Who will emerge as #3 wide receiver?
By Matt Urben
Baylor’s Jay Lee is an intriguing young prospect and it’s far too early to write off speedster Corey Fuller.
Jeremy Kerley, Andre Caldwell, TJ Jones and Corey Fuller make up Detroit’s very questionable wide receiver group. Throw in Baylor’s undrafted free-agent Jay Lee into the mix and you have a group of talented, yet unproven guys, fighting for playing time.
It has been well documented that the Lions lost one of the all-time greats in Calvin Johnson and immediately signed free-agent receiver Marvin Jones as a replacement. They expect big things from tight end Eric Ebron, but outside of Golden Tate and Jones, nobody really knows what to expect from the third receiver position.
The Lions like to throw the ball and they like to throw the ball a lot. Jim Bob Cooter’s offense works best when Matthew Stafford is spreading the ball around, using all parts of the field. However, it only works if your receivers are able to make the plays when they are given the chance.
One knock on Stafford throughout his career is that he hasn’t consistently made the receivers around him better. It’s a trait that we often hear about when Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and other elite quarterbacks are mentioned.
Some of that is the media giving them more credit than they deserve and underestimating players like Jordy Nelson and Julian Edelman. But the fact remains that great quarterbacks make the players around them better. Calvin Johnson experienced a significant uptick in production after Stafford arrived in 2009, but Stafford can hardly be given credit for throwing the ball to a future Hall-of-Famer like Megatron.
Stafford had become known for occasional poor decision-making and heaving it up to Johnson when he had nowhere else to go. Without Johnson, he won’t be afforded that luxury anymore. The extra production has to come from somewhere, so let’s examine each wide receiver’s career stats and see who is most likely to step up.
Jeremy Kerley
Height: 5′ 9″ Weight: 188 lb.
Career stats: 2,225 yards, 9 touchdowns
2015 stats: 152 yards, 2 touchdowns
Kerley is by far the most experienced of the group. He had some good years with the New York Jets, but lost playing time after the team acquired Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall.
TJ Jones
Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 190 lb.
Career stats: 132 yards, 1 touchdown
2015 stats: 132 yards, 1 touchdown
Jones has all the tools to be a productive NFL receiver. After missing his rookie season with a lingering injury, the former 6th-round pick looked good in the 2015 preseason. He had a minimal impact during the regular season but his size and speed make him a potentially dangerous weapon.
Corey Fuller
Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 200 lb.
Career stats: 288 yards, 1 touchdown
2015 stats: 76 yards
Fuller is a similar prospect to Jones, except he is more of a pure speed threat. Jones is the better route runner, but Fuller has more top-end speed. He has failed to do much in his short career, yet the Lions have liked him enough to keep him around.
Andre Caldwell
Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 200 lb.
Career stats: 1,509 yards, 11 touchdowns
2015 stats: 72 yards, 2 touchdowns
Caldwell has been around for awhile and never really found the right spot to thrive. He is just good enough to stay in the league but never seems to get a very big role. Maybe the Lions are that fit he has been seeking, but he’s most likely a depth signing.
Jay Lee
Height: 6′ 3″ Weight: 215 lb.
2015 Baylor stats: 758 yards, 8 touchdowns
As someone who was projected to be a 4th or 5th-round pick, the Lions got good value, signing Lee in undrafted free agency. He was explosive at Baylor, playing opposite 1st-rounder Corey Coleman. It’s a long-shot, but as we can see, this is a wide open competition.
Examining the stats, I’d say Kerley is the most likely to win the 3rd receiver spot out of camp. TJ Jones has the most potential to break out if he can master the mental aspect of the game. Jay Lee is an intriguing young prospect and it’s far too early to write off speedster Corey Fuller.