SideLion Report
FanSided

Detroit Lions wide receiver working out with Randy Moss

By Steven Mullenax

Oct 24, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; ESPN analyst Randy Moss before the game between the against the Houston Texans against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; ESPN analyst Randy Moss before the game between the against the Houston Texans against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

After an underwhelming season with the Detroit Lions last year, this veteran wide receiver elected to workout with one of the greatest wide outs in NFL history, Randy Moss.

After nine seasons, Detroit Lions’ wide receiver Calvin Johnson announced his retirement last March. The very next day, the Lions’ agreed to sign free agent wide receiver Marvin Jones to a five-year, $40 million contract. Needless to say, Jones had some very big shoes to fill in the Motor City.

And the 27-year old, who had spent his first four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, started out last season doing just that. Jones recorded 23 receptions for 482 yards in his first four games for Detroit. He even posted a Megatron-like six catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns in a Week Three loss to the rival Packers in Green Bay.

Unfortunately, as the season wore on, Jones’ production diminished. The high-priced free agent would end his first season in Detroit recording only 55 receptions off of 103 targets for 930 yards and four scores. Jones finished fourth on the team in receptions in 2016, recording just two more catches than running back Theo Riddick.

Jones’ inconsistency last year sparked him to make a change this offseason. In order to improve his game, the sixth-year receiver looked to a NFL legend for guidance and training.

"“This offseason before I came up here, I was training with Randy Moss and we were just going at it, me and him and competing,” Jones told the Detroit Free Press recently. “I was getting a lot of insight in terms of what I wanted to focus on and that includes this, the lower-body strength, and the yards after the catch and stuff like that and (running better routes).”"

Next: Ranking the 5 best Lions draft classes of the past 30 years

Obviously, Marvin Jones is no Calvin Johnson. but the Detroit Lions’ don’t need him to be. Paired with wide receiver Golden Tate, the Lions’ simply need Jones to be a reliable target for quarterback Matthew Stafford. And it appears that the young receiver is taking steps this offseason to improve with the help of a six-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.

Home/Lions News