It wasn't too long ago that the Detroit Lions had so little depth at wide receiver that guys like Bryant Johnson and Derrick Williams were expected to be significant contributors. Now, the state of the wide receiver position is quite different. The Lions are overflowing with talent, and they have excellent depth at the position.
The top of the depth chart for the Lions is headlined by Calvin Johnson, of course. He is the top wide receiver in the NFL and one of the best players in all of football right now. Behind him, the Lions have Nate Burleson and Titus Young, and assuming he stays on track in his recovery from a torn ACL, they will also have Ryan Broyles. That leaves only the fifth wide receiver spot open, and the rest of the receivers on the team will be battling for it. Lions general manager Martin Mayhew expects that battle to be a competitive one.
"The receiver position is going to be very competitive," Mayhew said. "I think we’ve gotten to a point where we’re going to have to let some really talented guys go late because we have enough depth competing for those last spots."
In general, the Lions are going to be parting ways with a lot of talent this year just because there is so much depth across the roster. It's certainly a nice problem to have, and I would expect a lot of the players the Lions cut to end up landing a roster spot with other teams.
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