Detroit Lions: 15 greatest wide receivers in franchise history

A former standout in both baseball and football, Golden Tate attended Notre Dame and was drafted in both sports. His football talent was far greater than on the baseball diamond and he ended up picking that sport.

His career began with the Seattle Seahawks, where he spent his first four seasons. While there, he showed a lot of potential and even won a Super Bowl. However, he never crossed the 1,000-yard plateau but that changed once he joined the Detroit Lions in 2014.

Tate left Seattle to take a five-year, $31 million deal with Detroit. Originally paired with Calvin Johnson, Tate proved to be capable of making defenses pay dearly for focusing too much on No. 81. He made his only Pro Bowl during that first campaign with the Lions, catching 99 passes for 1,331 yards — both of which remain career highs for him.

He continued to have success catching passes from Matthew Stafford, as he had 90 receptions for 813 yards in 2015 followed by another 91 for 1,077 the following season and 92 for 1,003 in 2017.

That would end up being his final full season in Detroit as new head coach Matt Patricia decided to move on from Tate as they traded him at the deadline to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick.

Despite playing just four and a half seasons with the Lions, Tate landed fifth in receptions with 596, seventh in yards with 4,741, and 15th in touchdowns with 22. That’s impressive considering how little time he had to make such an impact.