Getty Amon-Ra St. Brown celebrates a 2022 touchdown with Josh Reynolds.
The Detroit Lions have plenty of needs this offseason, so ranking those needs might be difficult work for some.
Of all the key spots on the field, wide receiver could be one of the most important to track given what a passing league the NFL has become. As a result, the need of teams at the spot in any given offseason is always vital to track.
This year, NFL.com writer Kevin Patra ranked team needs at the position in terms of three categories: “need immediate help,” “add a piece or two or three” and “bigger fish to fry.”
In terms of the Lions, Patra had them listed in the final category. As he wrote, their biggest decision might well be whether or not to retain veteran DJ Chark. Other than that, they could be alright at the key position and indeed have bigger fish to fry this offseason.
“Detroit would surely like to retain Chark, who played a field-stretching role when healthy. But given the shortage of options on the open market, the Lions could get outbid by a needier club. St. Brown is a star. Reynolds fits the mold of a big target who can make plays for Jared Goff. The wild card is Williams, coming off a rookie season that functioned more like a trial run, thanks to his college knee injury. If Williams is everything the Lions hope, he and St. Brown will make a dynamic duo with beautifully complementary skill sets,” Patra wrote in the piece.
Should Chark walk, the Lions could look to the draft once again to fill the need. The team has addressed the position in the last two drafts with Amon-Ra St. Brown (fourth-round, 2021) and Jameson Williams (first-round, 2022), and could always look to do that again eventually further down the board. They could also sign a more underrated free agent to fill the void.
Either way, the Lions might not have to make wideout the biggest target this offseason at all. That could be an advantage for them in terms of building their team for the future.
Lions Wideouts Enjoyed Solid 2022 Season
This past season, the Detroit wide receiver room was very impressive, and not just because they managed to see St. Brown eclipse 1,000 yards on the season.
From top to bottom, the group produced. As a whole, Detroit pass catchers would put up 2,962 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season, which was very good. Names like Kalif Raymond (616 yards) and Josh Reynolds (479 yards) were significant for the Lions in terms of production.
While those stats are good, the team is likely encouraged by the fact that they might get even more from Williams, a standout rookie, in 2023. Williams missed most of the season recovering from ACL surgery, but did flash brilliance when he finally made it on the field in December.
Though he posted only 81 all-purpose yards and one touchdown on the year, it’s easy to see the talent Williams possesses given the speed he shows on the field.
Add it up, and outside making one big decision, the Lions could be well-positioned at one of the most important spots on the offense for the 2023 season. That’s good news relative to all the other needs the team has to check off on defense.
DJ Chark Represents Biggest Decision for Lions
The biggest decision the Lions may well have at the spot might be what to do with Chark, who’s been a polarizing player during his time in the league. Why? Injuries have been a big story for the young wideout.
In terms of Chark’s first season in Detroit, the health variable prevented it from really taking off as well as it could have in a bigger way.
This season, Chark put up a total of 502 yards and three touchdowns on 30 catches. More importantly, though, he seemed to come on down the stretch over the last few critical weeks of the season with major plays.
Late in the season, Chark went on to have a few fantastic games. He posted a 94 yard, one-touchdown game in a 34-23 win against Minnesota. Then, he collected a 108-yard performance against Carolina in Week 16 with a few fantastic catches:
DJ Chark is criminally underrated. I said it.
The biggest question Brad Holmes will have to answer regarding the wideout this offseason revolves around who the real player might be outside of the statistics.
Is Chark the injury-prone guy who started the season by dropping a few passes, then getting dinged up and having to be shelved? Or is he the guy who has surged down the stretch and looked like a major piece within Detroit’s offense?
Decisions on that are coming soon, but beyond that, the Lions might not need to think too hard about wide receiver this offseason.
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