The Detroit Lions have a strong competition brewing at the wide receiver position.
The team generally houses just four or five receivers on the 53-man roster, and the top three spots are already solidified with Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola.
This leaves the 10 other wideouts on the roster to compete for just one or two spots.
For wide receiver Brandon Reilly, this means that he will have to make the most of every opportunity in training camp in order to stick around.
Reilly attended the University of Nebraska where he caught 70 passes for 1,275 yards and six touchdowns. He also showed off some positional versatility by rushing 19 times for 142 yards, averaging 7.5 yards per carry.
Reilly went undrafted in the 2017 draft and signed with the Buffalo
Bills shortly after. After a solid performance in the preseason, he was able to secure a spot on the practice squad. He bounced around the Bills’ active roster and practice squad during the 2017 season, but never saw action on gamedays
In 2018, he was released by Buffalo and signed to the Lions’ practice squad in December. Several weeks later, he was released and quickly signed with the Dallas Cowboys.
After being released by Dallas, the Lions were able to bring him back on a reserve/future deal heading into the 2019 season. Since then, Reilly has already been released and re-signed by the Lions.
Facing heavy odds against him to even make it into the preseason, he will have to show that his ability to play multiple roles on offense can make him stand out against the rest.
Reilly has taken the bulk of his snaps from the slot in OTA’s and training camp, meaning that his main competition will be fellow receivers Brandon Powell, Tom Kennedy, and Tommylee Lewis.
While he has been used primarily in the slot in Detroit, he was more of a deep threat in Buffalo. Being able to line up in multiple places as a receiver, as well as in the backfield, could help the 25-year-old receiver stand out a little more.
Just shy of 6-2 and 200 pounds, Reilly is built more like an outside receiver in this offense, with the rest of the slot receivers’ heights being under six feet.
With an impressive athletic profile, his college and preseason tape has shown that he can use his strength and speed to make some impressive catches both in traffic and over defenders.
One glaring issue for Reilly is his special teams ability as he doesn’t field punt or kick returns. This will hurt his chances against Powell, Lewis and Kennedy, as all three have been getting reps as return men in training camp.
Given that he has been released once already this offseason, Brandon Reilly has to prove to the team that he has what it takes to compete for a place in this deep wide receiver corps. This will be an uphill battle for every receiver on this team, but Reilly’s ability to contribute in both the passing and running game could help him in his fight for a roster spot.
