The Detroit Lions’ defense has looked great throughout training camp and has put together significantly more winning days of practice against Detroit’s offense than losses.
The fact that Detroit’s offense finally broke through and had a monster day in the joint practice facing a new defense for the first time, just might be confirmation that what we’ve seen from Detroit’s defense all camp might be who they are in 2025.
Kelvin Sheppard took over as defensive coordinator and has created an attacking and more aggressive unit with a front seven that puts a lot of pressure on the offensive line and a sticky secondary behind it. That has the potential to be a very good combination for the Lions.
Miami was without speedy wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle for the team periods Wednesday, which obviously makes Miami’s offense a lot less explosive, but it shouldn’t take away from just how dominant Detroit’s defense was.
The Lions generated consistent pressure, produced takeaways, and generally made things very difficult for the Dolphins’ offense. There was a team red-zone period in the middle of practice where Miami’s offense took over 15 plays to find the end zone.
This defense was decimated by injuries last season with nearly two dozen players landing on injured reserve before it was all said and done, including core players like Aidan Hutchinson, Derrick Barnes, Alim McNeill and countless others.
The players on that side of the football have always had the confidence that when healthy, they can play with any offense in this league and that’s certainly been the case throughout training camp.
“You all see what happens when we have a healthy defense,” Barnes said after practice Wednesday. “That’s really what I can say about it. It just feels good, I know from my perspective, to look around and see a bunch of dogs around you and then we got depth.”
Hutchinson and fellow edge rusher Marcus Davenport have looked great all through camp. Detroit’s veteran linebacker trio of Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone and Barnes are a versatile group with a ton of experience. They have done a really nice job bridging the defensive line and secondary into a single unit in Sheppard’s scheme.
Detroit’s secondary just might be its most talented position group starting with the best safety duo in football in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. D.J. Reed looks to be a perfect fit at cornerback and Amik Robertson is having a great camp from the nickel position.
“I love how aggressive we are, the mentality that we have,” Barnes said of the defense. “Our standard is really high. For me, it just feels good to see everyone out there again with a healthy defense.”
Despite all the injuries last season, the Lions pieced together a unit that ranked seventh in scoring and 20th in overall defense. They were fifth against the run but 30th against the pass. The pass defense has looked significantly better this season and if that part can make significant gains while maintaining their stoutness against the run, the Lions’ defense can play a big factor in winning football games in 2025.
