Lions' Biggest 'Roster Hole' Left to Fill
While the Lions don't have as many glaring holes on the offensive side of the ball as they do on the defensive side, there is still a couple of red flags.
The biggest one comes at the receiver position, which has experienced a mass exodus since the start of the offseason.
Wideouts Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr. and Jamal Agnew all departed the Motor City earlier this offseason via free agency.
Veteran slot receiver Danny Amendola, still a free agent, also isn't likely to return to the Lions.
In their place, Detroit general manager Brad Holmes added pass-catchers Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman via free agency and former USC wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown via the draft.
Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports
Still, the Lions' receivers room is expected to be a weakness in 2021.
The popular football analytics site Football Outsiders, as conveyed via an ESPN.com article, agrees, and labeled it the biggest "roster hole" for Detroit going into the '21 campaign.
As FO explains,
"For the Lions to reach their goal of Super Bowl contention, they will eventually need to address their receiver group. None of Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola, Marvin Hall and Mohamed Sanu will return to the team in 2021. Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman are perfect placeholder signings, but on one-year deals and playing this season at age 29 and 28, respectively, they are unlikely to be part of the next Lions contender.
Fourth-round rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown has the body control and route-running savvy to at least contribute from the slot, but he probably will need a bigger or faster running mate on the outside to stretch the defense and create space for him in the middle of the field."
Sure, Detroit could still add some talent to its receivers group, and maybe an undrafted free-agent signing like Jonathan Adams, out of Arkansas State, will surprise and make a difference.
However, by simply taking a look at the team's WR depth chart, you'll notice that there's a highly evident lack of both depth and talent at the position.
This appears to be the Lions' biggest Achilles' heel on offense, and if Football Outsiders has anything to say about it, it will be the organization's biggest weakness, as a whole, in '21.
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