Lions observations: Tim Patrick, Gio Manu continue to struggle, but DJ Reed looks great

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Dan Campbell is generally pretty honest when it comes to assessing his players and he was up front about the inconsistent camp second-year Detroit Lions offensive tackle Gio Manu has had before Sunday's practice.

Manu played 24 offensive snaps – the entire second half – at left tackle in last week's preseason loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and Campbell said his performance in the game "was better" than his first two weeks of practice.

"That’s the best way to say it," Campbell said. "The beginning of camp has been probably more downs than ups, and then the game was more encouraging. And actually, I will say this, I thought his last practice before this game was better. I do feel an uptick here, and now you just have to build off of that. Always going to be things to work on, but it was better.”

Manu hasn't turned the corner from project to potential starter or even reliable swing tackle yet, but he has a chance to get important reps this week with starting left tackle Taylor Decker just back from the physically unable to perform list and backup Dan Skipper out with an ankle injury.

Manu still took mostly second-team reps at practice Sunday, though he did get some first-team work when the Lions had a period with their offense backed up at the goal line, and he had a rough day in one-on-one pass rush drills.

I didn't watch the entire pass rush period, but I saw Pat O'Connor beat Manu with a handswipe and Nate Lynn run too easily past Manu on the edge.

Jamarco Jones worked ahead of Manu with the first-team offense and coaches clearly trust his blocking more on the edge. Jones is firmly in the mix for a roster spot as the second tackle (with Manu also making the team; I can't see the Lions cutting a player they knew was a developmental project going into Year 2) and Kayode Awosika has worked a the top backup interior linemen all camp and got a few reps at both guard spots with the first-team offense Sunday.

Here are more news, notes and observations from Sunday's practice:

Holding on to the rock

After fumbling the opening kickoff against the Chargers, linebacker Grant Stuard said he planned to spend time working with the running backs this week to make the act of falling to the ground with the ball in his hand more natural.

Stuard, who attributed his fumble to reaching his arm out to brace his fall, stayed with the linebackers for position drills Sunday but took one rep during the Lions' one-on-one tackling drill as a return man (with running back and fellow special teams ace Sione Vaki matched against him as the tackler).

The Lions are serious about giving Stuard a chance to win the return job – or share it with Vaki, in all likelihood, as teams keep two men deep on kickoffs. Stuard, who played some running back early in his college career at Houston, has good speed, hits the hole hard and has done well on returns all camp.

I wouldn't fret too much about the fumble – the Lions aren't. He had two solid returns against the Chargers and should get return reps the next three games.

Some guys getting healthy

Vaki took part in team drills Sunday for the first time since tweaking a hamstring early in camp. He worked primarily with the second-team offense and had a nice blitz pickup on Stuard during a team period midway through practice.

I can't imagine Vaki's role will expand much on offense this fall given the presence of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, but it's important he get good offensive work the next three weeks in case the Lions need him at running back this year.

Safety Kerby Joseph and cornerback Amik Robertson also returned to practice after missing time last week with injuries.

A couple personnel notes: The Lions worked their five-man defensive front in Sunday's practice (against that backed-up offense) and Keith Cooper played as the fifth lineman as a big defensive end alongside Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Reader, Tyleik Williams and Pat O'Connor. (Marcus Davenport started at left end in the Lions' base defense).

Cooper and Lynn are the two defensive linemen who aren't locks to make the 53-man roster who've had the best camps in my opinion. I don't know if the Lions have enough room to keep either or both linemen, but I know they're players to keep an eye on the next three weeks.

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In the secondary, Rock Ya-Sin saw time at both safety and cornerback Sunday, and it was notable that Tim Patrick both played with the second-team offense for at least one snap in team drills (he didn't win his route) and worked as a gunner for the first time (that I've seen, at least) in camp. Both Dominic Lovett and Isaac TeSlaa have fared well at gunner in camp and in the Chargers game. The position clearly isn't suited for Patrick, however, and his slow start to camp has me wondering if he might be an inactive on the gameday roster when the regular season rolls around.

And Hendon Hooker took second-team quarterback reps ahead of Kyle Allen and is expected to start this week's preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Who's winning one-on-one reps?

In the one-on-one tackling drill, Alex Anzalone made a nice play to punch the ball loose from Jabari Small as he was being dragged on the gorund, TeSlaa used a powerful stiff arm to break loose from Erick Hallett and Craig Reynolds had a nice spin move to beat Dan Jackson on the final rep of the period.

In one-on-one routes, Jameson Williams continues to shine with his route running. He is better at changing directions on comebacks and curls than I remember – he got a couple yards of separation on DJ Reed on one such route Sunday – and he used his body well to try and create space on a deep ball against Reed that was a hair overthrown. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught a long touchdown on Brian Branch, Lovett dropped a well-placed bomb when he had Dicaprio Bootle beat deep and got mugged on a route by Joseph, Hallett nearly picked off a pass to Patrick and Gibbs ended the period with a too-easy touchdown against Anzalone on a go route down the sideline.

DJ Reed looks promising at CB

Jared Goff was 0 for 2 targeting Williams on passes in seven-on-seven drills, when Reed ran stride for stride with the speedy receiver, and had a third incompletion to Williams against Reed in team drill.

I like what Reed adds to this secondary. He battles in coverage, has more speed than I realized when he was with the New York Jets and the Lions have him (and Terrion Arnold when he's healthy) playing both sides of the field so they're ready to match up with body types in the regular season. He seems primed for a big year.

As for the rest of seven-on-seven and team drills, the Lions didn't get much of their two-back package in seven-on-seven – Goff was forced to check down to his tight ends both reps Gibbs and Montgomery were on the field – but Gibbs had a nice run out of the same set in a team period later in practice.

St. Brown made a nice bobbling catch in team, after Robertson had a pass breakup on a slant to St. Brown in seven-on-seven. And the Lions closed practice in their four-minute offense, with the offense given a 21-20 lead, the ball at its own 34-yard line and 2:24 to milk off the clock. Jack Campbell and Marcus Davenport had a tackle for loss on Gibbs on the first play, but Gibbs followed with about a 6-yard run that took the clock to the two-minute warning and the offense converted on third-and-5 with a misdirection swing pass to Montgomery.

Primtime training

The Lions have a late practice Monday (it's schedule for a 6 p.m. start), and it's something Dan Campbell likes to do once every summer to break up the monotony of practice and prepare for all the primetime games on the schedule.

"I always liked it as a player, it’s a good changeup," Campbell said. "And then it’s – as to what our schedule has been over the last two or three years, you don’t know when you’re playing. You’re playing at afternoon, you’re playing at night, you’re playing five days away, four days away, six days, seven, so it’s just how do we mix things up a little bit and get them used to a little bit of the chaos in a good way."

My daily public service note: The Lions should be on the far field for practice, by the grandstands, if you want to maximize your viewing experience.

If you're looking for autographs, camping out by the ropes along the near field is always best, though Joseph received a loud ovation when he wandered over to the far side to sign after practice. Offensive tackle Penei Sewell also held court in the parking lot in front of the training facility for a small group of fans.

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.