The Detroit Lions’ wide receiver position is hugely interesting this year and completely boring. It’s boring because the top three players, who will be the top contributors in 2020, remain the same as last year. Kenny Golladay is your WR1, Marvin Jones Jr. is WR2 and Danny Amendola is your initial slot receiver.
But beyond that, things get very interesting. Fighting for two or three more spots on the list are a fifth-round rookie, and a player who averaged nearly 40 yards per catch last year, a transitional cornerback who is an All-Pro returner and a handful of other guys.
So today’s question is:
Who will be WR4 on the Lions list in 2020?
My Answer: Perhaps the designation between WR4 and WR5 is insignificant, but let’s try to narrow this down to the first player to come in if Jones or Golladay fell with an injury.
Rookie Quintez Cephus likely has the highest reserve receiver ceiling since he had a solid career in Wisconsin, and he could have been drafted earlier if it hadn’t been for his off-field issues that led him to miss the 2018 season.
But it is difficult to ignore Marvin Hall here. Although Hall is more of a slot receiver, he can also play abroad, and he did a great job with his limited opportunities last year. He gave the Lions a deep threat to divert the attention of Golladay and Jones, and when the teams left the Hall in one-on-one situations, he made them pay.
He was only attacked 11 times last season, but he converted that to 261 yards. That means that every time he was attacked, the Lions averaged nearly 24 yards per play, even counting incomplete ones.
Given that only two of his receptions come from a quarterback named Matthew Stafford, there is reason to believe that Hall may be a much more productive receiver in 2020 with a completely healthy starting quarterback. And while it’s not exactly a list block, right now it’s my favorite to win the WR4 job.
Your turn.
