If DJ Chark leaves in free agency, the Detroit Lions could target one of these 10 options to replace him.
In dire need of a wide receiver who could stretch the field, the Detroit Lions took a one-year flier on DJ Chark last offseason. A Pro Bowler with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, Chark missed most of the 2021 season due to an ankle injury.
Through Week 12 this past season, Chark missed more games (six) than he had played (five). An aggravation of that aforementioned ankle injury cost him six games, and before that his connection with Jared Goff was lackluster.
But from Week 13-16, Chark topped 90 yards in three of four games. He averaged 20.8 yards per catch from Week 13-17, and he finished the season with a couple clutch catches in Week 18.
Over those closing six weeks, Chark was pretty much what the Lions envisioned when they signed him last March.
Chark is among the Lions’ free agents who have said they want to re-sign. It’s an expected sentiment from many, with Chark near the top of that list as he enters an uncertain free agent market again.
That said, Chark may quickly become too expensive for the Lions to comfortably re-sign. If he can cash in with a nice multi-year deal, he should do it. The shelf life of an NFL career and the nature of the sport demands it.
If the Lions have an inclination Chark will leave, or even just in case he leaves in free agency, they need a contingency plan. Jameson Williams is lined up for a bigger role next season, but another piece could certainly be added.
If Chark departs in March, here are 10 free agent options for the Lions to replace him.
10 free agent options for the Detroit Lions to replace DJ Chark
10. Marquise Goodwin
Goodwin finished the 2022 season for the Seattle Seahawks on IR with shoulder and wrist injuries. But he had a fairly decent season before that, with 27 catches for 387 yards (14.3 yards per catch) and four touchdowns in 13 games as their No. 3 wide receiver behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. In any case, those injuries should not linger into the start of free agency to impact his market.
Goodwin has never put up huge numbers in his career, with career-highs of 56 catches and 962 yards in 2017 with the San Francisco 49ers and a career-best of four touchdowns (2022 and 2018). But if we’re talking pure speed and the ability to be a downfield threat, he was literally an Olympic-level runner. He also doesn’t drop the ball a lot, with just two drops this past season as he had his career-best catch rate (64.3 percent). 18 of his 27 catches this past season went for first downs.
The Lions don’t necessarily need someone to soak up a lot of target volume in replacing Chark, if they have to do so. Being a vertical threat is the fit Chark was, and his replacement can be of the same ilk. Goodwin is just that kind of guy, a WR3 most ideally in a highly-functioning offense and at his best. And he can be had on a cheap one-year deal.
9. Demarcus Robinson
Robinson is definitely a WR3/WR4 type, but he can be a useful player. He got close to 50 receptions with the Baltimore Ravens this past season (48), catching passes from Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley and Anthony Brown. Over four seasons where he played a notable with the Kansas City Chiefs (2018-2021), he had at least three touchdowns in each while averaging 11.6 yards per catch in a background role.
With either a less than prominent/consistent role or a rough quarterback situation thus far in his career, Robinson probably has yet to be able to show his full potential. He may make some sense as a bargain basement flier to replace Chark if the Lions land in that circumstance.
8. Nelson Agholor
Agholor’s value is basically in the tank after two disappointing seasons with the New England Patriots. But he was a certfied deep threat with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, when he averaged 18.7 yards per catch (second in the league; 48 receptions for 896 yards) with eight touchdowns. He also has two 60-plus catch seasons on his resume, though they were a while ago–2017 and 2018 with the Philadelphia Eagles.
In some light, Agholor is a clone of Chark. And that’s the role the Lions would pretty much be filling if Chark is gone, while accounting for Jameson Williams stepping into a bigger role.
7. Mack Hollins
Hollins set far and away career-high with 57 receptions (94 targets) and 690 yards, with four touchdowns, for the Raiders this past season. He has good size (6-foot-4, 221 pounds) and he has certainly shown some downfield ability. He has just never had a huge role, before the 2022 season anyway. His snap count this year (1,034, according to Pro Football Reference) usurped his snap total from the three seasons prior in total.
Hollins comes off as a worker-type Dan Campbell and the Lions coaching staff would like. Spotrac has him projected for a one-year, $2.4 million deal this offseason, so the price would be very right here.
6. Marvin Jones Jr.
Lions fans can surely get on board with the idea of Jones coming back to Detroit. He was bumped down the wide receiver pecking order in Jacksonville by the free agent additions of Christian Kirk and Zay Jones lat offseason. So his production dropped to 46 catches in 2022, after he had 73 catches for 832 yards for the Jaguars in 2021.
