The Detroit Lions coaching staff has made it loud and clear: they need to see more out of the WR3 competition.
It’s not a secret that the Detroit Lions are searching for their Josh Reynolds replacement on offense. The team made it clear that he was a key part of their offense last year, and general manager Brad Holmes even noted that their Plan A was to bring him back for another season. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out with Reynolds, and the Lions entered camp with a significant position battle on their hands.
Heading into the first practices this summer, the competition seemed to be among second-year receiver Antoine Green and veteran Donovan Peoples-Jones. However, Daurice Fountain has recently emerged as the favorite. Despite spending the first five years of his NFL career bouncing between three teams and making just eight game appearances—while battling injuries all the way —Fountain spent a year marinating on the Lions’ practice squad last season and has now taken the most reps with the starters this summer.
That said, despite a strong showing early in camp, coach Dan Campbell wants to see him take it to another level.
“He’s making some plays. Like you see the one-on-one, he makes a big, high catch there, and I think we all are intrigued with Fountain,” Campbell said “… (but) we need to see more out of him, we need to see more. It’s got to show up, man, he’s got to be detailed in what he does. He’s got an unbelievable opportunity here, he knows that, and we’ve got to see it.”
When asked about Peoples-Jones, who appears to be third in line based on camp reps, Campbell said something very similar.
“He’s a guy I expect more out of too, and he knows that,” Campbell said. “Now, he’s working, he works at it, man, he wants it, but we just need him to take another step here.”
As for Green, here’s what offensive coordinator Ben Johnson had to say about the 2023 seventh-round pick.
“Antoine Green is still pushing all along here. We see growth from the springtime, we just need to see the consistency that we’ve been hoping for from him,” Johnson said.
That isn’t to say the three receivers haven’t been making plays in camp. They have. Fountain had a touchdown in Friday’s scrimmage, Green had one of the most acrobatic catches of all of camp, and Johnson credited Peoples-Jones with a key block in a practice earlier this week.
However, to replace Reynolds’ role in the offense, the Lions need trust and consistency. And for a group of receivers with relatively little experience in this offense, that understandably takes some time to develop.
“We need smart, we need reliable,” Johnson said. “And if we had to be picky, we want a little bit of length.”
Fountain, Green, and Peoples-Jones are all listed at 6-foot-2, so they each have the length the Lions are looking for in this receiver competition. It’s clear the player who provides the most day-to-day consistency and hones in on the details is the one who will walk away with the Reynolds role.