No Victory Laps: Five Things That Stood Out From Dan Campbell’s 2nd OTA Presser

Information sourced from: Dan Campbell Presser - 6.4.26, Detroit Lions Podcast, Jimmy Liao MD Detroit Lions Morning Rounds on X

Dan Campbell’s press conferences as of late have struck a different tone. I would suggest that MCDC seems less jovial and more focused. It is apparent he has not let the pain from missing the playoffs last year fade, and he is not taking anything for granted. Let’s dive in on my top five take-aways from Campbell’s presser and finish up with some quick hits.

1. Kendrick Law - ACL Tear

Before his NFL career has even begun, Kendrick Law has suffered a setback. To be honest he was a long stretch for the roster in my opinion. As time went on he became my least favorite draft pick. However I kept hoping he would prove me wrong, perhaps as a punt and/or kick returner as Jeff Risdon of Detroit Lions Podcast has suggested over multiple podcasts.

Side note, I do not believe we should be overly concerned about this happening so quickly in OTAs as Kendrick Law has spent far more time in his own training and playing and training in Kentucky than with the Lions. If you think about it, he’s likely barely gotten to know the lay of the land (Thanks to Silver & Blues regular contributor MCBC for talking through this with me). Jimmy Liao MD of Detroit Lions Morning Rounds reports that he should be ready for OTAs in 2027, and definitely ready for the 2027 season.

2. Rest and Training Prioritized

Towards the beginning of the presser Dan expressed how today would be a low work day coming off of two days of good work for the players, but that they would continue to focus on training. He stressed how training is important. I think this just continues to show how the Lions are making sure they are approaching this year differently, and are working to be preventative with injuries. Much like the removal of rookie minicamp.

3. On Gibbs Workload

“[Gibbs] is gonna be our bellcow now. He really became more of that last year. But we’re gonna hang our hat on him quite a bit. We’re gonna do a lot of things he does well.” He continued on to complement Gibbs on his ability to do things well in many different schematic deployments. Nonetheless, this doesn’t come as much of a surprise, and likely is good for both Pacheco (who has been prone to injury under heavy snap loads) and Gibbs.

4. On Kirby Joseph, and His Confidence Level on His Productivity

“I don’t know. I honestly do not know. I know this, we have done everything we can do, and he has done everything he can do to this point. And we are trying to be as smart as we can and not push this until we absolutely have to. Because once we’ve done that, then we will know one way or the other. And it’s not worth it right now.” He went on to say “I feel good about that, that we’ve done everything we can and so has he. We probably won’t know until we get into the thick of training camp.” I think this all aligns with expectations for what could prove to be a chronic knee injury requiring long term management. I am supportive of the rest approach, and think that it just furthers the Lion’s more conservative approach to injury management.

5. On What Can Be Done for the Offense at this Point in the Year

“...Solve issues. Create Issues and Solve issues [and] we’re doing a much better job of that this time this year from last year.”

Given the issue running the ball down the stretch last year, and the hot and cold offense of last year, this is appropriate stuff to hear. You want to be troubleshooting that offense, fixing what you can, and doing a smoke test to find where additional problems lie

Quick Hits:

• For Spring, Campbell likes the progress DJ Reed has made bouncing back from his significant hamstring injury. That paired with the fact that he has been starting in drills, I think all looks good for a productive and needed cornerback.

• Campbell observed Petzing is doing a good job tying the offense together. He didn’t say it, but it sounds like what he was getting at is that it is more cohesive. Furthermore, he expressed how Petzing helped with communication on the offense. I always wondered last year if they may have been having communication problems at times, perhaps this was a way of saying that without bashing on Morton (previous OC).

• Campbell wanted to see if they could add more juice to the pass rush this year. However, he stressed that the players have to be able to do everything, especially play the run. I think this clarification helps us understand why Al-Qadin Muhammad was allowed to walk this year, as playing the run was a weakness of his. Derrick Moore and DJ Wonnum can both play the run well, so we can start to build a picture of how Campbell and Holmes are hoping to adjust the defense. (He also talked about interior pass rush and was not solely focused on the edges)

• Luke Altmyer appears to be doing exactly what they expected him to at this point. Said he is getting the ball to the right places at the right times and picking things up well. Campbell opened by stressing that Altmyer doesn’t lack confidence. I was a huge Hendon Hooker fan, but I really never saw that confidence out of him. He always seemed to be wide eyed and almost scared. I am hopeful that Altmyer can become the developmental QB the Lions badly need.

A lot of information for a fourteen minute presser, but good stuff no matter who you are. Campbell may be holding things a bit close to his chest with his new approach, but he still gives good information on what is going on, and I will always appreciate that about him.