Allen Park >> Here are a handful of Detroit Lions players who are trending up ahead of next month’s training camp.

Projected starting receivers

Kalif Raymond and Jameson Williams should head into the summer break feeling good about the work they put in through the early stages of the offseason program.

For Raymond, who ended last season sidelined by knee injury, he looks fully recovered. His consistency in these practices gives him an early edge in the competition to be the team’s No. 3 receiver entering the 2024 season. Quarterback Jared Goff raved about Raymond’s work ethic and reliability after the second minicamp practice, and following Josh Reynolds’ departure in free agency, there’s room for Raymond’s production to grow beyond the 41 receptions he’s averaged the past two seasons.As for Williams, the third-year speedster, the drop issues that plagued him early in his career have receded. Equally important, he’s made tremendous strides with his deep-ball tracking, particularly balls coming in over his inside shoulder down the sideline. There’s still room for improved consistency, but after previously being a non-factor on those throws early in his career, it’s looking like he could be a legit threat on sideline shot plays in 2024.

Where Williams needs to continue to make strides is handling physicality at the line of scrimmage. That can be countered through cleaner releases — not letting the defensive back get a hand on him — as well as continued strength training.

New additions at cornerback

It’s obviously early, but fans have reason to be optimistic about a quick turnaround in the team’s secondary, after an offseason overhaul to the cornerback room.

Let’s start with Carlton Davis III, the former top option in Tampa Bay who came over in a March trade. Even without the pads on, his physicality jumps out. He’s highly proficient at getting his hands into receivers near the line of scrimmage and redirecting their routes. From there, Davis is able to turn and run with his coverage responsibility and regularly disrupt at the catch point, as well.

Days after adding Davis, the Lions signed Amik Robertson in free agency. Able to play both inside and out, he has been primarily operating in the slot during these early practices because Brian Branch is still working his way back from offseason surgery and the team slow-playing rookie Ennis Rakestraw, who is coming off a core-muscle issue while at Missouri.

Robertson’s scouting report is feistiness and physicality, but his anticipation and short-area quickness were on display throughout minicamp, with multiple pass breakups coming back toward the line. He also showed some special-teams prowess as a gunner, downing one punt inside the 5-yard line during a two-minute drill on Thursday.

Finally, first-round draft pick Terrion Arnold looks to be ahead of the curve. He’s a fluid mover and often in the right position to make plays on the ball while working against Detroit’s first-team offense. That included an interception off Jared Goff, where Arnold timed and jumped a sideline throw. The chances he starts Week 1 opposite Davis have sharply increased, in my opinion.

Second-year players eyeing roster spots

Once training camp concludes each year, media across the NFL is barred from watching full practices. That limits our ability to gain insight on many of the roster’s younger players closer to the bottom of the depth chart or on the practice squad. But they are the ones benefitting from consistent reps against the first-team offense and defense, giving them added opportunity to develop.

Several of those young players showed improved skill sets coming into this offseason, putting them in line to push for jobs and potentially contribute in 2024. That group in Detroit is headlined by safety Brandon Joseph, wide receiver Antoine Green and edge rusher Mitchel Agude.

The trio all saw first-team reps, with Joseph getting a ton of work as the starting safety opposite Ifeatu Melifonwu while Kerby Joseph recovers from offseason hip surgery. Brandon Joseph built a reputation for being smart, instinctive and assignment-sound while on the practice squad last season, and he’s on his way to carving out a backup and special teams role if he can sustain his momentum through training camp.

Green, a seventh-round pick last year, caught just one pass for two yards as a rookie. But he’s been at the tips of the tongues of general manager Brad Holmes, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and coach Dan Campbell all offseason. They liked the receiver’s improvement behind the scenes and rewarded that with extra reps working with Goff through OTAs and minicamp. Green was slowed a bit this week by a leg injury, but no one else in the mix for the fourth, fifth and potentially sixth spot on the depth chart stood out.

Agude’s opportunities speak to how the coaching staff feels about him, but it’s difficult for us to evaluate that progress prior to seeing him perform in fully-padded practices. Regardless, he looks like he belongs, with a long lean frame and explosive movements.

“We kind of had him at that defensive-end position, the rush defensive-end position, and not only that, but he helped us on special teams,” Campbell said. “He was somebody, repeatedly, every week that the coaches would talk about, just even when he was servicing the offense (on the scout team), how smart he is. You give him one correction, one thing, and it never happens again. He’s a worker. He works. He’s another guy that’s kind of transformed his body. He’s pretty powerful. He’s a guy, man, you love going into camp with a guy like him. Let’s see where he can go.”

Second-round pick finally healthy

A lot of fans have probably given up on Levi Onwuzurike, which is understandable, given that the former second-round pick has been severely limited by back problems his first three seasons. Still, there were real signs of life in his limited playing time last year, particularly the 10 quarterback pressures he registered, despite only seeing 106 pass-rushing opportunities.

The most important thing is he didn’t suffer a setback in 2023. Now, nearly two years removed from his fusion surgery, Onwuzurike feels whole again. He’s even added 20 pounds back to his frame because he trusts his body can handle it.

The coaching staff sees it, as well, giving him expanded practice reps, including snaps as an oversized edge rusher. There are moments when you see the explosive get-off that made him appealing to the Lions as a prospect, and if he can triple his 2023 workload as a rotational piece, it could be a big boost to Detroit’s defensive front.

Rookie kicker challenger

Last month, the first time I got eyes on Detroit’s contenders for their kicking job, I was content to hand the keys to returning veteran Michael Badgley, who demonstrated improved distance and impressive accuracy that afternoon.

But that one-day sample size has been overwritten by rookie James Turner’s steady improvement through the past few weeks. The inconsistencies he showed that first practice have nearly vanished, while the power in his leg is jaw-dropping. The former Michigan standout didn’t make a kick longer than 50 yards during his college career, but he was regularly clearing the crossbar by 10-15 yards on attempts ranging from 50-55 yards during minicamp.

Badgley still holds the overall edge, based on his track record, plus how well he executes the new kickoff format compared to the rookie, but Turner has a real shot to win the competition.