Detroit Lions: 15 greatest wide receivers in franchise history

Coming up next is a current member of the Lions as Marvin Jones, Jr. has proven to be a reliable receiver in his short time with the franchise. A Southern California native, Jones was a star at Cal before being selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

He spent his first four seasons there and developed into a solid route runner with soft hands. In 2013, he had 10 touchdown receptions but then missed all of the 2014 campaign. He rebounded nicely in 2015 with 65 catches for 816 yards and four touchdowns.

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That led to him signing a five-year $40 million deal with the Lions, where he joined Golen Tate and had to help replace Calvin Johnson who had just unexpectedly retired despite still being a dominant receiver.

Jones couldn’t replace what Johnson brought to the table — no one could — but he did fit into the offense nicely. He was a great second option and had 930 yards on 55 receptions. In 2017, he added another 61 catches and had his first season with more than 1,000-yards receiving ‚— finishing with 1,101 and nine scores.

Now in the final season of his contract, Jones has fallen off some but he still shows flashes from time to time. A savvy veteran, he cracked the top 20 for touchdowns in team history despite being with the team for only a short time.