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RB Ameer Abdullah

Some scoffed at the pick, preferring a defensive lineman in the second round, or at least a different tailback (like Tevin Coleman). But through OTAs and minicamp, Abdullah looks like an immediate fit in Detroit.

It’s hard to say much about a tailback when there are no holes to hit and tackles to break, but Abdullah looked really smooth from the get-go in minicamp. His first and second steps are exceptional. And Jim Caldwell wasn’t kidding when he said Abdullah is surprisingly polished as a pass-catcher. He’s gobbled up everything thrown his way.

It’s easy to see Abdullah earning a lot of reps in the backfield this season, not to mention whatever he provides on special teams. He could end up leading Detroit in total yards.

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CB Quandre Diggs

The cornerback could end up being another example of football ability getting lost in all the fuss over measureables during the draft process. Diggs was a four-year starter at Texas, for goodness sakes, but all we could do was talk about his size and apparent lack of speed.

Forget that stuff. So far, Diggs has shown he can play ball. He impressed Teryl Austin out the gate in OTAs, and then found himself repping with the first unit defense at nickelback in minicamp. He alternated with Josh Wilson there, and also has shown value on special teams.

While Abdullah was the Lions’ best rookie in minicamp, Diggs might have been the biggest surprise. And at this point, he has a better shot of making the team than last year’s sixth-round pick (TJ Jones). The Lions did just release Bill Bentley, after all, a move which shows confidence that Diggs, Wilson and Nevin Lawson can handle the job.

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TE Eric Ebron

Ebron has struggled so much with drops at various points in his year-plus with the team, every one of them gets magnified now. But going back through my notes, I counted just one — one! — drop from Ebron in minicamp. That’s fewer than TJ Jones and Corey Fuller and a lot of other guys.

His best day was the first, when he lined up all over the place, including motioning into the backfield, and caught every single thing thrown his way. He burned Darius Slay on one memorable crossing route, which left the up-and-coming cornerback shaking his head as he jogged back to the sideline. There was just nothing Slay could have done, given Ebron’s size — and it is that kind of mismatch Detroit is hoping to exploit next season.

Ebron still has a long way to go, but this was a promising camp for him.

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CB Rashean Mathis

Mathis has shown no signs of slowing down whatsoever. At times, he was the best defensive player on the field during minicamp. That includes using some of that closing speed to break up a would-be touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson on Day 1, then a comeback route to Johnson on Day 3. His best play might have been busting up an out-route to Eric Ebron.

Mathis has been the Lions’ best cornerback each of the past two years, and while Darius Slay could wind up being the future of the defense, Mathis showed the old man still has game too.

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DT Caraun Reid

Darius Slay made the biggest year-to-year jump last year. There are early indications that Caraun Reid could end up being that guy this year.

He lacked polish as a rookie out of Princeton in 2014, but spent much of the season shadowing Ndamukong Suh, then actually worked out with Suh this offseason. He studied film with the former Lions superstar and everything. And the early results are stirring. Reid has totally transformed his body, and he looks like a different player in the trenches.

Just like with the running backs, it’s impossible to say anything definitive until the pads are on, but the rotation speaks for itself. Even when presumed starters Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker were on the field, it was Reid repping with the first unit. Whether or not Reid earns a starting job, expect to see a whole lot more out of him this season.