Can DJ Chark perfectly fill out the Detroit Lions receiving corps?

Could DJ Chark be the guy who takes the Detroit Lions receiving corps to the next level?

With the free agent “tampering” period and the new NFL league year coming, teams are honing on free agent targets to fill needs. The Detroit Lions are certainly in the market for wide receivers, and DJ Chark may be on the radar to fit the “X” receiver template they’re looking for.

Ben Linsey of Pro Football Football Focus has laid out his perfect free agent fits for all 32 NFL teams. For the Lions, Chark was tabbed as the ideal match.

"Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit’s 2021 fourth-round selection at wide receiver, turned in one of the best rookie performances of any wideout in the draft class. The receiving corps still has a long way to go in terms of adding pieces around him, though.“Chark, 25, can contribute as a starter outside for the Lions, while also fitting with the timeline of a rebuilding franchise under Dan Campbell. At 6-foot-4 with sub-4.4 speed, Chark could become the field stretcher that the offense is missing. His average depth of target has increased every season in the NFL, reaching 17.1 yards downfield on 19 targets before his injury last season.”"

DJ Chark looks like an ideal fit for the Lions

A second-round pick out of LSU in 2018, Chark has spent his entire career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. His best statistical season came in 2019 (73 receptions for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns), catching passes from Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew. He dropped to 53 catches for 706 yards and five touchdowns over 13 games in 2020, and last season a broken ankle ended his season after four games (seven catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns).

Chark has the size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds), speed and seemingly untapped red zone potential (eight red zone touchdowns on 27 red zone targets over the 2019 and 2020 seasons) the Lions are openly seeking. Without having to break the bank, he could be the ideal piece to round out a receiving corps that could come together and look good rather quickly this offseason.