ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions opened training camp Monday with their starting running back, Joique Bell, and biggest defensive acquisition, Haloti Ngata, sitting out due to injuries.

There were a lot of other things to glean from opening day for the Lions, led by the healthy return of two tight ends and a linebacker.

Here are some things that caught my eye during Day 1.

1. Eric Ebron looked good: The tight end had the play of the day Monday, leaping over linebacker Stephen Tulloch on a Matthew Stafford pass over the middle for a tough reception. Ebron had to extend his body fully to make the grab -- and frankly it was a reception he might not have caught a season ago or even two months ago. But it showed at least a glimpse of progress and potential promise from the 2014 first-round pick. Both Golden Tate and Lance Moore praised Ebron recently and for at least one day, that promise delivered. The next step is for him to show he can do it consistently throughout training camp and during his reps in preseason games.

Eric Ebron already has shown signs of progress this offseason. AP Photo/Paul Sancya

“He started taking some steps forward late last year,” Stafford said. “I think he’s out to prove to people what he can do. I think that’s the best mentality to have as an athlete is to go out there and just show people what you can do, show people what you worked so hard for. He’s a hard-working kid and we expect good things out of him.”

2. Stephen Tulloch looked healthy: Unlike in the spring, when the veteran linebacker took no team-period reps during workouts, Tulloch practiced fully Monday and looked back to his typical top-end speed. He has been saying for months that he felt like he would recover to where he would be just like he was before his injury and through one, non-padded practice it appears he is at that goal. I watched him particularly during individual drills and couldn’t help but pay attention to his speed when he was running at another linebacker. He didn’t appear to have lost anything despite tearing his ACL in Week 3 last season.

3. Manny Ramirez still at left guard: This is going to be one of the more underrated battles during camp, and once again, the veteran who the Lions traded for during the first round of the NFL draft got the nod over the offensive lineman the Lions took in the first round of the draft, Laken Tomlinson. It’s still early in this race, but with every day Ramirez works with the first group ahead of Tomlinson, the more chance there is the vet beats out the rookie to at least start the season. If it remains this way by the first preseason game, then it could be a real position battle.

4. Not much to glean at returner: Jeremy Ross, the incumbent, received the first punt return of training camp, but considering how many players were back there fielding punts, it is clear Detroit has not narrowed down that competition at all. Ross, Golden Tate, Ameer Abdullah and Ryan Broyles all were back there during the special teams period -- a sign that this is a long way from being decided. This is likely a battle that will be settled with returns in games and padded practices.

5. Matthew Stafford looked sharp: The quarterback picked up where he left off during the spring workouts. He threaded a couple of throws perfectly, including the pass to Ebron mentioned above and another over the middle to Joseph Fauria, leading to Fauria then running to the end zone and dancing, just like old times. He also connected on a deep pass to Calvin Johnson, but it was unclear whether it was a good throw by Stafford or a spectacular play by Johnson in double coverage. Either way, there seems to be no rust on their connection whatsoever. Behind Stafford, Dan Orlovsky took reps before Kellen Moore, but now that we can view full practices daily, it’ll be interesting to see if that flip-flops or becomes a consistent order in relief of the starter.