Tag: Antoine Green

WATCH: Antoine Green shows off speed for long touchdown

UNC football wide receiver Antoine Green scored a 70-yard touchdown for the Detroit Lions in preseason.

Former North Carolina wide receiver Antoine Green is trying to earn his roster spot with the Detroit Lions after being selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL draft.

With just one preseason game left before cuts, Green had the chance to make a statement on Friday night. And on one play, he did just that.

The receiver caught a pass from backup Teddy Bridgewater in the second quarter and scampered down the field for a 70-yard touchdown, showing off his speed in the process. Green makes the catch and then turned on the jets to blow by defenders en route to the end zone:

It was the first big play of Green’s NFL career so far, albeit only preseason but it’s still important for the rookie to have a play like that.

With Detroit having some depth issues at wide receiver, Green is looking to provide a spark. Having that speed and being a reliable target could go a long ways for him.

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4 Storylines to follow in the Lions preseason opener

With the preseason opening for the Lions on Friday, there are questions remain the need to be answered and this game may start that process for both the team and fans.

Football is back and for the first time in a long time, there are heavy expectations in the Motor City for the Lions. It may be seen as just a preseason game but look back at last year’s preseason and it set the tone for the season that unfolded for the team.

The opener this year of course now has a different feel to it with the expectations but doing it against what should be a good New York Giants team is perfect. Coach Dan Campbell talks about how the season is a climb and about taking the steps to success, it all starts on Friday night. 

The expectations for the Detroit Lions aren’t alone though, there are questions that are swirling about the team.

Dan Campbell updates the progress of 7th-round rookie WR Antoine Green

Lions head coach Dan Campbell updates the progress of 7th-round rookie WR Antoine Green through training camp

Many of the Detroit Lions rookies have stood out this summer. From top pick Jahmyr Gibbs through third-rounder Brodric Martin, several draftees have shown signs they can contribute right away.

That hasn’t really been the case for the team’s final draft pick in 2023, wideout Antoine Green. The North Carolina product has flashed with his size and speed at times, but Green has also had some struggles with route precision, drops, and the increased speed and physicality of the NFL.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered an update on where he sees Green’s progress through the first weeks of training camp and heading into the preseason.

“Yeah, I would say you know, inconsistent,” Campbell told reporters before Wednesday’s practice. “Man, he does some things that really show, and then it just, you know it dips. And there again, he’s a young player. Does some things that really catch your eye, and then some things the opposite way. So just, he’s inconsistent right now. And the more that he can – you know those can – he lessens the inconsistency, the better off he is going to be. That’s part of what camp is for him.”

Last Saturday’s practice session was a good microcosm for Green. In 1-on-1 drills, Green easily ran past 2022 seventh-rounder Chase Lucas on the outside and made a nice in-air adjustment to an underthrown ball. Two reps later, veteran DB Will Harris stymied Green as he tried to break inside and the rookie couldn’t adjust quickly enough; QB Nate Sudfeld turfed the throw on purpose because Green was just not open.

Entering Friday’s exhibition opener against the New York Giants, Green sits on the third-team offense on the team’s unofficial depth chart. The two other third-team wideouts are undrafted rookies Dylan Drummond and Chase Cota. Drummond has definitively outshined Green throughout camp, while Cota has steadily improved the more he plays. Green might need a big preseason in order to avoid practice squad status for his rookie year.

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Detroit Lions training camp battles: Wide Receivers

A look at the Detroit Lions training camp battles at wide receiver from Lions Wire’s Russell Brown

Say what you want but the depth at wide receiver for the Detroit Lions is better than it’s been in a few seasons. While there might be some low expectations for some players in the group, the Lions have built something that they’ve been intending on building since the arrival of this regime.

That something is competition.

By drafting, trading and signing players such as Antoine Green, Denzel Mims and Marvin Jones Jr., the Lions should be able to find some consistent contributions from one, if not all three players this season.

