More than once on a damp Saturday morning in Allen Park, I was able to overhear a Detroit Lions fan wondering aloud, “Who is that No. 36 guy?”
That would be Steven Gilmore. The undrafted rookie cornerback from Marshall commanded a lot of attention from the fans in the stands at the first Lions practice of the summer open to the public. The younger brother of All-Pro CB Stephon Gilmore has the coaching staff taking notice too.
Head coach Dan Campbell is a fan of Gilmore’s early work in a Lions uniform.
“Yeah, we like Gilly,” Campbell said before Saturday’s practice, once again adorning every player with a nickname. “We liked his tape too when he was coming out and he has some awareness about him, he has some instincts, he has ball skills, pretty good movement skills.”
Campbell then got to the physical limitations. Gilmore is listed at 6 feet tall and a scant 170 pounds. In person, he doesn’t even seem that heavy; his frame is very slight and the arms and legs are quite skinny even with some muscular defintion. While he doesn’t lack strength or fight for his mass, Gimore’s lack of bulk could be a real hindrance.
“I think for him, it’s going to be – some of it, along with development, is the physical development. He’s not a real big guy. He has to get a little bit of mass on him, get a little bit stronger. I think that will be – that’s kind of going to be part of what, with him, how fast can those things come to really help him, but we see growth out of him.”
That growth and potential was on full display in Saturday’s practice session. Gilmore had a nice strip tackle to create one takeaway, as well as an opportunistic interception off backup QB Nate Sudfeld where Gilmore’s alertness allowed him to capitalize on a forced, off-target throw deep down the seam.
Gilmore has had some other plays throughout the first week of practices, too. He’s sticky in man coverage and adjusts to the ball in the air better than many of his Lions DB peers. While he lacks mass, Gilmore does not lack fight — an endearing quality to both Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
“We see development. We’re excited about him,” Campbell concluded about Gilmore.
Lions fans should be, too.
