Today was Day Two of practice between the Lions and Giants. Here's who stood out to me:
Edge Rusher Olivier Vernon: The Giants' top pass rusher was "as advertised" in practice on Wednesday. Vernon has been dominant in one-on-ones both days and got into the backfield constantly during team drills. I counted two sacks, two tackles for loss on runs and an additional QB pressure. Vernon had the opportunity to work against a quality offensive tackle in Taylor Decker, and at least from my perspective, he got the better of that matchup.
Linebacker Alec Ogletree: Alec Ogletree is a big, athletic guy and those traits translated to production today. He was in the backfield for a sack and a tackle for loss during team drills and was very aggressive moving downhill towards the line of scrimmage. Ogletree has been at his best as someone who can run at the football, where he is very capable of making a lot of plays.
Defensive Tackle Robert Thomas: David Diehl was on assignment for me watching offensive line-defensive line one-on-ones here in Detroit and he thought Thomas was the best player in those drills over the course of practice. He won with power, quickness and great hands. He also got into the backfield for what would have been a tackle for loss during team work. Thomas played well against Cleveland last week,
Tight End Rhett Ellison: The Giants and Lions worked on a lot of red zone drills Wednesday, and Ellison was the star for the Giants. I counted three touchdowns for Ellison, who was very problematic for the Lions to cover. One touchdown came from Eli Manning, and the two others came from Davis Webb. Ellison isn't going to win any track and field competitions but he is a savvy receiver.
Offensive Tackle Nate Solder: Ezekial Ansah is the Lions' best pass rusher, and spare one rep during one-on-ones, Solder has kept him very quiet through two days of practice. At the beginning of training camp, Olivier Vernon gave Solder a lot of issues, but over the last couple of weeks as the pads have come on, Solder has really settled in and has been rock solid at left tackle.
