2015 Detroit Lions Roster Analysis: Wide Receivers

Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

No. 81 Calvin Johnson

Looking ahead to 2015 – Yes, Johnson will be 30-years-old soon. No, he is not past his prime.

Realistically, Johnson has a few solid years of dominat football left in him. When you’re as gifted as Johnson is physically, size and strength can sometimes make up for a loss of speed and quickness. With that in mind, when you go up for the football as often as Johnson does, you also come down — and hard when you’re 240 pounds.

In Joe Lombardi’s offense and under first-year head coach Jim Caldwell, Matthew Stafford’s air-it-out mentality was severely regulated in 2014. The reduction of deep throws may have hurt the stat book, but it also helped protect the football and ultimately helped the Lions win games and make the playoffs.

It has been noted by the Lions coaching staff that they may let Stafford go a bit in 2015. Whether or not they actually will, (or should) remains an unknown for now.

If Johnson can stay healthy in 2015, there is no reason to think that he cannot return to the top of the wide receiver food chain. On top of his physical attributes, Johnson is a very smart individual and football player, and he can still get the job done on Sunday.

I look for Megatron to surpass the 1,000-yard mark once again in 2015, if he can stay on the field.

Next: Golden Tate