Can Kenny Golladay develop into the Lions’ next Calvin Johnson?

Could Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay be the team’s next Calvin Johnson? The numbers suggest he has the potential to do so.

Don’t call him Babytron because he wants to earn his own nickname. However, it is hard to ignore the parallels between Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay and Megatron himself, Calvin Johnson.

When Johnson decided to abruptly retire following the 2015 season, it left the Detroit Lions fan base starving for another All-Pro wide receiver that could simply jump higher, run faster and break tackles the same way that Johnson did for the better part of nine seasons.

Two years later, the Lions took Golladay out of Northern Illinois in the 3rd round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Have the Lions in fact found their next All-Pro wide receiver? Let’s take a look.

Tale of The Tape

Through the first 35 games of their careers:

Johnson had 145 receptions for 2368 yards with 16 touchdowns
Golladay sits at 136 receptions for 2337 yards and 16 touchdowns

As it stands, Golladay is on pace to finish his third season with 67 catches, 1238 yards, and 14 trips to the end zone. After this season is over, barring any setbacks and Golladay maintaining his pace, here is where he could potentially stack up against Johnson:

Johnson: 193 receptions, 3071 yards, 21 touchdowns in 45 games
Golladay: 165 receptions, 2778 yards, 24 touchdowns in 42 games

It is important to note that Johnson became the Lions second receiving option behind Roy Williams in the second game of his 2007 rookie season, while Golladay was largely the third option behind Golden Tate and Marvin Jones Jr. during his first year and a half in the league.

Is Golladay the next superstar in Detroit?

While the wound may still feel fresh to Lions fans, and it may seem a bit much to look into the future, given the current state of the franchise, Golladay does possess the physical attributes, skill set, and production values to be compared to Johnson.

It’s possible Golladay could even pass Johnson on the all-time lists in the Lions franchise — especially if he can stay on the field more than Johnson was able to in the latter part of his career.

Ultimately time will tell, but this tale of the tape should give Lions fans a beacon of hope that they have another superstar to pair with Matthew Stafford.

Wide receivers have been a silver lining for the Lions

Detroit Lions wide receivers have the most receiving yards over the last four weeks of any NFL team by a wide margin

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The wins have been tough to come by for the Detroit Lions lately. Don’t blame the wide receivers.

Detroit’s wideouts have been doing an amazing job all season. However, it’s in the last month where Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and company have really thrived.

In fact, no group of wide receivers has caught passes for more yards over the last four games than the Lions wideouts. Detroit is the only team to have its receivers top 1,000 yards.

The Lions are way out in front of the pack. Second-place Kansas City is over 160 yards behind, while the Giants are in fifth place with 335 fewer receiving yards by wideouts.

Graphic courtesy NFL Inside Edge

Jones, Golladay and Danny Amendola have each racked up at least one game over 100 receiving yards and another game with at least 90. Marvin Hall is the only other Lions WR to even see a target in that time, with two receptions for 96 yards since Week 7.

The Silver (and Blue) Lining: 3 positive takeaways from a loss in Chicago

Introducing the Silver (and Blue) Lining, where we at Lions Wire identify three positive takeaways from the Detroit Lions most recent game.

A Week 10 battle in the Windy City saw the Detroit Lions fall to the Chicago Bears, returning to the Motor City with a 3-5-1 record.

As Lions fans, we tend to get down on our team a lot easier than a lot of other teams do — we are starving for success in Detroit, I get it — but there are positives you can take away from every game.

Thus I bring you, the first-ever Silver, with a hint of Honolulu Blue, Lining.

Jeff Driskel looked good

This bullet point was pegged even before we found out that Driskel was only made aware of him being called on to start at quarterback the morning before the game. Once word came out on the short notice, I wanted to put an exclamation point on the heading.

A few bad passes and an interception wasn’t enough to sour the day Driskel had. I kept wondering why they wouldn’t let him loose and throw the ball downfield and see what the Lions had with their backup. For much of the game, it appeared as if Driskel was told to play it safe, rather than try to move the ball downfield and air it out. On one of the plays where Driskel took a shot, he connected with Kenny Golladay for a 48-yard touchdown.

Driskel can also move, the Lions ran several read options in which he was able to scramble and he moved the ball very well. When the game ended, Jeff Driskel was the top rusher of the day for the Lions, with 37 yards.

With Matthew Stafford listed as day-to-day, Driskel could see the field more this season and if he gets reps, the Lions have a very formidable backup quarterback, not to mention he has Stafford to give him advice.

The defensive line played well

The Detroit Lions defensive line tallied five sacks in the game, on a day where Mike Daniels made his return to the active roster. Trey Flowers led the way for the Lions on defense, and showed the reasons why he was brought to Detroit.

Bears running back David Montgomery rushed for 67 yards, but was held to 3.5 yards per carry. If the Lions defensive line can continue this type of play, this should help the struggling secondary turn things around.

Marvin Jones continues his tremendous season

Five catches for 77 yards on six targets is how Jones finished the day. Are those the flashy numbers? No. Are they are solid numbers? Yes. Just like most of his catches have been this season, they came with a moving of the chains for the Lions offense.

Jones, has just one dropped pass this season to go along with 47 receptions and 612 yards with an average yard per reception of 13.0 and six trips to the end zone. If Driskel continues to play this season and needs a security blanket — 13 yards per catch will keep you nice and cozy.