The Detroit Lions are desperate for new wide receivers after the retirement of All Pro Calvin Johnson. Detroit has failed to make a deep playoff run with Johnson fully healthy, and now they must do it without him entirely, so wide receiver depth will be crucial to the future of the franchise.
The signing of Jeremy Kerley may not bring the Lions a ton of breathing room, as he has never started in 10 games in a row, has never broken 1,000 yards receiving, and has never had more than three touchdowns in a single season. In 2015, the 27-year-old wide receiver recorded one start in 16 games and racked up 16 receptions, 152 yards, 9.5 yards per catch and two touchdowns.
Kerley had been with the New York Jets for his entire career and has recorded 182 receptions, 2,225 yards receiving, 12.2 yards per catch and nine touchdowns. Those are not pretty good numbers, but Kerley had flashed a lot in his time with the dysfunctional Jets.
As the New York quarterback carsouel swung from Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith to Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kerley made plays for all the quarterbacks and proved to be a quality number 3-4 wide receiving option. After losing Megatron, the Lions are now put in an awkward position as far as offensive potency goes.
Detroit already struggled with having a quality number two wide receiver, and now the loss of Johnson just magnifies those issues. Golden Tate will continue to be on the roster despite failing to become a consistent threat. Lance Moore has been pushed to the back of the Lions' depth chart, and a regular NFL fan wouldn't even recognize the players in between.
After Moore we find guys like Corey Fuller, Corey Washington and TJ Jones, however the Lions went out and added Marvin Jones during free agency. Jones is not a replacement for Johnson by any means, but he was one of the better receivers in the league last season and is productive when healthy.
The Lions may have overpaid for Jones, but they couldn't be clearer on how important his value really is. The Lions would have done anything to add a quality option to this offense for quarterback Matthew Stafford. Detroit will have to wait and see if adding Kerley will pay off, but at least now it has options.
The Lions have the 16th overall pick, which is the perfect position to select the top wide receiver on your draft board. If Laquon Treadwell is there at number 16, he could become an immediate number one option for this Lions' offense.
