Detroit Lions Postseason Grades: Wide Receiver
By Matt Urben
Detroit Lions Overall Wide Receiver Grade: “B-“
It was certainly a roller coaster year for this Detroit Lions wide receiver group. They came into the season with extremely low expectations after losing Calvin Johnson to an unexpected retirement at the age of 30. Lions G.M. Bob Quinn replaced him the very next day, signing former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, Marvin Jones, and shocking many when he didn’t select a single wide receiver in his first NFL draft.
However, it was the last-second signing of 36-year-old Anquan Boldin that was the biggest surprise. Boldin led the team in touchdowns (8). Golden Tate cracked 1,000 yards – the first Lions WR to do so in the post-Calvin Johnson era. Andre Roberts added something as the fourth receiver and was impressive in the kick-return game. So as the group overachieved in a lot of peoples’ minds as a whole, the overwhelming theme of the 2016 season for Detroit’s wideouts was dropped passes.
So, after giving the overall WR group a B-, let’s see how the top 4 receivers graded out individually!