390 more in the box. Based on his experience, the former second-round pick was seen as a potential starter. Yet, by and large, he has been relegated to the second team throughout training camp and hasn’t fared well in coverage against some of the Lions’ backup receivers. His struggles have opened the door for Christian Izien to win a job that, in the offseason, seemed earmarked for McCreary.
LB Malcolm Rodriguez
Not long after Alex Anzalone left in free agency, Malcolm Rodriguez re-signed with the Lions. It appeared then that he would be the first in line to take over Anzalone’s spot as the team’s starting weakside linebacker. Even after the team drafted Michigan’s Jimmy Rolder in April, Rodriguez remained at the top of the pecking order.
Then, the Lions signed former All-Pro Devin White less than a week into training camp. Three days after White joined the fold, Rodriguez suffered an ankle injury. He hasn’t practiced since. With Rodriguez out of the mix, White took the bulk of the first-team reps. That isn’t great news for Rodriguez, who missed the Lions’ first 10 games last season as he recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered the previous year.
WR Isaac TeSlaa
By the end of his rookie season, TeSlaa had earned Campbell’s approval. The Lions’ coach even wished he had found a way to give him more opportunities.
“His growth took off, and he did, he got a little bit better every week,” Campbell said in June.
The signs pointed toward TeSlaa taking another big step in training camp. But so far he has done little to distinguish himself. He has struggled to gain separation from the defensive backs guarding him. Even contested catches, his specialty last season, have been few and far between. On Friday, he couldn’t corral an end-zone fade pass with Whiteside tight with him. Campbell theorized that TeSlaa has been so focused on refining certain technical aspects of his game that he had fallen out of rhythm.
“I do feel like there’s a little bit of time to find a groove,” TeSlaa said, “but I really feel like I’m improving.”
Although that progress hasn’t been readily apparent, Campbell and his staff don’t seem concerned. In fact, they’re confident TeSlaa will hit his stride again.
“He'll get there, man,” Campbell said.
It's essential that he does if he has designs on becoming a bigger factor within an offense that has so many good options.
DL Levi Onwuzurike
Up until Friday, when he penetrated the backfield on multiple occasions and at one point flushed QB Jared Goff out of the pocket, Onwuzurike hadn’t made much of a mark.
Throughout training camp, he has largely been consigned to the second and third teams, which has left some to wonder if his spot on the roster is endangered. After he missed all of last season recovering from knee surgery to repair a torn ACL, Onwuzurike’s future with the Lions already appeared cloudy entering this year. In the past, when he was healthy, Onwuzurike offered position versatility as a pass-rushing interior tackle or a big defensive end who can set the edge.
But so far, he hasn’t delivered much impact from any of the spots where he has been deployed, which has been disappointing.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions camp stock watch: Ahmed Hassanein making moves; new CB struggles
