If there’s one thing that we’ve been talking about all offseason with the Detroit Lions it’s that they need receiver help. It’s not just us at A to Z Detroit, ESPN analysts say the Lions biggest remaining need is receiver, the Athletic said their biggest concern with the Lions is the hole in the receiving group.
This isn’t just something that we were suggesting for fun. The Lions truly have some issues at receiver right now. Especially after losing Josh Reynolds to the Broncos. Don’t let the two drops in the NFC Championship game make you think that was an easy loss. He had 40 catches in 2023 and 32 of them were for first downs. He was a massive part of this offense.
Now that we’re a few weeks into training camp you can see just how much of a problem this really is. Dan Campbell is saying in pressers that the team is dying for someone to step up and then he’s going on the radio and basically warning guys that if they don’t step up, the Lions aren’t just going to give them a job.
The Lions messed up in this area and they got a little too confident. Lions GM Brad Holmes was 97.1 The Ticket earlier this offseason and he was asked about the receiver room. He said that he was confident in the group the Lions had at the time.
The expectation then was that Donovan Peoples-Jones would be able to step in and take that Josh Reynolds role since their play style is similar. Now it’s looking like he won’t even make the team. Antoine Green was someone people thought could have a big year two, but he was waived earlier this week with an injury.
Kalif Rayond is great, but with Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs doing what Raymond can do, he’s just better served coming in for plays here and there and being the teams punt returner.
Now the team is relying on guys that have usually been practice squad players like Daurice Fountian and Kaden Davis and a few undrafted rookies like Isaiah Williams and Jalon Calhoun. There’s been times when you thought some of these guys had stepped up and took the role, but they just haven’t seen it through fully.
That’s not to say that none of these guys deserve a spot on the roster because they do. They’ve all had good enough camps to make a roster. But they’re not showing they can be starters.
The Lions had chances to get a receiver in free agency and the draft. They didn’t do it in either phase despite bringing in multiple receivers for top 40 visits and having formal meetings at the combine. They were clearly interested in adding, but missed their chance. There’s still time to add one, and Holmes had even mentioned in that 97.1 interview that the Lions could do that.
“That’s not saying that we won’t add. That’s a position that, especially when you get into camp, those guys put a lot of yardage on the field,” Holmes said. “So you always gotta at some point, you need to add a guy here or there when some attrition comes.”
We’re a little more than three weeks out before the Lions take the field against the Rams in Week 1 and cut down day is right around the corner. The Lions’ last week of training camp is next week. Why have the Lions done nothing to fix this very clear issue that they’ve been aware of for weeks now?
This is a big season for this team. A year in which they could potentially go and win the Super Bowl, but they’re going to struggle to do that if they don’t have reliable pass catchers outside of the usual suspects in St. Brown, Williams, LaPorta and Gibbs.
The team needs that Josh Reynolds guy and they’ve even been saying that out loud.
“Honestly, what it is, is we just need a reliable staple, you know? Like, that’s what Reynolds was for us.” Dan Campbell said. “Josh Reynolds was the reliable guy we could count on he was gonna be where he’s supposed to be when he was supposed to be there to play any spot, and he’d make a critical catch for you”
It’s time to go make a move and shore up this problem before it becomes an even bigger problem later. The confidence was warranted at one point, but now it’s dangerous.