Getty Brad Holmes speaks during the 2022 NFL combine.
The Detroit Lions have the look of a much deeper wideout position this fall, and in the minds of some, that means someone is going to have to pack their bags.
While 2021 saw the Lions have few options to catch Jared Goff’s passes, all of a sudden, there is a dearth of options. Just this week, the team watched as Tom Kennedy starred at wideout while tight end Devin Funchess caught a touchdown split out wide.
Add it up and it seems the weaponry will be better than ever. So who goes? Bleacher Report and writer Alex Kay recently cast a vote in a piece, and it may surprise some fans.
Kay believes that Quintez Cephus needs to be on the move for the Lions, and must be the trade the team makes. The reason? Mostly Detroit’s depth and the fact that Cephus could struggle to catch passes in a more balanced offense.
“Cephus is still just 24 years old and has some promising upside that Detroit could dangle as trade bait. The 2020 fifth-rounder has displayed strong hands, athleticism and work ethic in his limited professional snaps and could flourish with a team that has less competition at the wideout spot,” Kay wrote in the piece.
The Lions could certainly use a draft pick to aid in their rebuild, but only time will tell if they are keen on dealing their former sixth-round pick away.
At this point, given the team’s lack of explosion on offense and what he has done this offseason, it might make more sense for the Lions to keep Cephus around. Still, some think the team must look to cash in quickly.
Cephus Impressing Lions This Offseason
Before he got injured during early training camp work, Cephus was having a fantastic offseason as well as camp period this offseason.
During practice on Wednesday, July 27, Cephus was spotted making another sterling catch, this one over star Detroit cornerback Amani Oruwariye. Cephus went up and pulled the ball in with a great arm catch, turning a possible incompletion into a big play:
Is the “Catch of #LionsCamp” contest over already?
You tell us, @QoDeep_87!
Plays like this show why the wide receiver was in such a good frame of mind during camp. Cephus has embraced competition and managed to keep his own game elite. He simply keeps making good things happen. That speaks to a player that has significant breakout ability.
It’s been a complete body of work that Cephus has displayed which proves this. During offseason workouts in June, Cephus was turning in the eye-opening plays as well:
Q with the one-hander!
Given what he has done so far multiple times, the hope is that Cephus can continue to chase down a big role with the team for this year. He has looked primed for it for a while.
Why Lions Shouldn’t Trade Cephus
While it’s easy to understand why some think Cephus needs to be on the move, the Lions should keep him around for the future in order to help them try and grow their offense.
DJ Chark is only signed through this season, and there’s still no idea how Jameson Williams is going to recover off ACL surgery. There’s also the prospect of injuries, which rocked Detroit’s wideout group last year. While it looks as if Cephus is on track to play a minimal role now, that could change in a hurry.
It’s certainly not everyday the Lions draft productive wide receivers, so instead of opening another hole on their roster in order to gain draft capital, the team should simply stick with Cephus and see what he can do in 2022.
There’s a good chance Cephus will be able to do some damage on the field and help Detroit’s offense unlock more big plays. That’s something the team simply should not discount at this point in time.
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