This offseason, the Detroit Pistons decided to make a change at head coach. Monty Williams was dismissed after finishing with the league’s worst record, and Trajan Langdon brought on J.B. Bickerstaff as his replacement.

Earlier this week, Bickerstaff joined Richard Jefferson on his Road Trippin podcast to discuss an array of topics. As expected, most of the conversation was steered towards his new opportunity in Detroit.

When talking about his expectations for the Pistons in year one, Bickerstaff harped on building an identity for people to resonate with. He also touched on how he’s already started drawing inspiration from some of the franchise’s most successful teams.

“When you guys turn on the TV, I want you to be able to see oh that’s Detroit Pistons basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s a style that we want to play…The old Bad Boys teams that so many people loved and admired. The Rip, Chauncey, Rasheed, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Pistons team. Really going back and studying those teams. Those teams were elite defensively, they were blue collar.”

In just his first few weeks on the job, Bickerstaff seems to have already done a steep amount of homework on the franchise. Seeing that the teams he mentioned won three championships between them, he has found a good source of inspiration.

With the current core, Bickerstaff is smart to try and build a defensive identity. For starters, the roster has a pair of super athletic wings who pride themselves on that end in Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland. Detroit also had two physical frontcourt presences as well with Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. If this group as whole brand themselves on defense, the Pistons could certainly take a big step forward under Bickerstaff’s guidance.

Undrafted rookie center Kingsley Eguakun has drawn attention from the Detroit Lions coaching staff due to his solid start to training camp.

An ankle injury derailed his senior season at Florida, giving Detroit’s personnel department an opportunity to extend the 6-foot-3, 304-pound lineman an undrafted rookie free agent contract with solid guaranteed monies ($245,000).

Eguakun impresssed many scouts at the Senior Bowl, regularly winning reps against top collegiate prospects.

According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, “Eguakun is a strong prospect with the base and leverage necessary to combat a variety of skill sets at the point of attack. He’s an experienced prospect with 30 career starts in the SEC and 42 total appearances. Eguakun was credited with allowing zero sacks in 901 career pass protection reps.

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“Eguakaun also put forth an impressive pre-draft workout. The Jacksonville native had a 32-inch vertical and 9-foot-1 broad jump. He also ran a 4.51 shuttle and 7.57 three-cone. The results led Eguakun to capture a 9.09 Relative Athletic Score, though an official 40-yard dash time was notably absent.”

Against the Giants, the 23-year-old successfully sealed off defensive tackles and was able to levy a successful block on a linebacker, which should give the coaching staff additional confidence to play him more the next couple of weeks.

Detroit’s depth along the offensive line took a hit, as Conor Galvin suffered a torn MCL against the Giants, ending his 2024 season.

Rookie Christian Mahogany has missed the early portion of training camp dealing with an illness.

Undoubtedly, Jared Goff is the Detroit Lions’ No. 1 quarterback. He earned that status and then some after leading the Lions to the NFC North division crown and the NFC Championship Game in 2023.

Yet, there is some uncertainty about whether the organization possesses a clear-cut No. 2 passer. That question potentially grew even bigger after Detroit’s preseason tilt with the N.Y. Giants Thursday. 

Nate Sudfeld, who played the entirety of the first half against the Giants, looked lost under center for most of the night. His timing and accuracy were consistently off, and there’s no question he hurt his candidacy for the backup job. He ended up finishing the opening half five-of-11 through the air for just 24 yards. It was certainly a performance to forget for Sudfeld.

Meanwhile, Hendon Hooker, the second-year quarterback out of Tennessee, entered the game under center to start the second half. In his first taste of game action as a pro, he definitely looked the part of a dual-threat passer. He appeared confident of his abilities both inside and outside the pocket, and showcased the ability to make a difference with his legs. 

The only problem is that Hooker may have been a bit too run-happy Thursday. The Volunteers product suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter, which came on a play in which he scrambled out of the pocket. 

Lions head man Dan Campbell would like the young signal-caller to be more cognizant of the potential harm he exposes himself to when he takes off and runs. 

“That’s what happens when you run. In this league, at the quarterback position, you are going to take some hits,” Campbell said about Hooker, after Detroit’s preseason opener against New York. “So, you have to be real selective. He’s going to have to learn to be selective. He’s going to need to slide if he is going to use more of his legs. It’s good, it gets you out of trouble. But, that’s the downside of it: You expose yourself to hits.”

Despite suffering the concussion, it was still an all-around solid effort for Hooker. He notably spearheaded a 14-play, 65-yard drive late in the third quarter, on which he recorded runs of 16 yards and six yards while fearlessly taking on multiple defenders. He finished his preseason debut with 36 yards through the air on five-of-nine passing, plus added another 34 yards on the ground.

Hooker is definitely still a work in progress, especially after missing basically an entire year of football in 2023 while recovering from a torn ACL. Among a variety of things, he needs to get better at knowing when and when not to take off and run. It’s an intangible that will help him more easily avoid big hits and subsequently stay in games.

So, Campbell & Co. are likely not going to feel ultra confident if Hooker has to enter a game this upcoming season for a banged-up Goff. However, I’m convinced there isn’t a long list of backup QBs that make teams feel super confident anyways.

Additionally (and most importantly), I believe that Campbell and the Lions’ coaching staff saw enough from the second-year pro Thursday to make the determination that he’s their No. 2 quarterback. 

I saw enough, too, to say that the organization doesn’t need to go out and acquire a backup quarterback. It already has its guy in Hooker.