Allen Park — It should come as no surprise that Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell loves competition.
As the Lions’ offseason program winds down, one particular area of the roster that should produce plenty of it is the wide receiver group. Detroit has bolstered its receiving corps over the last few months, leaving plenty of intrigue regarding how things will shape up near the bottom of the depth chart.
“That’s what we hope for. Competition makes everybody better, and it doesn’t matter what you do. It makes you better and that’s evident in that room. That’s a good thing for us,” Campbell said.
The Lions had six receivers on their 53-man roster heading into last season and will likely have anywhere between five to seven receivers on the roster to begin this season.
Barring injury, DJ Chark, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds presumably make up the top three spots on the depth chart. When rookie Jameson Williams is healthy and ready for action, he’ll likely land somewhere in the top four.
And that means there are two questions in play ahead of training camp regarding Quintez Cephus, Kalif Raymond and Trinity Benson: Which receiver fits in as No. 4 before Williams returns, and will any of them be cut before Week 1?
Each of those receivers are coming from a unique set of circumstances heading into this season. They also have all seemed to have impress Campbell in the early going for one reason or another.
Cephus was drafted 166th overall out of Wisconsin in 2020 by former general manager Bob Quinn. The Lions were desperate for a standout at receiver, and Cephus looked to be a prime candidate.
But after scoring touchdowns in his first two games last season and putting up an 83-yard performance in Week 4 against the Bears, Cephus suffered a broken collarbone during the Week 5 loss to Minnesota and went out for the year.
“It sucked, honestly,” Cephus said this week. “(I) got off to a great start, just wanted to take advantage of my opportunities. It ended shorter than I wanted it to, and that sucked.
“I always feel like I got something to prove, and that’s what I was planning on doing every time I got on the field. But not being able to finish that, getting back, I had the same mindset — just a lot to prove to myself and everybody that I can make plays.”
In the context of competition, Campbell likes what he’s seen so far out Cephus.
“I think to this point it’s very much like last year, to an extent. He was here, he put in the work. He’s doing what we asked him to do. Last year, it was kind of like — put him in a competitive environment and all of sudden he shows up, and that’s when you really feel him,” Campbell said. “Yesterday we get one of those competitive environments and who shows up? He showed up again. So we don’t ignore those things. I don’t ignore them you know, so that was good to see out of him.”
Benson, meanwhile, joined the Lions just days before the season started via a trade with the Broncos. He caught 10 passes for 103 yards. One would think that level of production puts him on the outside looking in, but along with Cephus, he’s been turning heads in organized team activities.
“I thought Trinity Benson did a hell of a job, too, by the way. He’s having a hell of a spring,” Campbell said. “He’s catching the ball well, he’s plucking…and look, he’s pretty tough. I think he can help us on special teams. I think he can be a gunner.”
Asked about the best part of Benson’s skill set, Campbell said, “Speed. Speed, speed, speed.” Part of the reason for his newfound confidence, both he and Campbell said, is a better understanding of the playbook that’s allowing him to play more freely.
“Last year, I was really just out there thinking. The mind was tying up the feet,” Benson said. “Now that I’m learning the offense, I’m getting those reps that I really needed last year. I’m getting them this year. Now, I’m just playing freely and making the plays.”
Raymond’s immediate future on the Lions probably has the most clarity. Raymond was a productive receiver last season — he caught 48 passes for 576 yards and four touchdowns — and a key contributor on special teams. He averaged 11.2 yards per punt return, good enough to rank fifth in the NFL in that category.
Campbell called Raymond, who’s entering his sixth NFL season and second with Detroit, “one of the most explosive players we have on this team.”
“He brings a ton of versatility and, really, trust, reliability. Like, we know exactly who he is, what he’s going to be for us and what he can do,” Campbell said.
Both as a returner and a receiver, Raymond by far had the best season of his career in 2021. But despite that — plus the high praise from his head coach — he’s not resting on any laurels heading into next season.
“I always see each year as kind of like a clean slate. And especially in this league, it is,” Raymond said. “I’m blessed to have more opportunities, but also more experience and more film comes more critique as well. And I noticed a lot of stuff that I can improve in my game — ‘OK, I’m good here. Where can I be better?’ So thankfully, I got a long tape to study of myself to be able to say, ‘OK, you know what? Here’s where I need to improve.’ That’s definitely what I’m working on this offseason.”
Come late July and early August, the competition amongst receivers guarantees to be heavily contested. But for now, Raymond is more than happy to point out an area where he thinks Benson is definitely the best at: Throwing the football.
The Lions ran a number of fun gadget activities on the final day of minicamp Thursday, including drills that saw receivers play quarterback off trick plays. Raymond tried to be as honest as possible in his assessment.
“Trinity has always, I’ve thought, had the best arm. But you know what? I was actually gonna say Josh Reynolds, but Amon-Ra threw one over here that kind of hit me out of left field, because I didn’t know he had it like that,” Raymond said. “But yeah, I think Trinity has been the most consistent, and I’d say Amon-Ra just threw a surpriser, so we’ll go watch the film and get us critiqued up.
“Maybe (Jared Goff) and them will give us some tips, see what we’re doing wrong.”
Nolan Bianchi is a freelance writer.