Most improved position groups from the 2022 NFL offseason:

New Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams

Receiving core – Detroit Lions

Additions: D.J. Chark, Jameson Williams, James Mitchell & Kalil Pimpleton

Departures: Khadarel Hodge, Trinity Benson & Darren Fells

On a quick note here, while the status of first-round pick Jameson Williams is still in question as it pertains to when exactly he’ll be ready to play, right now the belief is that he’s ahead of schedule and should be back some time in October. Him recovering from an ACL isn’t really taken into account here, but I felt the need to mention it here.

Let’s start with the position they were in the middle of the 2021 season and then the offseason. With the ascent of last year’s fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown, they all of a sudden had a legitimate threat at receiver he can win in a multitude of ways. Brown ended the season with six straight games with at least eight receptions, 86+ yards and a touchdown in all but one of them. Obviously with tight-end T.J. Hockenson and running back D’Andre Swift, they now have that kind of triangle inside, with St. Brown mostly operating out of the slot and best kept there. The issue was that they didn’t really have anybody on the perimeter to threaten the defense. Outside of those three names, only Kalif Raymond really contributed through the air, after he was more so a return and vertical threat in Tennessee. Still, Raymond, Josh Reynolds and Quintez Cephus barely combined for 1,000 receiving yards and then there were names like Khadarel Hodge and Trinity Benson.

So what did Detroit do? They brought in D.J. Chark on a one-year, 10-million-dollar deal trying to resurrect his career after fracturing his ankles four weeks into this past season. However, he’s just two years away from a 1000-yard season, when 17 of his 73 catches went for 20+ yards, and he went for just over 700 in 13 games of 2020. His average depth of target was up to 14.0, being able to win down the field and make some acrobatic grabs with defenders around him. Then they went into the draft, where we all expected them to get a difference-maker on the edge defensively and maybe target a developmental quarterback with their pick at the end of the first round. Instead, once they secured Aidan Hutchinson second overall, they traded up 20 spots with the Vikings all the way to 12th overall and selected Alabama first-team All-American receiver Jameson Williams. I already mentioned that he’s coming off a torn ACL, that’ll likely cost him four to six games. However, this guy was a big-play machine for the Crimson Tide, with the ability to blow by the corner and safety trying to bracket him. Williams also would take a shallow crosser and kill the pursuit angle as he hit that extra gear down the opposite sideline. That’s why he was able to score an FBS-best 11(!) touchdowns of 30-plus yards last year.

Just by having those two guys on either end of the formation and stemming vertically, defenses will have to respect that and come out in a lot more two-high looks. Even if Jared Goff isn’t going to scare people with bombs over the top, he can float the ball down the sidelines or hit a post route on the hitch off a five-step drop. That should even lead to even box counts for them, as they want to play more throughout the run game anyway. The Lions also drafted Virginia Tech’s James Mitchell in the fifth round, who I thought was one of the more complete tight-ends in this class and was heavily underdiscussed due to tearing his ACL last season. Although that was fairly early and he might be ready week one as the number two behind Hockenson. Finally, they brought in Kalil Pimpleton as an undrafted free agent, who I believe could make their return game a lot more dynamic and while featuring diminutive size, can deliver some big YAC plays.

Also considered: Pittsburgh Steelers & Miami Dolphins