Lions scrimmage notes: Aidan Hutchinson impresses, Brian Branch excels

New York Times

3 days ago

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — It was scrimmage day for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions. He was as giddy as you'd imagine.
'This will be good, it'll be competitive,' Campbell said this morning. 'First chance to get a pretty good dose without it being scripted. Here we go, man.'
Campbell said he wanted to get the starters and key reserves the majority of the workload since they won't play in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. The first-team offense and defense faced one another for seven drives, with the second-team getting three.
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Here's what we saw.
This recap focuses on the starting reps, since that's what the Lions tried to do. Here are the seven drives featuring the starting offense vs. the starting defense (with some reserves mixed in).
Drive No. 1:
Drive No. 2:
Drive No. 3:
Drive No. 4:
Drive No. 5:
Drive No. 6:
Drive No. 7:
Hutchinson, as you can see above, did some damage on Tuesday. He recorded at least three sacks (four if you count the final series) and had a run stops as well. If you're eager to chalk this up to reps vs. second-team tackle Dan Skipper, you should know that Hutchinson beat Sewell in Tuesday's practice and has gone toe-to-toe with Sewell and won throughout training camp. The most notable takeaway here is that Hutchinson looks phenomenal. There's no rust, no hesitation, no restrictions in place. He looks like the guy who led the league in pressures, sacks and win rate before his injury. And that's all you could want as a Lions fan.
The Lions held a scrimmage this morning. Starting offense and defense got the bulk of the work.
Aidan Hutchinson was the best player on the field.
Had him with three sacks (with a fourth the team didn't credit). He looks phenomenal.
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) July 29, 2025
Gibbs wanted to wear No. 1 this year. That went to Williams, with Gibbs taking on No. 0 this year. He'll have to settle for being the No. 1 back instead.
One thing that's been clear as these practices have unfolded is that Gibbs is usually the first back on the field with the starters. In past years, you'd often see Montgomery get the first bulk of carries before Gibbs takes the field. There was a clear pecking order in practice, and that often translated to games. Maybe it's nothing to read into, but there are a few factors to consider.
This doesn't mean Montgomery won't be used. He's looked phenomenal himself. But it seems like the Lions want Gibbs on the field as much as possible, while maintaining a fair workload for each. Something to monitor.
If you do a command-F search of this article, you'll probably find Branch's name littered throughout the scrimmage recap. He was everywhere. If you told me you thought Branch was the best player on the field, I wouldn't argue it. He spent time in the box, back deep at safety and in the slot at nickel. His PBU vs. St. Brown was one of the plays of the day — in man coverage, asked to cover an All-Pro WR who wins routinely — and did it without much trouble. He shot out of a cannon for a sack on the fourth drive.
It's July 29. If Branch stays healthy, he'll be an All-Pro this year. Check back on this in early January.
(Photo of Aidan Hutchinson: Junfu Han / USA Today / Imagn Images)