The Detroit Lions decided to use one of their fifth-round selections, No. 166 overall, on Wisconsin wide receiver Quintez Cephus.
The draft slot was an understandable one, as Cephus was pegged as a fifth or sixth-round pick and projects as more of a depth option than a Day-1 starter in the league.
Though the Lions have a solid core of receivers for the 2020 season, Cephus’ fit with the team is a great one, and may lead to him earning a starting role in the near future.
There are three key aspects to take into account when looking at how a rookie wide receiver will fit with their new team. They are: who the team has at quarterback, the talent and depth of their wide receiving core and the level of offensive success the team has year in and year out.
Many times these factors all have an effect on each other, and point towards one main variable: the level of talent around the incoming rookie and whether that talent will put him in a position to succeed.
Here’s how the Lions shake out as a fit for Cephus.
Quarterback
The Lions dealt with injuries at the quarterback position during the 2019 season and were forced to see three different signal callers start at least three games under center. This led the offense, one usually near the top of the league when Matthew Stafford is healthy, to rank just 17th in yards-per-game and 18th in points-per-game out of the 32 teams in the league.
The 32-year-old Stafford now returns healthy for his 12th NFL season, a career which has seen the Georgia product throw for more than 4000 yards during a season seven times and over 5000 yards once.
Stafford is also under contract through the 2022 season and the Lions haven’t shown a willingness just yet to find his replacement for when his time in Detroit is up.
Stafford’s health and presence on the team is great news for Cephus.
I wrote before the draft that the best landing spot for the former Badger wide receiver would be anywhere that has a consistent, strong-armed quarterback that leads the team to success in the passing game.
The Lions fit that bill perfectly.
The team had the No. 6 passing offense in terms of yards-per-game in 2017, No. 11 in 2016, No. 9 in 2015, No. 12 in 2014 and No. 3 in 2013.
In 2019, as I outlined above, Stafford missed half of the season after starting the year on pace for around 5000 yards, and in 2018 the team dealt with turnover as head coach Matt Patricia took time to get things rolling after taking over the team.
Once Cephus finds the field, assuming Stafford is still the starting quarterback, he will benefit greatly from the skillset of the quarterback and his willingness to win games and take risks throwing the football.
Grade: A-
Wide receiving corps
The Lions currently have three receivers–Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola and Kenny Golladay–listed ahead of Cephus on the projected preseason depth chart.
Many look at the team’s talent in the receiver room and see it as a negative sign for the former Badger, as there are clear obstacles in his way of finding a spot in the starting lineup.
What isn’t commonly known about their receiving core, though, is that none of the three are signed past the 2020 season.
Will one (or probably two) of them re-sign during the season? Most likely. But the odds are that when the team sets their roster for 2021 there will be at least one open slot in the starting lineup for Cephus to have a chance to fill.
This all will obviously come as a result of him playing well as a rookie and showing that he has the talent to produce in the league.
Were this all to happen, and given what the former Badger was able to do in college it is likely that it will, expect Cephus to have a shot at a starting role in the offense by the 2021 season at the latest.
Grade: B
Offensive success as a whole
The Lions, again when healthy, have been a top-15 offense since Stafford started his first fill season in 2011.
With that, they have found consistent production at the wide receiver position during that time period with guys including Jones Jr., Golladay, Golden Tate, Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson.
Unlike other teams who may depend on a ground game and struggle at times getting the ball in the hands of their wide receivers, the Lions always seem to put a premium on receiver play and do whatever they can to get the ball to the outside.
Grade: A
This overall success at the position, paired with the current quarterback situation and the team’s top receivers not being signed past 2020 all point towards the Lions being a great fit for Cephus to begin his career.
Overall grade of the Lions as a fit for Cephus: A-