Bold prediction of the Week: Jamal Agnew has big day against the Bears

When the Lions waived Marvin Hall earlier this week, it came as a surprise to many. The Lions don’t have many options in terms of deep threats besides hall. Then again, while Hall was a deep threat, we do tend to romanticize his performances. At the end of the day, whether or not Hall showed up was like playing the lottery. In Week 7 against the Colts, Hall had twice as many receiving yards as he had in the first six weeks combined.

Bold prediction of the week: Jamal Agnew goes for 5+ catches against the Bears.

With Hall gone, there is an open position for resident deep threat on the Lions offense against Chicago Sunday, and Jamal Agnew is looking more and more like the man for the job. To be fair, he doesn’t have much qualification other than raw speed. However, after not even having an offseason at the position under his belt, the cornerback-turned-receiver might get a lot of benefit out of seeing some meaningful playing time.

That will be amplified with the continued absence of Kenny Golladay and (likely) D’Andre Swift. Their absences mean more targets to go around for the other guys, and Matthew Stafford can only throw so many 7-yard in routes to T.J. Hockenson.

In the two weeks since the Lions have began hemorrhaging offensive skill players, Marvin Hall has seen five of his 17 targets on the season. Agnew has also collected three of his nine catches this season in that two-week span. With Golladay and Swift out Sunday and a clear eye on 2021 following the coaching staff turnover, it would be shocking not to see Agnew get a bump in targets.

The Lions want to know what they have in him, and whether he’s worth keeping around next season. With no clear number one (or two or three or four) receiving options under contract for next year, this team will take any promise they can get at the position, including a flash or two from Agnew on Sunday.