Is Reunion with WR Marvin Jones Jr. Worth It for Detroit Lions?

Marvin Jones Jr. is still available to join NFL teams in free agency.

The Detroit Lions have been active spenders during the early part of the NFL’s free-agency period.

Among their top additions are cornerback Cameron Sutton and safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. With these moves, the Lions have vastly improved the talent on their defense.

On offense, general manager Brad Holmes has added running back David Montgomery and offensive lineman Graham Glasgow. One position that hasn’t been addressed, though, is wide receiver, where Detroit could go in multiple directions.

If the Lions look to bring back one of their own, DJ Chark is still available and could return to the team. Should they want to look elsewhere, Marvin Jones Jr. is a player who could fit the team’s needs.

It would be a reunion if Jones were to put pen to paper with Detroit. He played in Motown from 2016-20, spending some of the best seasons of his career with the Lions. Fans may remember him fondly, as he recorded three separate seasons with more than 900 receiving yards.

Most recently, the veteran has spent two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that span, he has caught 119 passes for 1,361 yards and seven touchdowns.

The 33-year-old is a big receiver who has been a vertical threat throughout his career. He has good speed and can stretch the field, competing with smaller cornerbacks to grab contested catches.

He finished the 2022 season with an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 60.4 and a receiving grade of 60.5. His vertical presence is known, as he has a career average depth of target of 14.2 yards.

The emergence of tight end Evan Engram and the addition of Christian Kirk in 2022 created a smaller role for the former Lion in Jacksonville’s offense. Still, he managed to catch 46 passes for 529 yards and three scores.

Within the Lions’ offense, he would fit well in that deep threat role. Detroit has a budding star at the position in Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is coming off a 1,000-yard season in his second year. Meanwhile, 2022 first-rounder Jameson Williams is looking to take a massive leap, after his rookie campaign was limited by injury.

Williams will likely command a bigger role in Detroit’s offense in 2023. His speed has the potential to be a game-breaking asset for the Lions, so Holmes and company can afford to look for a player who would be a supplementary piece (as opposed to being a star). 

Chark was responsible for stretching the opposing defense in 2022, but injuries limited him to just 11 games. Jones has remained healthy for most of his career, playing 33 of a possible 34 games over the last two seasons.

At 33 years old, the veteran wideout likely wouldn’t command a massive contract. Detroit has proven to make good on short-term deals under Holmes, so creating a return for the vet -- on a small contract -- would be beneficial.

Detroit’s offense was among the league’s best in 2022, so maintaining that level of production will be important. By adding a veteran like Jones, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson would be getting another piece to bolster his group.