In his last season as a Lion, 2020, Jones had 76 receptions and nine touchdowns as he neared 1,000 yards (978).
The age-cliff may be coming, or it may be here, for the 32, going to be 33-year old (Mar. 12) Jones. But he would be a solid veteran presence for the Lions’ wide receiver corps, and the locker room as a whole. It appears he has more than a little left in the tank, so he’d be a nice fit if the Lions end up looking to replace Chark.
5. Parris Campbell
After three injury-riddled seasons to start his career, Campbell was finally healthy in 2022 and it naturally yielded career-bests across the board (63 receptions for 623 yards and three touchdowns. Given what the Colts trotted out under center, that kind of production is notable.
Campbell is easy to pigeonhole as purely a short-area target and a bit of a gadget guy. Nothing that happened in this just-finished season changed that idea (6.4 average yards per target). But, albeit in very, very small samples, his average depth of target was over 8.0 in each of his first three seasons.
The Lions have a couple players Campbell’s skill set seems to replicate (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond). But if Ben Johnson dared to use him in a different fashion….Campbell’s Player Profiler comp is Santana Moss.
4. Zach Pascal
Pascal was buried on Philadelphia’s wide receiver pecking order this year, seeing just 338 offensive snaps with 254 special teams snaps in 17 regular season games. Two blowout wins to start the playoffs drove snaps shares north of 30 percent for him in both.
In two of three seasons (2019-2021) as a starter with the Indianapolis Colts, Pascal had five touchdowns and averaged over 14 yards per catch. While he’s not a WR1, or even a WR2, he can absolutely add value in a secondary role as a bit of a downfield threat and red zone target.
If Chark exits in free agency, the Lions could go very cheap to fill the spot on the depth chart. Pascal would fit that template perfectly, as an ideal piece of the puzzle in many ways.
3. Darius Slayton
It seemed to be a matter of time before Slayton was on his way out in New York via trade or an outright release. But he eventually landed back in a prominent role in 2022. In eight games from Week 5-13, he averaged 17.3 yards per catch with at least 58 yards seven times (79 or more yards four times).
Over his four seasons with the Giants, Slayton has averaged at least 15 yards per catch three times and his 12.5 ADOT (average depth of target) this past season was his lowest mark.
Slayton seems sure to land elsewhere in free agency, as the Giants eye upgrades to their wide receiver corps with ample cap money to spend. There’s untapped potential here, and the Lions may think they can tap into it if they make a move to replace Chark.
2. Mecole Hardman
Hardman did not play in the Super Bowl for the Kansas City Chiefs, after trying to play through an injury to his pelvis in the AFC Championship Game against the Bengals. Before that, he had not played since Week 9 of the regular season.
The Chiefs may just let Hardman go this offseason, based on his injury struggles this year. But he did not miss a regular season game in any of his first three seasons. His catch and yardage production was also on an upward trend before the injury-dampened season (59 receptions for 693 yards in 2021).
Spotrac has very recently updated its projection of Hardman’s market value, to a four-year, $41.58 million deal in free agency ($10.3 million per year). He may have to settle for a shorter deal than that though, if not a cheaper one per year as well.
On the notion Chark may leave, Hardman is someone the Lions should take a solid look at on the open market.
1. Allen Lazard
Lazard seemed resigned to leaving the Packers in free agency after their season-ending loss to the Lions. He also profanely told reporters he was unable to predict his own future, let alone Aaron Rodgers’.
"Definitely going into the game I kind of had a realization that my first game here and potentially my last game — which it is — was going to be versus the Lions at home,” Lazard said. “I took in just a few moments just to kind of soak it all in and just like pat myself on the back, I guess, and just be thankful for this opportunity and this experience to be here for four-plus years now, to see the growth I’ve made on the field, but more so off the field.” I don’t f*ckin’ know, shit, I don’t know where I’m gonna be at, I can’t worry about someone else.”"
Lazard set career-highs with 60 catches and 788 yards, with six touchdowns (second-most in his carer) this past season. He is a big target, and he has averaged more than 13 yards a catch in three of the last four seasons.
Lazard is one of the best run-blocking wide receivers in the NFL, practically tight end-like in that area of the game. That would bolster his fit with the Lions, and he’s got some peak years left at 27 years old.
Lazard’s contract projection on Spotrac is a little more than Chark’s on a per-year basis ($12.5 million vs. $9.5 million), but over the same term–three years. It seems Lazard would be an easy pivot for the Lions if Chark is lined up to be gone.