Are the Detroit Lions a lock to draft a receiver in 2020?
The Detroit Lions have a locker room full of receivers after adding two in free agency recently, Yet, that shouldn’t stop them from drafting them too.
On the surface, the position of wide receiver appears to be at capacity for the Detroit Lions heading into the summer. Yet, fans should expect the Lions to add to their packed receiver room via the draft later this month.
The Lions ensured the return of their top three wideouts earlier this offseason when they re-signed slot receiver Danny Amendola to a one-year, $5.5 million deal. That means quarterback Matthew Stafford should have the trio of Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., and Amendola when the regular season kicks off later this year.
Beyond their starting three, the Lions have a plethora of young, unproven talent on their depth chart. Names like Chris Lacy, Tom Kennedy, Marvin Hall, Travis Fulgham, Jonathan Duhart, and Victor Bolden should all compete this summer for supporting roles.
Despite the stocked position, the Lions added two more veterans to the receiver room via free agency this offseason. Former Green Bay Packers wideout Geronimo Allison agreed to a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum ($910K) according to ESPN.com. They also agreed to ink Geremy Davis, a receiver who played for the Los Angeles Chargers last season. A majority of his snaps were on special teams.
With that many receivers already on the roster, and considering the Lions other needs, you’d figure Detroit would not choose to address that position at all in the upcoming NFL draft. But when you dig a bit deeper, wide receiver reveals itself to be a sneaky need.
In a recent mailbag, Justin Rodgers of The Detroit News revealed why he believes it’s a lock the Lions will select a wide receiver early in the draft later this month.
"“Of that group, zero are under contract after this season. Of course, we are working under the assumption something gets done with Golladay before he can hit the market in 2021.So could the Lions draft two receivers with their nine picks? I mean, yeah, that’s completely realistic. Grabbing one in the first four rounds should be a lock. The team needs to take advantage of this deep and talented group … “"
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Despite all of the aforementioned names, it’s amazing to think not a single one is under contract beyond 2020. The Lions are fortunate that this year’s draft class is stocked full of quality wide receiver prospects and may eventually go down as one of the greatest in draft history. If this is true, some really good wideouts can likely be found on Day Three of the draft. So even if the Lions opt not to use an early pick on the position, it doesn’t mean that they couldn’t find a gem or two in the later rounds.