5 Things WR Trinity Benson Must Improve Upon to Play More in 2022
It can be difficult for some players in the NFL to find their way, and such has been the case for Detroit’s Trinity Benson.
His route has been unique, no pun intended.
After all, Benson is a wide receiver.
Undrafted out of East Central in 2019, Benson managed to stick around with the Denver Broncos for a couple of seasons. However, he never caught a pass during a game.
In 2021, right before the beginning of the regular season, his route changed again, and Detroit traded for Benson in a move that amounted to him avoiding going on the waiver wire.
Benson saw action for the Lions here and there. All told, Benson played in eight games, and he was on the field with Detroit’s offense 25.32 percent of the time.
As the Lions head into 2022, outside of team-leading receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, there is ample opportunity for someone like Benson to step up and seize the moment.
However, if he is to do so, there are five things he must improve on, based on my study of his 2021 game film: (10/3) CHI, (11/4) PIT and (1/2) SEA.
1.) Do more with his opportunities
The last thing anyone in management or coaching wants to see from a young receiver trying to catch on is a stat line that reads, “10 catches on 22 targets.”
No matter the reason, decision-makers do not want to see that. He must find a way to improve on that ratio.
2.) Create more separation in his route running
There were just too many times when Benson was in the game and running routes and he was tied up with corners. It is tough for quarterback Jared Goff or any other passer to throw the ball to a receiver who is not creating enough of a throwing window.
3.) Look sharper
On two separate occasions in these three games, Benson was not properly set prior to the snap. It looked awkward.
He also needs to run sharper routes. It seemed too often that passes were either thrown slightly behind him or somewhat off target.
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After watching the three aforementioned games, the timing issues do not seem to be the quarterback’s fault. Watching Benson, it felt like he was out of sync with the offense. It was so bad that both Goff and backup Tim Boyle did not even seem to look his direction most of the time.
Benson was running wide open across the field against Seattle, and he was invisible to Boyle, who was looking that direction further downfield.
4.) Pick up more YAC
YAC stands for “yards after the catch,” and it is a big part of what receivers need to do.
Outside of a couple of receptions, Benson was stopped fairly quickly after the catch. Benson needs to extend plays more, and prove he can do more than catch less than half the passes thrown in his direction
5.) Benson needs to do something spectacular early on in camp and in the preseason
As it is, Benson is buried on the Lions’ depth chart, and given the fact the Lions only have one legit receiver (St. Brown), that is not saying much.
However, with that comes a chance to shine, and Benson needs to do that early on to have a chance to play more in 2022.
