Skyler Gill-Howard needed a pick-me-up after he had what he felt were two down practices on the Detroit Lions’ first two days of pads in training camp.
So as he sat in his hotel room on the Lions’ off day Wednesday, Aug. 5, the rookie sixth-round pick pulled up pass-rush tape of arguably the greatest defensive tackle in NFL history, Aaron Donald.
He watched highlights, studied how quickly Donald got off the ball, then watched his own pass-rush tape from his days at Northern Illinois to remind himself he can do it, too.
“I was just playing so fast, so aggressive, so free, and once I turned that tape on and realized, ‘OK, I’m still that same player, don’t start playing any different,’” Gill-Howard said. “That’s what I do.”
Gill-Howard is quick to
say “nobody’s going to be like” Donald, a future Hall of Famer and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year who’s mulling a comeback with the Los Angeles Rams this fall.
But like Donald, he’s an undersized pass rusher who’s learning to weaponize his size, speed and leverage to get to the quarterback.
A day after that post-lunch film study, Gill-Howard had perhaps his best practice of summer.
He took first-team reps with some of the Lions’ sub-package defensive fronts on Thursday, Aug. 6, and doubled up on snaps with a few of the team’s other linemen battling cramping.
He had one would-be sack on backup quarterback Luke Altmyer when he beat his blocker cleanly off the snap, was the pick player on a stunt that freed Ahmed Hassanein up for another sack, and he left the field feeling confident about his ability to make an impact in the NFL.
“Those first two days in pads I was just playing super, I would say, timid,” Gill-Howard said. “When I’m in there I like to play fast, and I’m kind of just seeing too much instead of just seeing my man on key and reacting off of that and going. I’m trying to see everything and look at formation. I just need to calm down and just be who I used to be as a player and just get out there and play fast and whatever happens, happens because good things usually happen from that.”
A high school linebacker who Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has joked still looks like he can play the position today, Gill-Howard started his college career at Upper Iowa before transferring to Northern Illinois and finishing at Texas Tech.
He played just five games and had a half-sack for the Red Raiders last season before ankle surgery ended his college career. But watching his NIU tape, Gill-Howard was reminded of the progression he made in college.
After an impressive five-sack season at Northern Illinois in 2024, he transferred to Texas Tech and “was playing slow as hell” while learning a new position until things “finally clicked after a few practices.”
He stopped beating himself up for the things he wasn’t doing well yet with the Lions and told himself he’s on the same trajectory now.
“I feel like he can do a lot of things at the three technique position a lot of guys can’t do,” Lions linebacker Jack Campbell said. “Every player’s a little bit different, but I kind of [think he has a Mekhi] Wingo-ish feel, so we’ll see where it goes. But he’s done a good job, he just needs to keep going.”
At 6 feet and 280 pounds, Gill-Howard acknowledged his size can be a disadvantage in the NFL.
“If somebody gets their hands on me, it’s going to be a bad day for me rushing,” he said.
But in the battle for a backup roster spot with fellow small-ish pass-rushing defensive tackles Wingo (6 feet, 280 pounds) and seventh-round pick Tyre West (6-1, 290), Gill-Howard said it’s up to him to let his assets shine.
He was clocked at 19.3 mph by the team’s tracking data in practice this week. He said he’s done a better job keeping his pad level low in the pass rush and run game. And he’s looking forward to taking it all to the field when the Lions open exhibition play next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It’s not over,” Gill-Howard said. “Today means nothing if I go out there and be [terrible]. So I just have to keep stacking days and realize the type of player I am, which is a player that has a lot of speed and athleticism. And if I can just stay true to who I am, a lot of things will go good for me.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Lions DT Skyler Gill-Howard has visions of playing like Aaron Donald
