Detroit Lions practice in 2019 training camp in Allen Park

Dave Birkett | Detroit Free Press

There's not much doubt about how the Detroit Lions will line up in the secondary to start the season.

But Slay's absence from the first week of training camp (he remains suspiciously on the non-football injury list after staying away from the team all spring) has given the Lions a long look at some of their backup cornerbacks – and those cornerbacks an opportunity to catch coaches' eyes.

Teez Tabor has gotten the bulk of the first-team work at cornerback, and on Thursday it was rookie Amani Oruwariye who worked opposite Melvin for a large portion of the day.

Raj Mehta USA TODAY Sports

Oruwariye hadn't done much to catch my eye in the first week of camp, but that changed Thursday.

Matched up against Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, he had a nice practice on a day the Lions went a little shorter than usual (about two hours) and kept their pads in the locker room.

The highlight of the day for Oruwariye was the interception he made on a Matthew Stafford pass to Golladay late in practice. Oruwariye out-jumped Golladay for the ball, but the play happened in the corner of the end zone a good 150 yards from the media bleachers so I'll let him describe what happened.

"Just saw kind of like his split just being a little tighter, so just played with my proper leverage and just worked on the technique that Coach (Brian) Stewart teaches me and just came down with the play," Oruwariye said.

A fifth-round pick out of Penn State, Oruwariye has all the physical tools to make a mark in the NFL. He's 6 feet 2 and 205 pounds, and he ran a sub-4.5-second 40-yard-dash at the combine.

Oruwariye played in a defense in college that didn't use nearly as much man coverage as the Lions do, so he's still very much a work in progress. But his competitive spirit was on display Thursday.

Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

Along with his pick of Stafford – the third straight day now that he has thrown an interception – Oruwariye broke up a fade route to Jones in the end zone in some high red zone work and he mostly held his own in one-on-one drills.

Golladay did beat Oruwariye for a nice back-shoulder touchdown in one-on-ones when Oruwariye was late locating the ball, and Oruwariye slipped on a play where Jones ran wide open for a touchdown in two-minute work.

Overall, though, it was a good day for Oruwariye – one that should give Lions fans hope that, when the inevitable injury in the secondary strikes, Oruwariye might be able to step in and hold down the cornerback spot for a week or two.

• The Lions practiced without pads Thursday for the first time since last week, something head coach Matt Patricia said he wanted to do since it was players' third straight day on the field and because a big chunk of practice was dedicated to two-minute work.

"A lot of running, a lot of situational teaching stuff, so we can do that at a pace without the equipment on," Patricia said.

Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

• The Lions used C.J. Anderson, not Kerryon Johnson, as their primary two-minute back with the first-team offense Thursday. I don't know if this is a sign of things to come as they were mixing up personnel much of the day, but it was interesting to note nonetheless.

Jones, Golladay, Danny Amendola and Jesse James were the other skill players on the field with Stafford to start the hurry-up period.

• Johnson did get a chance to showcase his receiving chops in a team period early in practice. The second-year running back ran a wheel route on the first play of the period that went 74 yards or so for a touchdown. Romeo Okwara had no chance covering Johnson out of the backfield, and Johnson outran Melvin to the end zone.

• A funny moment at practice Thursday: During one-on-one receiver drills, Amendola caught a pass on Jamal Agnew then threw the ball towards a group of Detroit Edison football players in the crowd cheering him on. One of the players dropped the pass, and when Amendola went over to retrieve it he faked giving it back to the fan before tossing it back towards the line of scrimmage. The lesson: Don't squander your opportunities, even if you're a fan.

Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

• A few other notes from those one-on-one drills: I know Amendola is this team's slot receiver, but Brandon Powell still looks extremely quick in and out of his breaks. He shook Agnew with one move Thursday to get easy separation for a catch and ended the period by doing the same to Coleman. Golladay caught an easy back-shoulder touchdown pass against Tabor, Dee Virgin had a nice breakup of a Tom Savage pass to Chris Lacy.

• Lacy has helped himself in the battle for the No. 5 receiver spot the last couple days. He made a nice diving catch on a David Fales pass Thursday and has the size to be a factor in the red zone. He still has a long road to go to win a roster spot, but he'll be worth keeping an eye on in preseason games.

• On the offensive line Thursday, Joe Dahl played left guard and Oday Aboushi right guard with the first unit. I don't completely get why the Lions are rotating Graham Glasgow in with the twos so much. He should be on the field for every snap this fall if he's healthy.

• One player who continues to get some work with the first-team defense, who I've failed to mention in previous observations, is linebacker Garret Dooley. The Lions need a backup for Devon Kennard at the rush linebacker spot and Dooley has gotten a long look the last few days. A healthy Austin Bryant is the best bet to fill that role – Bryant can play both outside linebacker and defensive end – but the rookie fourth-round pick is currently battling an injury.

Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

• Others still dealing with injuries: Da'Shawn Hand, Christian Jones, Jonathan Wynn and Marcus Cooper, and Mike Daniels still hasn't done much since signing as a free agent.

• Last thing: The Lions will hold their Family Fest and scrimmage on Friday at Ford Field. The doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the scrimmage will start at 6. Admission for the event is free, but you have to register online through the Lions' website if you want to come. No practice Saturday, then the Lions will be back at it Sunday before the Patriots come to town for joint workouts next week.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.