Marvin Jones

Believe it or not, 2021 marked Jones' second straight year with a career high in targets. The problem? It happened in a putrid Jacksonville offense that completed 59.8 percent of passes (28th) for 6.1 YPA (29th). By that standard, Jones' 60.8 percent catch rate and 6.9 YPT don't look terrible. It's still not good, of course, and there's plenty of cause for concern as he now enters his age-32 season with a presumed coaching upgrade (Urban Meyer out, Doug Pederson in) but also more competition for targets. The Jags signed Christian Kirk and Zay Jones to sizable contracts and also brought back late-2021 contributor Laquon Treadwell on a smaller deal. It's not a great sign that Treadwell, the 2016 first-round bust, outproduced Jones down the stretch last year. Still, Jones is easily the most accomplished Jacksonville receiver, and a return to his Detroit level of production is possible if QB Trevor Lawrence makes a Year 2 leap.

Age hasn’t slowed Jones much. At 30, he managed to score another nine TDs (the same number he posted in 2019), averaged 8.5 YPT and hauled in 19 catches of at least 20 yards (T-8th) on 115 targets. At 6-2, 198, and running a 4.46 40 at the 2012 combine, Jones has always been a good athlete and a downfield playmaker. And he remained efficient last year despite being Matthew Stafford’s primary target most of the season with Kenny Golladay down. This year, he’ll play in Jacksonville with mega-prospect Trevor Lawrence under center. DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault will get their looks too, but the team doesn’t have much at tight end, and Jones should be involved after signing a two-year, $14.5 million deal.

Jones missed the season's last three games with an ankle injury, but he had been reasonably productive and efficient to that point - 12.6 YPC and 8.6 YPT - despite losing quarterback Matthew Stafford midseason. Jones also scored nine touchdowns for the second time in three years, and in 2018 was on pace for another nine scores before getting hurt. Part of that is due to his goal-line use - nine targets inside the 10 (tied for 10th) in only 13 games. At 6-2, 198, Jones has decent size and ran a 4.46 40 at the 2012 combine. He turned 30 in March, so he's probably lost half a step, but he should figure prominently in the offense once again behind big-play No. 1 wideout Kenny Golladay and alongside promising tight end T.J. Hockenson and slot receiver Danny Amendola. Moreover, the return of a healthy Stafford should benefit the passing game as a whole.

Coming off his 2017 breakout, Jones regressed roughly as expected last year before getting hurt. Through nine games, Jones put up a 62-35-508-5 line, numbers that prorate to 110-62-903-9 over a full season, more or less what one would have expected. His efficiency dropped from 10.3 YPT in 2017 to a pedestrian 8.2 last year, a rate more in line with his Bengals days. At 6-2, 198, and with 4.46 speed, Jones is fast enough to get open downfield and also has reliable hands (only one drop). While the anemic Lions offense and Matthew Stafford's subpar season probably had a lot to do with it, Jones didn't haul in a single play of 40-plus yards last year and only five of 20-plus. Contrast that with 2017 when he had six and 20, respectively. With Golden Tate gone, Jones should be a co-No. 1 target with Kenny Golladay. Danny Amendola will fill Tate's slot role, but he's 33 and probably won't match Tate's volume, and No. 8 overall pick T.J. Hockenson may be a year away from a significant pass-catching role at tight end. But the Lions could throw less often with Darrell Bevell taking over for Jim Bob Cooter as offensive coordinator. On the bright side, the deep knee bruise which cost Jones seven games last year isn't expected to affect his preparation for his age-29 season.

Jones trained with Randy Moss last offseason, and then had a career year - in non-PPR Jones was the No. 5 receiver, thanks to 10.3 YPT (2nd), 18.0 YPC (1st) and nine TDs (T-4th). He had six catches of 40-plus yards (T-4th) and 20 catches of 20-plus (5th). Jones saw more red-zone work than teammate Golden Tate, but his 15 looks in that area ranked only 18th, and Jones' overall volume (107 targets, 61 catches) in a full 16 games was modest. Part of the problem is the presence of Tate and tailback Theo Riddick, who get fed often in the short passing game, a staple of the team's offense. At 6-2, 198, and with a 4.46 40 time, Jones has above-average size and decent speed. He'll have to compete for downfield and red-zone targets with emerging second-year man Kenny Golladay (6-4, 213, 4.5 40), but the 28-year old Jones is still the team's top downfield wideout and for what it's worth he's training with Moss again this year.

Houdini has nothing on Marvin Jones. After putting up 23 catches for 482 yards over the season's first four weeks, Jones had only 32 catches for 448 yards over his final 11 games, as Golden Tate took over as the team's No. 1 WR. At 6-2, 198, Jones has decent size, and he can get downfield with 4.46 40 speed -- 16 catches of 20-plus yards, four of 40. Moreover, he averaged a highly efficient 16.9 YPC (3rd) and 9.0 YPT (10th). The problem for Jones -- aside from all his production coming early in the year -- is the Lions have become a dink-and-dunk passing offense, and that favors Tate and running back Theo Riddick. On the bright side, there's little depth behind Jones -- rookie third-rounder Kenny Golladay is still a project, and former sixth-rounder T.J. Jones has 32 career NFL targets -- so he should remain the team's No. 2 target.

An odd choice to fill the departed Calvin Johnson's shoes, Jones should nonetheless immediately find himself in a more prominent role in Detroit opposite Golden Tate. At 6-2, 198, with 4.46 speed, Jones profiles as a useful complementary threat, able to stretch the field (four catches of 40-plus on 103 targets last year) and capable of making plays in the end zone, given his height and wingspan. Jones wasn't especially efficient last year – 12.6 YPC, 7.9 YPT – but that could change if he sees more downfield targets. It's unclear, though, whether Tate, who used to be a field stretcher, will reprise his dink-and-dunk role from last season. Either way, there should be plenty of targets left over for Jones, even after accounting for the team's pass-catching backs and tight end Eric Ebron.

A broken foot and subsequent ankle injury cost Jones the entire 2014 season, but at press time he's expected to be a full participant in the team's offseason workouts and training camp. Before the injury, Jones had a strong 2013 campaign, with 14.0 YPC, 8.9 YPT and 10 touchdowns on just 80 targets. At 6-2, 198, with good (4.46 40) speed, Jones is a fluid route runner and has good hands. His ceiling is likely capped by the presence of star A.J. Green, and it's conceivable Jones could begin the year behind Mohamed Sanu, who saw 98 targets in 2014 when the Bengals receiving corps was decimated by injuries. But Jones has been a better and more efficient player than Sanu and has more upside should something happen to Green.

Jones had a mini-breakout in Year 2 – at least as much of one as he could opposite target-hog A.J. Green. Jones averaged 14.0 YPC and 8.9 YPT last year, while scoring 10 times despite only 13 red-zone looks. At 6-2, 195, Jones is on the small end for a red-zone threat, but he has good speed (4.46 40), is a fluid runner and has good hands. The Bengals threw the ball quite a bit last year, and there’s a chance Jones’ role could grow after a strong showing down the stretch and in the playoff loss to the Chargers. Just keep in mind there are a lot of mouths to feed in this offense and that an August foot injury is in line to delay the start of his 2014 campaign.

Jones caught just 18 balls (on 32 targets) for 201 yards and one touchdown last season. However, his conclusion to the 2012 campaign (at least four targets in each of the last five games, including the playoffs) makes him an interesting prospect entering his second season in 2013.

Jones has the chance to make an impact during his first NFL season due to the uncertainty surrounding the Bengals' number two wide receiver position. Additionally, Jones has potential in the return game, so he is worth keeping an eye on.