2. RT Penei Sewell
Sewell has become an instant building block for the Lions, and one of the best right tackles in the league through just two seasons. But he's hardly resting on any laurels, efforting to move into more of a vocal leadership role while finding an even higher level in his game.
In 625 pass-blocking snaps last season, Sewell allowed two sacks and six quarterback hits. He's even better as a run blocker, and athletic enough to catch passes on trick plays if called upon.
From training camp last Friday, Campbell heaped praise on Sewell. One line summed it all up nicely.
"He’s lean, he’s mean and I’m glad he’s ours,"
1. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
St. Brown is clearly very talented, with 196 catches over his first two seasons, and we know how he's wired based on (as one example) keeping tabs on the 16 wide receivers who were drafted before him in 2021. He is becoming famous for catching over 200 passes off a JUGS machine after every training camp practice, as he seeks total perfection in his craft.
To that end, after he dropped some passes during Monday's practice and didn't get what he felt was a fair chance to redeem himself, here's what St. Brown said afterward to the Detroit Free Press.
"I’m pissed off," "I mean, I shouldn’t drop anything but shoot, even the best ones drop them, but like for me I’m mad, it’s just the way I am. I know I’m going to go out there and the next one I’m going to make. But I’m so hot, a drop like that, it’ll ruin my whole day for sure, Definitely my whole practice, especially a practice like that where I don’t get a chance to make up for it. It definitely, it’ll f*ck up my day.""Amon-Ra St. Brown
The drive for perfection, even if it can never truly and completely attained, separates the great players from the merely good ones.
St. Brown won't carry one rougher practice far enough to impact his performance going forward. But that a couple drops in a camp practice will go on to "f*ck up" his day says it all about him, and he's a player who allows Campbell to sleep very well at night. In particular, a younger teammate who will go unnamed should be taking notes.
Honorable mention Dan Campbell "Sleep Good At Night" players for the Lions: C Frank Ragnow, LB Alex Anzalone, DE John Cominsky, P Jack Fox, RB David Montgomery, WR Marvin Jones