ALLEN PARK, Mich. – It was unlike anything any player or coach had experienced before as a pro. No preseason games. No joint practices. No fans. And all the social distancing the Detroit Lions could manage.

Off-the-field, the Lions showed their unity and took a stand against police brutality and social injustice by choosing not to practice last Tuesday to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. On the field, the Lions looked more together as a group of players than I can remember in my seven prior years covering the team.

That said, there were things throughout camp that stood out – both as concerns and as reasons the Lions could thrive in 2020.

Matthew Stafford looks fine – better than fine, actually – and his receivers are benefiting: This time last year there was real question about how Stafford would fit into new coordinator Darrell Bevell’s offense. This time two months ago, there were questions about Stafford’s back, which forced him to miss the second half of last season.

None of those questions exist anymore.

Stafford has looked impressive throughout training camp. Yes, he’s had the occasional bad throw, but he’s been on-point almost every day of training camp and appears to be in a situation where he’ll pick up on the Pro Bowl-or-better pace he was on before heading to injured reserve in 2019.

“You love the drive of everything that he does right now,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. “It’s been great. It’s been awesome [for him] to take it upon himself to push the team.”

Most notably, Stafford’s connections with Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola have remained intact. On at least two days of camp, the Stafford-to-Golladay combination was borderline unstoppable, including during the team’s Saturday scrimmage, where Golladay twice caught high-difficulty level touchdown passes from his quarterback.

Stafford’s protection could be improved, too, as Frank Ragnow had been dominant throughout camp and Taylor Decker looks like he might have also taken another step forward based on his battles with Trey Flowers.

T.J. Hockenson could break out in 2020: Last year’s first-round pick struggled with injuries, and other than a six-catch, 131-yard debut against Arizona, he was largely quiet until his season-ending ankle injury. Detroit has appeared cautious with him at times during camp, but when you watch him on the field, aside from a couple of drops, he doesn’t look like a player who suffered a season-ending injury a year ago and should be a legitimate red zone threat for Detroit.

Keep expectations tempered for Jeff Okudah and D'Andre Swift in Week 1: Both, as long as they are healthy, should end up playing but don’t be surprised if the Lions take it slow with their top two rookies. Swift missed over a week of practice with an undisclosed injury and that’s valuable time missed in picking up the nuances of the offense. Jason Huntley and Ty Johnson have taken advantage of the reps missed with Swift out as they both are vying for rosters spots – and at points both have looked incredibly capable as pass-catchers and runners.

“With rookies in a normal season, where we have the spring and we have the preseason when we get to the regular season, things happen a lot quicker, and they’re a little bit more complex than what we’ve seen,” Patricia said. “So we’re going to have to do a good job of making sure [Swift's] acclimated for when he is ready to go to be in situations that we think he can handle.”

The same, in some ways, could be said for Okudah based off how’s been used so far.

Okudah has practiced fully almost every day, but he’s largely worked with the second team or subbing in on the first team behind Desmond Trufant and Amani Oruwariye. The potential for him is definitely there, and had he had a full spring and true training camp with preseason games, he’d possibly be in a better position than he is now.

He’s had some really nice plays – including what seems like a pass breakup every day and an interception (that Stafford said was on a free play) the first week of camp.

But Oruwariye is playing well and Trufant is a do-everything player the Lions signed in free agency, so the need to rush Okudah out there might not be as strong as one might think. Okudah is showing flashes of being a future high-level player and maybe he overtakes a starting position before Week 1.

The rookies who could end up seeing the most time are Jonah Jackson, who should start at right guard, and Julian Okwara, who could get a lot of playing time at defensive end and as a stand-up edge rusher. Jackson’s been with the first-team since Day 1 of camp and has shown older-than-his-years footwork and skill at guard. Okwara still is a work-in-progress but the depth at his two positions is not as strong, which could mean a larger role.

The Lions’ defensive line is a concern: This was something you could see coming from the offseason signings and the lack of attention paid to the interior of the line until the end of the draft. Flowers should have no problems on the end and Romeo Okwara has shown similar flashes to his breakout 2018 season – including a diving interception off a tipped ball Friday. Nick Williams has been a little inconsistent, some days looking like the player he was in Chicago last year and other times appearing to struggle. Da’Shawn Hand missed some time the last two weeks with an undisclosed injury. Danny Shelton has promise as a run-stopper in this defense but without a lot of hitting, it’s difficult to tell how effective he might end up being.

Depth is an issue here, too. Kevin Strong – who has been in the backfield more than once and made plays throughout camp – and rookie John Penisini might end up being counted on for snaps at tackle and depth at end, other than Julian Okwara, is not entirely clear yet.

It’s the position where the Lions have the most question marks.

Tracy Walker has played well – but not always where you’d think: The third-year safety has been one of Detroit’s top defenders in camp. Every day he’s continuously around the ball, breaking up passes or intercepting them. He’s made life difficult for Detroit’s tight ends with tight coverage.

Yet the Lions have given a long look to Will Harris at safety next to Duron Harmon, which has been somewhat confounding. Patricia said they’ve been working on rotations – and Walker has rotated in with the first team – but he’s the Lions’ most complete safety and Patricia said chemistry at safety is “critical.” So the lack of snaps Walker has received next to Harmon or Harris has been one of the questions of camp.

It’s possible the Lions are confident enough in Walker they aren’t worried about him come Week 1 and that once the media isn’t able to watch practice anymore, Walker will slide in every rep with the starters, but so far that hasn’t happened.

He worked more with the No. 1 unit the last couple of days of camp, including in the scrimmage, but he’s always seemed like an every down defender. Whether that happens by Week 1 will be a story to watch.