Plenty of people have floated the idea of the Lions adding a wideout to the fold, but is Kalif Raymond the answer to those questioning Detroit’s depth at wide receiver?
The deadest period of the NFL’s offseason is upon us, so there’s no better time to start reviewing the Detroit Lions roster and establishing expectations for the personnel in 2024. The Lions were able to accomplish so much as a team a year ago, winning their first division title and playoff game in over 30 years, but it’s not a time for complacency. As the franchise looks to take the next step toward accomplishing the ultimate goal, we here at Pride of Detroit are going to take this downtime to lay out expectations for individual players in this upcoming season.
We’re going to start this series with one of the most respected and trusted veterans in the locker room, and someone who wears many hats for this football team: wide receiver/returner Kalif Raymond.
Kalif Raymond
Expectations heading into 2023
After spending 2021—his first season in Detroit—as the de facto No. 1 wideout (71 targets, 48 receptions, 576 yards), Raymond became a more efficient version of himself (13.1 yards per reception) on similar volume (64 targets, 47 receptions) in 2022. On top of that, he added second-team All-Pro honors as a punt returner to his resume, proving himself to be a valuable depth piece that could serve in a variety of roles.
Jameson Williams’ looming suspension and hamstring issues in training camp left the door open for another wideout to step into the X receiver role ahead of the 2023 season. Josh Reynolds, equipped with the body type and rapport with Jared Goff, would snatch up that opportunity for the first month of the season. Along with the arrival of other pass-catching options like Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta, it seemed like Raymond was set up to make his presence felt primarily through special teams and cameo appearances on offense.
Actual role in 2023
17 games (3 starts): 348 offensive snaps played (29.5%), 74 special teams snaps (16.4%)
Stats: 35 catches, 489 yards, 1 TD; 7 carries, 75 yards
PFF offensive grade: 75.4 (32nd out of 102 WRs with at least 35 targets)
PFF receiving grade: 75.8 (32nd out of 102)
PFF punt return grade: 78.4 (7th out of 38 punt returners with at least 11 returns)
Despite seeing his targets cut by nearly a third in 2023, Raymond made the most of his opportunities, posting career-best numbers in a variety of efficiency measures. An impressive 2.07 yards per route run (t-19th among qualifying receivers) according to PFF outpaced players like Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, and Ja’Marr Chase last year. His 14.0 yards per reception placed him 36th among receivers with at least 35 targets, ahead of downfield threats like A.J. Brown, Courtland Sutton, and Drake London. And even though the targets were less frequent, Raymond displayed sure hands with a drop rate of just 2.8%, tied for the 12th-best mark among wide receivers in 2023.
Raymond continued being a net positive and impactful player as the team’s punt returner as well, recording an 11.4 yards per return average (8th) on 29 returns in 2023. Unfortunately, Raymond suffered a knee injury in Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings that kept him sidelined during the entirety of Detroit’s playoff run.
Outlook for 2024
Beyond Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions have quite a few question marks at the wide receiver position. Is Jameson Williams going to become a consistent and reliable contributor on offense? How does the production and snaps of the now departed Josh Reynolds get divvied up amongst the wide receiver room? And the most relevant question relating to Raymond specifically, who is going to be WR3 for the Lions in 2024?
St. Brown is a versatile player who can move around the formation for Detroit, and Jamo can naturally fill the X receiver spot, but the third receiver spot has been a topic of discussion since the beginning of the offseason. Some viewed the spot as a position the Lions could upgrade in the draft, but Detroit steered clear of that path, choosing instead to see how the depth on their roster could answer the bell. The Lions have options like Donovan Peoples-Jones who was acquired at the trade deadline last year and second-year player Antoine Green who was a seventh-round pick in 2023 to challenge for the role. Both could figure into the team’s gameday plans any given week, but the frontrunner for WR3 should be Raymond, and it’s his positional versatility that makes him a shoo-in for this offense.
“He’s another one of our Swiss army knives,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said during OTAs. “He does it all for us. His versatility to play all the positions—he can play the X, the F, the Z, and he’s our returner, he’s got real return ability, and speed. So, he mentally knows those three positions of the offense and he’s got speed, so he’s a guy that’s always going to have a place in our offense.”
Raymond has proven to be dependable throughout his time in Detroit, and the way he’s demonstrated the ability to be efficient and effective on limited playing time is a skill in and of itself. It’s not easy to be a semi-regular player on offense. It’s hard to establish a rhythm and be ready for the moments where your number is called, but Raymond has proven to be that kind of player. For an offense full of skill position players to feed the football, the opportunities for Detroit’s WR3 won’t come often, but when they do, Raymond has proven to be just the kind of player to thrive with that responsibility—and potentially being trusted with some new ones on top of his current workload.
“But he’s [Raymond] going to be a critical piece for us offensively, but as a returner too because—the new kickoff too, now, it might be right in his wheelhouse as well,” Campbell added in regards to Raymond potentially factoring into Detroit’s strategy when it comes to the new kickoff rules.