West Palm Beach, Fla. — The Lions made several key signings during the initial wave of NFL free agency that bode well for both the team’s culture and talent.
Cornerback DJ Reed, nose tackle Roy Lopez, and linebacker Grant Stuard all fit the profile of skilled players who represent the right values, according to Lions coach Dan Campbell, speaking at the NFL’s annual league meetings this week.
“For what they’re asked to do, they’re all three competitive, productive players. And I think that’s just, man, it’s the way they play the game. They don’t back down from anybody,” Campbell commented.
Reed was the standout of Detroit’s free-agent signings. After spending three seasons with the New York Jets, he joined Detroit on a three-year, $48 million deal, bringing high expectations to play in a man-heavy scheme where corners are actively involved in the run game. Reed replaced Carlton Davis III, who left for the New England Patriots on a contract worth slightly more (three years, $54 million).
“He’s got cover ability. He can play man-to-man. … But he’ll bite on the perimeter, right? He’ll come up. He’ll tackle. He’ll squeeze the edges. He’ll mix it up, and then he’ll challenge you at the catch point,” Campbell said. “Man, he’s feisty. He’s competitive.”
Campbell said he became particularly enamored with Reed’s competitiveness while watching crossover tape last year. His favorite moment was one where Reed was initially beaten but quickly recovered, displaying a relentless, never-give-up attitude as he re-entered the play.
“You get beat at corner, that’s part of this league. He gets beat, he puts his foot in the ground, and I mean, he is on an all-out — he doesn’t have time to think about recovering. He is just on a beeline to try to angle this guy off,” Campbell said. *“I thought that was one of the most impressive things. Man, this guy doesn’t go in the tank, he’s not worried about what it looks like. He’s just trying to compete and win. And he lines up and he’s back for more.
“That says it all. He’s got the attributes. He’s got the skill level. But man, he’s feisty. He’s competitive. He doesn’t get down, man.”*
Campbell didn’t need to watch crossover tape to become familiar with Lopez. He witnessed Lopez’s performance firsthand when the Lions faced the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 of last season. Campbell was impressed by the 6-foot-2, 318-pound former wrestler’s competitiveness against second-team All-Pro center Frank Ragnow, describing Lopez as a “down and dirty” player.
“He’s taking on the double-teams. He’s keeping people off the backers. He can get an edge on you,” Campbell said of Lopez, who signed a one-year deal with Detroit in March. “And he’ll just do it time in, time out, again over and over. One of the things that impressed me about him was when we played him. I mean, him going against Frank all day. We ran the heck out of the ball, but man, that guy held his own now and we’ve got a pretty damn good center. That was impressive.”
Campbell mentioned Stuard earlier in the session after a question about how the Lions continue to shape their culture with new free-agent acquisitions. When Stuard signed, he explained that the deciding factor for coming to Detroit was his experience playing against the Lions last season. He recalled thinking, “Man, if there’s a whole building of people like that, I’d love to be there.”
“If you’ve got some tools and you’ve got some talent but you’ve got a little bit of a chip on your shoulder and you’re a guy who believes you can do it in this league, and it doesn’t matter if you have the big name or the flash or the most money, then you belong here because you can play,” Campbell remarked. “It’s one of the reasons we brought in Stuard, too. It’s a guy that flies under the radar.”
Campbell added: “Stuard can do it all, man. He’s a guy that’s been counted out, but just continues to make plays in this league. He’s a dynamic special-teams player, in my opinion, and he can play defense.”
As for whether the Lions’ defense will improve from last season, Campbell is taking a cautious approach, stating that only time will tell.
“We’ll find out on the grass,” he said. “I have no idea until we get on the grass. I’ll be able to tell you that (in) probably September. I don’t know, maybe late September.”