For Antoine Green, he’s a seventh round pick from North Carolina in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s a deep ball specialist that averaged 19 yards per catch for the Tar Heels while possessing sub-4.5 speed. In 2022, he had 798 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was picked over some veteran receivers to make the 53-man roster.

As for Mims, he’s a former second round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft. While I wasn’t his biggest fan coming out of the draft, he does have sub-4.4 speed and could be a player that just needs a change of scenery. We’ve seen the Lions have success with players changing teams such as John Cominsky and Charles Harris. Mims does only have 42 receptions for 676 yards in his career so my expectations are low. But again, he adds depth and competition for training camp.

When you look at the rest of the roster, players such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Jones Jr., and Kalif Raymond should be safe to make the roster. Jameson Williams will make the roster but won’t be available for the first six weeks of the season with his suspension on gambling.

Another veteran that the Lions have is Josh Reynolds. After posting 38 receptions for 479 yards and three touchdowns, he’s coming off his best season with Detroit. He should easily earn a spot on the roster as a 3rd or 4th receiver.

It’s possible that the Lions cut a player such as Denzel Mims for a player such as Maurice Alexander, Trinity Benson or Tom Kennedy. However, I don’t see that being the case. Between those three players, they’ve totaled 17 receptions for 305 receptions and 33 games played.

Regardless of what happens, I’d have low expectations for that final roster spot when it comes to loading the stat sheet on offense. Much of the Lions production at receiver should come from Amon-Ra St. Brown, who posted a career 106 receptions in 2022.

While the Lions did have five receivers last season, I could see them carrying six receivers this season. Here’s how I’d project the Lions wide receiver room for this season:

  • Amon-Ra St. Brown
  • Marvin Jones Jr.
  • Josh Reynolds
  • Kalif Raymond
  • Jameson Williams (Suspended — won’t be on the active 53-man roster)
  • Denzel Mims (Six week trial run to start the season. Could move on after activating Williams)
  • Antoine Green (Practice squad. Could keep him on the PS or activate based on performance of Mims)

The way I see it, the final roster spot at receiver will come down to Denzel Mims and Antoine Green. With how rocky Mims career has been so far, I’d expect the Lions to go in favor of Green.

However, they could put Green on the practice squad to start the season and they could give Mims a six-week trial while Jameson Williams is out of the lineup. If Mims doesn’t produce, they could move on from him while activating Williams and promoting Green to the 53-man roster.

Regardless of how it turns out, it’ll be interesting to see how training camp turns out for the Lions depth chart at wide receiver this summer.

Five breakout candidates for the Lions 2023 season

A look at five Detroit Lions who could have breakout seasons in 2023

As we enter the month of July, we’re inching closer to the Lions start of practices and pre-season action. Before we know it, we’ll be knee-deep in the regular season as our football teams push for the playoffs. For now, I want to look at five players that could break out for the Lions during the 2023 season!

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Lions minicamp notebook: Day 2 sees the defense rise again

Detroit Lions minicamp notebook from the 2nd practice, with notes on the defense making plays, OL woes, coaching points and more

The second session of the Detroit Lions minicamp took a familiar theme from the first day and ran wild with it. For the second practice in a row, the defense emphatically outplayed the offense, from the first team through the bottom of the roster.

It was even more pronounced on Wednesday, largely because the offense simply wasn’t as sharp as it was during Tuesday’s practice. Other than a couple of noteworthy exceptions, the defense dominated their offensive counterparts on the hazy, breezy afternoon in Allen Park.

Here’s the notebook from Wednesday’s session of Lions minicamp. There is one more day left on Thursday.

Detroit Lions sign undrafted free agent wide receiver Dylan Drummond

Drummond impressed enough in his rookie minicamp tryout to earn a contract

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Today the Detroit Lions announced that they’ve signed Eastern Michigan wide receiver Dylan Drummond. Over the weekend, the Lions invited 10 players to a rookie minicamp in Allen Park. The strong impression earned Drummond a contract.

