Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Detroit Lions position review/outlook: Receivers

The Detroit Lions finished up one of its most successful seasons -- record-wise -- in franchise history. Now, the offseason begins with the combine, free agency and the NFL draft.

To start that process moving, we'll look at each position group over the next two weeks analyzing what worked, what didn't and projecting what could happen between now and training camp, a little over six months away.

Previous analyses: Quarterbacks; Running backs

2015 Free Agents: Jeremy Ross (exclusive rights)

The good: Golden Tate was potentially the best free agent signing in the NFL last season, putting up career highs in catches (99) and yards (1,331). More importantly for the Lions, he provided a strong complement to star Calvin Johnson and showed he could be a No. 1 receiver when Johnson missed three games due to an ankle injury. Calvin Johnson, when healthy, was close to his elite self. He had his fifth straight 1,000-yard season and did it in essentially 11 games (he played in 13 but was limited in two). The Lions had 23 drops in 2014 -- half as many as they did in 2013 -- and a lot of that had to do with the addition of Tate, who has some of the best hands in the NFL. Jeremy Ross and Corey Fuller showed flashes this season, but were not consistent.

The bad: The Lions didn't receive much from their receivers outside of Tate and Johnson. There should be some concern about Johnson's body, too, as he has been banged up in some way the past three seasons. Ross, as the No. 3 receiver, didn't see many targets. Once Johnson returned, Fuller was barely used. Ryan Broyles was a non-factor because he was consistently inactive and was described essentially as Tate's backup. That Fuller and Broyles were in fairly narrow roles speaks to the overall questions about the unit beyond Johnson and Tate both in 2014 and in the future. Rookie TJ Jones missed the whole year due to a shoulder injury that led to nerve issues. Receiver rotation was also an issue this season as offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi pulled Johnson and/or Tate off the field for plays at seemingly random times. When both were off the field, the situation telegraphed a run play.

The money (using 2015 cap numbers from ESPN Stats & Information): Johnson has an astronomical 2015 cap number of $20.558 million and has $20.973 million in dead money. His cap number, as of now, is about 20 percent of the 2015 cap. Tate has a cap number of $5.35 million with his entire base salary of $3.75 million guaranteed if he's on the roster in the third day of the new league year. Broyles is in the final year of his rookie deal and has a cap number of $1.170 million including a roster bonus of $181,614 and a workout bonus of $50,000. Jones has a cap hit of $536,550 and Fuller has one of $510,000.

Potential cuts: Broyles is the only potential pre-camp cut here, although cutting him would save less than $1 million. Johnson and Tate aren't going anywhere as of now -- although the Johnson discussion might happen a year or two from now when his dead money drops to $12.915 million for the 2016 season and $4.857 million for the 2017 season as long as the Lions don't restructure his contract. Fuller, Broyles and Jones will be fighting for roster spots along with Ross should he return.

Draft priority: Somewhat high, especially if the Lions include a kick/punt returning component to the receiver spot. This is an area Detroit could address in free agency again, but the draft might be the smarter option since the team will eventually have to invest in a receiver to replace Johnson. They really missed a good chance in last year's draft, instead opting for Eric Ebron and Kyle Van Noy in the first two rounds of the draft, although Van Noy was a need at the time. Unless someone falls, this is probably a mid-round pick right now.

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