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T.J. Lang is a low-key kind of guy which we learned a year ago, his first as the right guard for the Lions.

Takes a lot to get the big guy excited, get back to him in September.

The key difference this year is he is not coming off surgery. A year ago when the Lions signed him as a free agent he was coming off hip surgery.

“Feel pretty good, I do. Obviously this time of year is kind of  getting back into shape, getting working with the guys again,’’ the 30-year-old Lang said on Thursday. “Thinking back to last year at this time I was just getting off crutches. I’m way ahead of where I was last year.’’

The Lions are in their second week of offseason workouts with a minicamp set for next week.

Five thoughts from Lang:

1. On coach Matt Patricia: “He’s another guy who comes from a very successful team, has won quite a few championships and knows the way it’s supposed to go. Excited to have him as a coach, I think the biggest thing you get from guys the last couple weeks is he’s always excited every time you talk to him, he’s very passionate about this game. It’s going to be fun to work with him.’’

2. On new offensive line coach Bo Davis: “I think he’s been around this league for a really long time, he’s had a lot of success everywhere he’s been. Right now is the period where we’re just getting to know each other a little bit. We’ll work on that relationship and I’m sure as we move forward in the next couple weeks we’ll get into more football stuff. … I’m excited to work with him.”

3. On improving the run game: “It’s early on in the process. We haven’t really dived into a lot of things from last year. Everything right now is mostly in the weight room and running on the field. I’m sure that’s a step we’ll take soon. It’s no secret everybody in that room, the O-line room wants to be responsible for our part of having a well balanced offense, that requires you to run the ball effectively. That’s probably going to be an emphasis of ours as we move forward into some on-field drills.”

4. On the injuries across the board on the offensive line last season: “At the time it was frustrating. Right now there’s not one guy in the locker room talking about last year. Everybody’s focused, there’s new optimism, new excitement in the locker room. We don’t care about last year any more. It’s well documented what we went through, especially as an offensive line injury-wise and obviously performance. We’re going to try to learn from our mistakes, we’ve got some new guys in the room it’s a totally different team this year so we’re going to have to figure out what we do well and move forward from there.’’

5. On the NFL schedule being released tonight: “For me the only thing I look at, to be honest with you, is the bye week. Hopefully it’s in the middle of the season to split it up a little bit.’’

ALLEN PARK >> Entering his tenth season with the Lions, Matthew Stafford will be working under his third head coach in Matt Patricia.

“Change happens in the NFL, it’s almost inevitable, I think the goal is to play well enough to not have those changes, obviously we didn’t in the past,’’ Stafford said on Tuesday. “But I think the biggest thing is to move forward, and Jim Bob (Cooter) stuck around as the offensive coordinator, so some of that continuity will be helpful.’’

The Lions started their offseason workout program last week. They’ll go through a three-day voluntary minicamp next week before the start of the draft on Thursday night.

On Tuesday, Stafford talked to the media for the first time since Patricia was hired in January.

Five thoughts:

1. Obviously Patricia has made an early impact even though he’s only been allowed to speak to the team, not work with them. “He comes from a program that’s won a lot of football games in a lot of different ways, he’s a smart guy, we’ll enjoy those conversations when they come around, obviously he’s met with the team a couple times, but he’s just got great energy, great passion for the game,’’ Stafford said. “He, like everybody else, in this building just wants to win, and that’s our goal, but in the meantime he understands the process of it and just harps on that to us. It’s early right now, it’s on us to improve ourselves this time of year and that’s what we’re worried about at the moment.’’

2. It’s not just that Cooter is back to lead the offense, four of the top wide receivers remain on the roster which will obviously help provide continuity. “It’s good. It’s nice. I think it’s on us to continually improve, though,’’ Stafford said. “We can’t sit there and say, ‘Hey, we had a good year last year. Let’s just go do that again.’ We have to go find ways to be better, to find ways to be more efficient, more explosive, and put points up on the board.”

3. One of the biggest additions on offense was signing 31-year-old free agent running back LeGarrette Blount. “Obviously I’m a football fan, I’ve watched him play a lot of meaningful, important games and he’s played really well in those games, excited to have him, big, physical guy, does a really nice job in the red areas, scored a lot of touchdowns in his career rushing the football, and that’s an area we can improve in,’’ Stafford said.  “And as far as his experience and games he’s played in for as long as he’s played and the level he’s played at, it’s going to bring a lot to that room, to our offense and to our team.’’

4. While the mainstays of the offense return, obviously there will be changes. “We’re always looking to find ways to get better, I think if you just looked at it statistically from the past year, I think we can be better in a number of areas, and we’ll put a lot of time and effort and focus into that this offseason and hopefully it’ll come to fruition during the season, it’s a long process getting there,’’ Stafford said.

5. Like always, Stafford is his own toughest critic and knows certain areas that he needs to improve. “There’s a bunch, I can always be better, obviously I think I turned the ball over too many times last year, got the ball knocked out of my hands or threw it to the other team too many times,’’ Stafford said. “Every offseason you’re looking at those and hating watching them again and trying to find ways to make sure they don’t happen again, that’s a huge one. Obviously a big one always in the NFL is turnovers, so I can always be better doing that.’’

 

Marcus Davenport makes sense for the Lions to draft with the 20th overall pick on April 26, the first night of the three-day NFL draft event.

The defensive end, who played at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is routinely described as “raw.” He’s 6-5 and 259 pounds — or as the scouts say — long, strong and physical at the point of attack.

In Gil Brandt’s top 150 draft prospects that was posted on NFL.com today, Davenport is ranked 12th with this comment: “Davenport will get better every year and has a chance to become a good pass rusher in the NFL. He’s very athletic and has good character and excellent work habits.”

Detroit’s defensive line is one area that needs help in the draft and, if there’s a good option, it would not be surprising to see GM Bob Quinn select a defensive lineman in the first round. Davenport could be the guy.

Here are five reasons why:

1. If anybody knows Davenport well it’s his defensive line coach from UTSA last season. That would be Bo Davis. Coincidentally, Davis is the new Lions’ defensive line coach under head coach Matt Patricia. Hmmm. So if the Lions like Davenport — and most scouts do — it seems this would be a perfect match if he is still available.

2. Davenport is known as an excellent run defender. That was an area of concern last season for the Lions who were 15th in the NFL last season, allowing 112.5 rushing yards per game.

3. He wouldn’t be the first “raw” defensive end the Lions have drafted in the first round. Indeed, Ziggy Ansah probably had more work to do just to learn the game he had only played for three years. And we know, that worked out just fine. Last season he had 55 tackles with 17.5 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, four passes batted and three forced fumbles.

4. Mock drafts vary widely when it comes to the Lions’ 20th pick. Two of the three NFL.com mock drafts have Davenport going to the Lions.

5. From Charlie Campbell at WalterFootball.com: “Edge defenders with length are always in demand, so even though Davenport needs development, he could be a mid- to late first-rounder. Scouts from over a handful of teams have told me that Davenport is a good player and impressed them in 2017, but they thought a top-16 pick is too high for him. They think the back half of the first round is possible.” If true, this means he could be available when the Lions pick at No. 20.