Detroit Lions: Surprise depth makes the receiving corps dangerous
By Robert Jones
While there is legitimate concern about an unproven tight end group, the Lions’ wideouts are not lacking talent. An extremely talented top four receivers like the Lions have would make any team feel good about the position, but the Lions seem to be deeper than that.
More from SideLion Report
- Top 5 revenge games on the Detroit Lions 2023 schedule
- Lions center Frank Ragnow optimistic about continuing to play through toe injury
- Detroit Lions 2023 preseason schedule: Dates, times and opponents
- A new contract extension projection for Lions quarterback Jared Goff
- 4 wide receivers the Detroit Lions could still look to acquire this offseason
Consider that Jace Billingsley is having his best training camp yet. Dontez Ford and Bradley Marquez have raised some eyebrows and of course, Teo Redding seems to make at least one big play each day.
Of that group, the one that is probably the most intriguing is Redding. While he needs to add some weight to his 6-foot-2 frame, he seems to be in the mold of Kenny Golladay. A big receiver with athleticism who can stretch the field and make plays.
What does all this mean? Well, it looks like the Lions will have to make some difficult cuts at the receiver position, which is always the preferred scenario of having too much talent rather than not enough.
Yet as we look ahead to next Friday and the Lions meaningless exhibition game in Oakland, the battle at receiver should be worth watching.
We will probably learn little if anything at all about the defense because most likely the Lions will still play some form of a ‘vanilla’ defense that will tell us nothing and the starters, for the most part, will barely even see the field if they do at all.
While it should be interesting to see how the ground game functions, I wouldn’t expect we will see all the answers to that conundrum, but the receivers will get opportunities to prove they can run effective routes and catch the ball.
It won’t necessarily prove they can excel against another teams starters, but it will at least help verify who has the ability to play in the league and who doesn’t.
Next. Detroit Lions all-time wide receivers in the ‘Tecmo Bowl’ era. dark
The battle for a place in this talented receiving corps will most likely go down to the wire, but regardless of who makes the roster and who doesn’t, because of the talent at the position in general, the Lions should ultimately be the winners for it.