Under Brad Holmes, the Lions have built one of the strongest rosters in the NFL. But if they have a weakness, "they aren't going into the season with this group of receivers, right? They have to add somebody," says Doug Karsch.
After All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions don't have a ton of proven NFL experience at receiver. They're counting on Jameson Williams to be their No. 2, with Kalif Raymond, Donovan-Peoples Jones and 2023 seventh-round pick Antoine Green next in line.
Karsch is concerned that "they haven’t come up with a replacement for Josh Reynolds, a starting-caliber receiver who got a good number of targets" last season. "Could it be Kalif Raymond? Sure, it could be. Could it be Donovan Peoples-Jones. Sure, it could be. But they’ve gotta bring in another veteran receiver? Doesn’t it feel kind of like a requirement?"
"It’s starting to feel like that," says Gator. "There’s still some pretty good wide receivers out there" in free agency, "but the list is getting smaller and smaller."
One name the Lions have been linked to is Tyler Boyd, a two-time 1000-yard receiver with the Bengals. Could they circle back?
Gator says he's not "at the angst stage yet" at the position. "But the problem is, there’s still a question mark with Jameson Williams: is he going to take this big step forward and suddenly be a focal point of the offense? And not just, 'We got our two plays lined up for him and hope he can make something happen?'"
"To be clear, and to be fair, every team has a blind spot," says Karsch. "And this is emerging as theirs. They have very little margin for error when it comes to injury or a player that maybe doesn’t take that next step. They need Jamo to take that step. And it seems like that's a risk worth taking. He shows a ton of promise."
So, when all is said and done, will the Lions bring this exact group of receivers into the season?
"My gut says they make a move," says Gator, "but I’m not sure they need to."