During his 52 games played at Eastern Michigan, Drummond had 183 receptions for 2028 yards and 14 touchdowns. This past season, he averaged a career high of 15.9 yards per reception for the Eagles. He was also a kick and punt returner during portions of his five year career at EMU with 39 total returns under his belt.

At the Eastern Michigan Pro Day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.62 seconds. Meanwhile, he posted 33″ vertical jump and had a 3-cone drill time of 6.86 seconds. Standing 6’0″ and 194 pounds, he doesn’t have blazing speed but he has shown good fluidity to run and create yards after the catch.

Since the news of wide receiver Jameson Williams being suspended for 6 games, the Lions have made their intentions clear of upgrading the wide receiver room. They added North Carolina wide receiver Antoine Green in the 7th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. They’ve also added undrafted free agents Keytaon Thompson and Chase Cota. There’s a chance that one of these players stick on the roster, maybe it could be Drummond out of Eastern Michigan.

Antoine Green signs rookie deal with Deroit Lions

Former UNC football wide receiver Antoine Green signed his rookie deal with Detroit.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels wide receiver Antoine Green is taking the next step in his football career as he looks to make an impact in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.

Green was the last draft pick for the Lions in the 2023 NFL draft as the team selected him in the seventh round at the end of April. He was one of four UNC players drafted and should have a shot in Detroit to work his way into the receiver rotation. On Thursday, Green officially became a member of the Lions when he signed his rookie deal.

Green’s deal is four years and is worth $3.956M and comes with a  $110,760 signing bonus.

Green spent five seasons at North Carolina, catching 90 passes for 1,710 yards and 15 touchdowns. In his first three years, he was buried on the depth chart as he had to play behind Dazz Newsome, Dyami Brown and Josh Downs. Green had a breakout year in 2021, finishing with 31 receptions for 612 yards and 5 touchdowns.

In 2022, Green caught 43 passes for 798 yards and found the endzone 3 times.

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2023 NFL Draft: The best draft steal for every NFL team

Every NFL draft has its selection of steals — those players who could surprise despite their low selections — and here’s one for every NFL team.

One of the many reasons the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII was the job that general manager Brett Veach did outside of the first round of the 2022 draft. Three defensive backs (Bryan Cook in the second round, Joshua Williams in the fourth, and Jaylen Watson in the seventh) were difference-makers all season, and seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco became the team’s bellcow back down the stretch. Also, second-round receiver Skyy Moore joined Pacheco with touchdowns in that Super Bowl victory over the Eagles.

First-round hits are nice, but it’s almost worse to miss in the first round than it is better to win there from an opportunity cost perspective. If you want to refresh your roster at a championship level, you had better get those picks right on the second and third day. Veach and his staff did that, and it was the difference that made all the difference in the end.

Moving to the 2023 NFL draft, we’ve selected one second- or third-day pick for every NFL team who could have a similar impact on their NFL roaters sooner than mater. Each of these players have reasons for their relatively low picks in line with their tape, stats, and talent, but these are the kinds of finds that can turn a team around over time.

Athletic player comparisons for the Detroit Lions 2023 draft class

The Detroit Lions 2023 draft class has some interesting player comparisons based on relative athletic score, or RAS

The 2023 NFL is now behind us and it is time to start looking at the possibilities the newly added players can bring to the Detroit Lions. Even though this is not as an athletic class as years past, General Manager Brad Holmes’ new found confidence brought in players who can compete for starting spots right from the get go. Sure, some may say where the players were taken was not in line with positional value, but it is hard to deny that the Lions brought in strong football players to round out their roster.

We always like to compare player and see what their potential may become in the NFL. With the use of the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) tool, we were able compare the Lions 2023 draft class to current and former NFL players and possibly get an idea of the capacity they might be able to bring for the Lions.

Here are the best comparisons for the Lions 2023 draft class.