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The Detroit Lions have plenty of underrated players making waves in key spots, and perhaps nobody embodies that spirit more than wideout Kalif Raymond.
All season long, Raymond wore plenty of hats for the Lions, playing at wide receiver and serving as the team’s punt returner. He excelled in both roles, and finally received some credit for what he does.
Raymond was named one of the AP’s 2022-23 NFL All-Pros for his work, cracking the second-team as a punt returner for this past season.
While Raymond wasn’t a first-team All-Pro for Detroit, Marcus Jones in New England was voted to that post. Jones was also terrific this season, posting 362 yards and one touchdown on punt returns.
What earned Raymond’s place on this team? His 264 yards and one score on punt returns. This season, Raymond contributed a 47 yard punt return in the first quarter for a score which helped the Lions win a vital game against the New York Jets in December 20-17.
Raymond was electric, and that’s clearly something the writers noticed this year en-route to him being the only Lions player to earn any kind of All-Pro honor for his work this year.
Raymond Was Focused on Making Major Impact
It’s fascinating to go back and look before the season at what was being said by players. Raymond’s focus was entirely on his team, and helping everyone to improve while doing whatever he could for the roster.
Speaking to the media on June 9, 2022, Raymond’s gritty team-first approach was shown off. As he explained, he was willing to do whatever to help his team and his teammates.
“Honestly, just (help) wherever I can however I can. That goes for everything from just knowing what I got to do, but also helping out as much as I can in other places too because this playbook and everything’s new for everybody. So just bouncing off each other, honestly, we’re all kind of giving our little two cents and it’s kind of helping us as a whole unit,” he said at the time.
Detroit’s offense would finish top-three in the league, and the team would see major performances from the wideout room given Amon-Ra St. Brown went over 1,000 yards on the year. Raymond himself had a great season catching passes, and also proved he was always willing to help the team as a whole.
For Raymond, a major mission accomplished has been earned for the season. It was his goal to help across the board, and he was able to get that done in a big way.
Raymond Enjoying Fantastic Season With Lions
In terms of a true Swiss Army knife, there might be nobody better in the NFL than Raymond who earns none of the praise or hype of others across the league.
Raymond has stepped up as a dependable target for the Lions at wide receiver when he needs to be due to injury or other concern given 616 yards on 47 catches. More than that, though, he’s bringing a game-changing element to special teams on punt and kick returns.
As a wideout, in the Week 18 finale, Raymond was the recipient of a deep 43 yard pass from Jared Goff that was nearly a touchdown on first down in the third quarter. He had to not only outrun the Green Bay secondary on the play, but make a fantastic adjustment to the ball near the goal line.
That play, as Raymond would later confirm, was made despite the fact that he had sustained broken ribs earlier in the game.
Not only does he play a fantastic wide receiver, he is tough and refuses to give an inch. For one of the guys who does a bit of everything on the field, it’s great to see Raymond finally get some love for his abilities and what he brings to the table.
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