In a recent ranking of every NFL team’s receiving corps, Pro Football Focus had the Detroit Lions ranked number 31, with only the Houston Texans lower than them on the list.
Detroit has seen a major overhaul at the wide receiver and tight end positions this offseason. Tight end T.J Hockenson and wide reciever Quintez Cephus are the only members of the 2020 receiving corps returning to the team for 2021.
PFF attributes their low ranking for the Lions to this substantial change in personnel:
The roster overhaul in Detroit has hit the receiving unit hard, and they will have a completely different look in 2021.
Losing one of the league’s most elite receiving corps this past offseason, the Lions turned to veterans such as Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman to round out the top of the depth chart at wide receiver. The team also brought back Darren Fells to be a compliment at tight end to Hockenson.
In their defense for the low ranking, PFF speculated that Williams and Perriman would be the team’s top two receivers with Geronimo Allison, rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Cephus competing for that third spot on the depth chart.
PFF notes that the Lions have added some size to the position with these free agent acquisitions and state that they see some potential with this squad, but their bottom-tier ranking of the group shows that Detroit has a lot to prove in 2021.