The Detroit Lions have a talented set of wide receivers for quarterback Matthew Stafford to throw to in 2019. Can Travis Fulgham be one of them?
The Detroit Lions wide receiver corps figures to be a strength of the offense in 2019. With projected starters, Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., and Danny Amendola in place, not to mention an up-and-coming group of talented tight ends, the passing game in Motown should be much improved.
But beyond the starters, the Lions have some interesting prospects that will be battling it out this summer for limited spots on the wide receiver depth chart. Some of the names are familiar. Wideouts like Andy Jones, Chris Lacy, Deontez Alexander, and Brandon Powell. Others are new like veteran Jermaine Kearse and rookies Jermaine Kearse, Jonathan Duhart, Tom Kennedy, and Travis Fulgham.
That’s a whopping 11 receivers all possibly vying for a little as five spots on the Lions’ final 53-man roster come September. And with Golladay, Jones, and Amendola likely already locks to make the team, that could leave eight wideouts competing for two, maybe three, openings. So it is vital that some of these receivers start stacking good practices throughout training camp.
An early standout worth mentioning is Fulgham, the Lions’ sixth-round selection out of Old Dominion. According to Mlive.com’s Kyle Meinke, the rookie receiver has been making plays early into training camp.
"” … Travis Fulgham had one of his best practices as a professional. He did drop one deep shot early in the day, but then bounced back to beat Mike Ford on a deep post in one-on-ones and later sliced between Tabor and Tracy Walker for another bomb from Matthew Stafford. Fulgham, by the way, was known for the deep ball during his days at Old Dominion.”"
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Fulgham was projected to be as high as a third-round pick by NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein, falling into the Lions’ lap in the sixth. Zierlein noted Fulgham came on strong towards the end of his senior year at Old Dominion, nabbing a touchdown grab in each of his last nine starts. He recorded 63 receptions for 1,083 yards and those nine scores in 12 games for the Monarchs last year.
The Detroit Free Press recently wrote an article about Travis Fulgham, noting the fact he’s always the last player to leave the field after practice, spending an extra 45 minutes or so working on his fundamentals. You’d like to believe that extra work would pay off and give Fulgham the edge over the competition. Although that remains to be seen, the rookie is certainly one to watch and root for in the coming weeks.