Perhaps no player made better use of the Detroit Lions ' local pro day than Grand Valley State safety Ian Kennelly. During the event, Kennelly wowed the coaching staff with his speed and athleticism. As a result, the Lions' coaching staff came away impressed and wound up signing him to an undrafted free agent contract following the draft. Kennelly has all the necessary athletic traits and physical skills to be a contributor for the defense. He faces a tough path to making the roster, but his athleticism should allow him to be firmly in the competition for one of the final roster spots. Strengths Kennelly's journey to Detroit started with the team's local pro day, as he was part of a contingent that worked out for the coaching staff at the Allen Park Performance Center. As safeties coach Jim O'Neil puts it, Kennelly's performance began to attract observers outside of the defensive backs room. Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp and head coach Dan Campbell were among the group, and as a result the staff made the commitment to watch more of his tape following the workout. The tape matched the workout, showcasing a defensive back with above-average size and speed that is capable of playing with plenty of physicality. "I didn't know anything about the kid, at all. And he came to local day, and he crushed it," O'Neil said. "Not just the DB coaches observed it, Fipp ended up gravitating over to it, Dan ended up gravitating over. We're like, 'Who is this kid?' So we went back to watch the tape, and some of the stuff we saw at the local day was showing up. Physical, could run, could obviously track the ball. We've been impressed with him."

Kennelly's relative athletic score, which is based on his pro day numbers, ranked 95th out of over 1,000 strong safetys evaluated since 1987. The Grand Valley product can fly, with a 4.53 40-yard dash. He has plenty of ball production, as he logged three interceptions last season and eight total in his career over four seasons. With his overall athleticism, there is also a pathway for him to find a role on special teams, which can be helpful in his case to make the final 53-man roster. Weaknesses Coming from a Division II school will mean a large jump in competition and likely overall volume of the workload he faces at the professional level. O'Neil admitted that the sheer amount of information he's had to digest has made some aspects difficult for Kennelly in the early stages of the offseason. However, the Lions are plenty optimistic that he will find his footing as the team gives him more opportunities. "He's in a little bit of a blender right now, mentally, because of how much defense we've thrown at him and how much he's used to at Grand Valley," O'Neil explained. "But when we're in the position drills, you can see the athletic ability, you can see him track a ball. So he's a great developmental player right now, and I'm hoping he develops into a damn good player for us."