The Lions may look to add a young and talented wide receiver in the 2018 draft.
The Lions’ wide recievers have been mostly pretty good this season. Golden Tate has been solid all season. Marvin Jones got off to a slow start but has been playing really well since week six.
After those two there is a big drop off. Rookie Kenny Golladay had a promising week one but injuries have made him a non-factor since then. The Lions’ other wide receivers, T.J. Jones and Jared Abbrederis also haven’t done much.
Detroit could use a receiver who can make plays downfield to help open things up for the running game and underneath routes.
2018 Draft Class Options – Wide Receivers
There isn’t yet a guy who has emerged as the consensus best player among the crop of wide receivers.
These are three wide receivers who the Lions could possibly add to help them make some big plays down the field.
Calvin Ridley- Alabama
Calvin Ridley has been Alabama’s number one receiver his entire college career. His best season came as a true freshman in 2o15 when he caught 89 catches for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns. His production has dipped last season and so far this season. This is mostly due to the fact that the Alabama passing game as a whole hasn’t been as good.
Ridley is a smooth route-runner who can get in and out of breaks without losing much speed. His ability to run routes along with his quickness allows for him to create seperation from his defender.
Another thing that Ridley has going for him is speed. He accelerates to top speed in a hurry and can easily run by most defenders. Also, he can track the ball in the air pretty well and can go up and get the football.
One thing that Ridley struggles with is dealing with press coverage. Sometimes he gets held up at the line for too long and it throws off his route.
Courtland Sutton-SMU
Courtland Sutton is one of the biggest, and most productive wide receivers in college football. He’s listed at 6’4” and 215 lbs. and he uses his size well.
Sutton is at his best in the red zone. Over the last three seasons he has scored a total of 30 touchdowns. He uses his big frame to box-out defenders which makes him extremely difficult to defend.
Quarterbacks love guys who can make contested catches even when they are covered; Sutton is one of those kinds of receivers. He doesn’t have great speed but he’s fast enough to get down the field and can go up and get the ball over just about anybody.
The main thing that Sutton will need to work on is route-running. Sometimes he can get a little sloppy. He has shown that he can run good routes but will need to do it more consistently.
Deon Cain- Clemson
Deon Cain is one of the most explosive wide receivers in college football. He was mainly used as a deep threat during his first two seasons. He hasn’t made as many big plays this season but already has more catches than he’s had in any other season.
Cain’s main asset is his speed. He can accelerate in a hurry and once he gets to top speed he’s hard to contain. Also, at 6’1” and 190 lbs., Cain has enough size, length and body control to high-point the football and come away with contested passes.
Like Sutton, Cain also needs to develop his route-running ability. Clemson doesn’t ask Cain to run many routes since they like using him to stretch the field.
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