Say what you want but the depth at wide receiver for the Detroit Lions is better than it’s been in a few seasons. While there might be some low expectations for some players in the group, the Lions have built something that they’ve been intending on building since the arrival of this regime.
That something is competition.
By drafting, trading and signing players such as Antoine Green, Denzel Mims and Marvin Jones Jr., the Lions should be able to find some consistent contributions from one, if not all three players this season.
For Antoine Green, he’s a seventh round pick from North Carolina in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s a deep ball specialist that averaged 19 yards per catch for the Tar Heels while possessing sub-4.5 speed. In 2022, he had 798 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was picked over some veteran receivers to make the 53-man roster.
As for Mims, he’s a former second round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft. While I wasn’t his biggest fan coming out of the draft, he does have sub-4.4 speed and could be a player that just needs a change of scenery. We’ve seen the Lions have success with players changing teams such as John Cominsky and Charles Harris. Mims does only have 42 receptions for 676 yards in his career so my expectations are low. But again, he adds depth and competition for training camp.
When you look at the rest of the roster, players such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Jones Jr., and Kalif Raymond should be safe to make the roster. Jameson Williams will make the roster but won’t be available for the first six weeks of the season with his suspension on gambling.
Another veteran that the Lions have is Josh Reynolds. After posting 38 receptions for 479 yards and three touchdowns, he’s coming off his best season with Detroit. He should easily earn a spot on the roster as a 3rd or 4th receiver.
It’s possible that the Lions cut a player such as Denzel Mims for a player such as Maurice Alexander, Trinity Benson or Tom Kennedy. However, I don’t see that being the case. Between those three players, they’ve totaled 17 receptions for 305 receptions and 33 games played.
Regardless of what happens, I’d have low expectations for that final roster spot when it comes to loading the stat sheet on offense. Much of the Lions production at receiver should come from Amon-Ra St. Brown, who posted a career 106 receptions in 2022.
While the Lions did have five receivers last season, I could see them carrying six receivers this season. Here’s how I’d project the Lions wide receiver room for this season:
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Marvin Jones Jr.
- Josh Reynolds
- Kalif Raymond
- Jameson Williams (Suspended — won’t be on the active 53-man roster)
- Denzel Mims (Six week trial run to start the season. Could move on after activating Williams)
- Antoine Green (Practice squad. Could keep him on the PS or activate based on performance of Mims)
The way I see it, the final roster spot at receiver will come down to Denzel Mims and Antoine Green. With how rocky Mims career has been so far, I’d expect the Lions to go in favor of Green.
However, they could put Green on the practice squad to start the season and they could give Mims a six-week trial while Jameson Williams is out of the lineup. If Mims doesn’t produce, they could move on from him while activating Williams and promoting Green to the 53-man roster.
Regardless of how it turns out, it’ll be interesting to see how training camp turns out for the Lions depth chart at wide receiver this summer.
