The Detroit Lions are in the third week of training camp and are gearing up to play in their second preseason game on Friday. Now is a good time to talk about some of the players who have seemingly come out of nowhere and started turning heads at training camp. Here’s our five most surprising players so far:

Edge Keith Cooper Jr.

I stood next to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press on Monday as we watched Cooper make yet another play, and he looked at me and said, “He’s making the 53.” I can’t argue at all. Cooper has been in the right place over and over again. He’s applying pressure, and he’s getting home. It makes you wonder why he wasn’t drafted. Cooper had a solid first preseason game, where he played 38 snaps. It’s clear the Lions want to keep getting more looks at him. That’s a good sign.

RB Jacob Saylors

It’s only been a week or so for the former All-UFL running back in Detroit, but he has made the most of it already. Saylors runs hard out there, and it’s hard not to notice. Monday was a great day for him as he found the end zone on a drive in which he racked up most of the offensive yards. I’m very intrigued to see how much he plays on Friday. Cracking the 53 is near impossible, but there’s a practice squad spot for this guy.

CB Rock Ya-Sin

You’ve always known Ya-Sin was a decent cornerback in the NFL. He’s been on rosters for the last six years. What I didn’t know was that he’s this good and this much of a leader on the field. With everything that Ennis Rakestraw is going through injury-wise, Ya-Sin has made everyone feel a lot more comfortable with how good he has looked. He’s primed for that CB4 role where he can rotate in when needed and can play a strong role on special teams, too.

DT Myles Adams

Maybe not that big of a surprise for me personally, I swear I’m not bragging by the way. Adams came to the Lions last year in that big wave of transactions after Thanksgiving, and in the limited snaps he was getting, he showed up. So far this summer, it has continued at camp. He was also one of the good standouts from the Hall of Fame game. With injuries to Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeill, Mekhi Wingo, and now Pat O’Connor, Adams has a shot to crack the 53-man roster this summer.

WR Dominic Lovett

Lovett had something of a hot-and-cold Hall of Fame game with a couple of drops, but he also got targeted nine times in that game, and that’s a good sign that he continuously got into the right spots. His gunner work is what shows up the most. He easily blazes past everyone on the field, and that 4.4 speed sometimes looks a little more like 4.3 speed. If he can start nailing down good looks on returns and clean up the drops, then he might be the most surprising player of the summer.

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