Detroit Lions: Breaking down the running backs and wide receivers
Wide receivers/ tight ends
Currently on the roster at WR and TE are the following: (Starters in bold, rookies in italics)
WR’s: Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Jr., Kenny Golladay, TJ Jones, Teo Redding, Chris Lacey, Brandon Powell, Deontez Alexander, Jace Billingsley, Dontez Ford, Bradley Marquez
TE’s: Luke Willson, Mike Roberts, Levine Toilolo, Sean McGrath, Marcus Lucas, Hakeem Valles
The only issues hanging over the receivers and tight ends are Golden Tates contract and doubts about the quality of the tight ends, in general. Overall, this is a very good unit.
Tate and Marvin Jones were one of only three duos to hit 1,000 yards; both Kansas City and New England had a tight end in their duo. That makes the Lions the only team to accomplish the feat with two wide receivers.
Tate talk
Golden Tate, 30, is in the last year of his five-year, $31 million deal that he signed in 2014, according to Overthecap.com. Jarvis Landry, now of the Cleveland Browns, signed a five-year, $75 million contract this offseason. The reason to bring him up is that he is a similar type of player to Tate.
Speculation is mixed about whether or not Tate will be re-signed for next year, due to roster depth and the market is quite steep. Tate has made his desire to stay known, but no contract seems imminent. After praising the organization and additions to the team, Tate expressed his thoughts to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press this way back in May.
"“So I love where I am now. I love the city of Detroit, I love the fan base, I love our stadium, so I’d love to just stay here, finish it here. And then hang ‘em up in five, six, seven years, whenever it is. Whenever my body tells me I can’t play anymore.”"
Detroit Lions depth
Other than that, the Detroit Lions boast one of the deepest and most talented units in football. Luke Willson, brought in to take Eric Ebron‘s role as the receiving tight end, has not had consistent production, playing behind Jimmy Graham most of his time in Seattle.
Mike Roberts is a combo receiver-blocker going into his second year. Levine Toilolo is a blocker, much the same as Darren Fells was a year ago. We can only hope that this unit is as effective as the cast that they are replacing.
After Tate and Jones, Kenny Golladay and T.J. Jones have been viable options in the passing game. Although Golladay missed some games, he flashed big potential in a few contests, finishing with 477 yards and 3 scores during his rookie campaign. Jones was the fourth receiver but put up 399 yards in spot duty and 1 score.
So, the Detroit Lions have targets that can catch the ball. As long as Stafford is under center, the passing game should flourish no matter who is lined up next to him.
After the four main wide receivers, Teo Redding has had a very good camp season and may garner a roster spot as the No. 5.
At tight end, KITCW expects the top three (Willson, Roberts, and Toilolo) to make the final roster, but probably no one else.