The Detroit Lions are coming off a disappinting 2025 season, and changes seem to be abound as the offseason officially gets going. Some players who have been key to the team's rise over the last few years will be gone, as the critical "phase two" of the Dan Campbell/Brad Holmes era commences.
The Lions have had one of the league's best offenses in recent years, and that remained true on a surface level this past season. But something seemed to be a little bit off the entire time, as former offensive coordinator John Morton eventually had play calling taken away in the middle of the season.
There were a couple headliners in the Lions' offense when it came to how they were used over the course of the season, and in one case a lack of usage was never sustainably figured out after Campbell took over the play calling.
While it's true there's only one football, and someone often has to give in a Lions' offense that has so much talent, the 2025 season was new in terms of noticeable issues regarding how many targets, touches or snaps someone was getting.
But there was someone who's lack of usage was not a first-time thing this season, so it was not as noticeable in the wake of the aforementioned headliners on that front.
Lions had a hidden star even they hardly noticed during the 2025 season
Thomas Valentine of Pro Football Focus recently highlighted the most improved players at each position over the second half of the 2025 season.
The most improved wide receiver the second half of the season, by PFF grade compared to the first half, was Kalif Raymond.
"The Lions missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022 this season, finishing with a 9-8 record. Their struggles were compounded by injuries across the team, especially on defense, and that meant contributions came from all over the yard. On the offensive side of the ball, veteran Kalif Raymond provided some valuable experience in the second half of the season."
"From Week 10 onward, Raymond compiled an 82.0 PFF grade — 14th among wide receivers — and caught all 15 targets for 225 yards and a touchdown. Raymond’s 2.34 yards per route run ranked 14th, and his 8.9 yards after the catch per reception were fourth."
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From Week 10 on (seven games) Raymond had a relative spike in production, with at least 49 receiving yards three times on his way to those 15 catches for 225 yards and a touchdown (15.0 yards per catch). But his offensive snaps per game actually dropped slightly (21.9 per game) compared to his first eight games of the season (25.6 per game).
Raymond had been well-traveled before finding a home in Detroit when Holmes and Campbell took over. But since being a prominent part of the offense those first two years (2021 and 2022), his role has faded to the point his most meaningful contribution by far has been as the team's punt returner. Now he's set to hit free agency, and the Lions may want to get younger (and a little cheaper) at that spot.
Raymond would not have fixed the kinks the Lions' offense battled during the 2025 season on his own. But what he did over his final seven games, when no one was really looking, revealed how finding a way to use him just a little bit more might have been helpful.