ALLEN PARK -- His final college season ended just four games in, and that's when the long wait began. Finally, for Jalen Reeves-Maybin, the wait is over.

The rookie linebacker out of Tennessee is months removed from surgery, but he said that not so much as a lingering pain is affecting his shoulder these days. He said he was back to normal as he was working mostly at weak-side linebacker with the Lions reserves at Wednesday's organized team activities.

That'd be good news for the Lions, who picked Reeves-Maybin with their first of two picks in the fourth round after they'd circled him as one of the 10 to 15 players they'd hoped would fall on Day 3 of the draft.

"Really good tackler, speed, athleticism -- playmaker, I'd say," general manager Bob Quinn said. "This guy's instincts at the linebacker position are very good, so that's one thing that led to him."

Reeves-Maybin fell due to concerns about his shortened season and what kind of athlete he could be without the pre-draft testing teams use to try to project. All he was able to do at the NFL Scouting Combine was measure, and he came out at 6 feet and 230 pounds, a little light for a player hoping to be a 4-3 linebacker. Questions in the scouting community centered on whether he was losing strength and mass while out injured, and since the injury was an upper-body one, he wasn't able to quell many of them for quite some time.

But now, Reeves-Maybin is working limitless in individual drills and team settings. He's looking to carve out a role that could start on special teams and evolve from there. He entered the draft with high marks from scouts on his pass coverage skills, which was a major need for the Lions last year. Linebacker play in general was as the group finished the year without a single sack, interception or forced fumble and then saw two starters walk.

The Lions signed Paul Worrilow to starter-type money and spent their first-round pick on another Southeastern Conference linebacker in Florida's Jarrad Davis. The Davis selection has forced Tahir Whitehead to find a new role, and the shuffling could create opportunities for snaps for guys down the depth chart.

Reeves-Maybin will focus on that soon, but his priority right now is learning an advanced playbook after being away from one of any kind for so long. Building back up physically is another challenge, but that's what the time surrounding organized training activities allows for.

"It's been a while since I've put my feet on the field with cleats on," Reeves-Maybin said. "Hopefully I can come in and bring a lot of wins to the city and to the organization."