In his first season in Detroit, Marvin Jones went in like a Lion, but out like a lamb. He's looking to change that in 2017.
"I flushed it really after the playoff game," Jones told the Detroit Free-Press of his uneven debut with the Lions. "After the playoff game I said, 'It's over.'
Why was Jones so quick to forget the 2016 campaign, one that ended in a Lions playoff appearance? How he finished.
The wideout came over from Cincinnati in the offseason on a five-year contract and started 2016 strong, tallying 408 receiving yards in his first three games, including a 205-yard outing against the rival Packers at Lambeau. However, in Detroit's remaining 13 games, Jones compiled only 522 yards and saw his targets decrease.
"Obviously I was pretty disappointed in everything that happened," Jones admitted. "But what can I say? All I can do is prepare and I know what I can do. Everybody sees what I can do and you'll see it for a long time."
Jones' supporting cast in Motown looks a lot like it did last season. He'll be competing with Golden Tate and tight end Eric Ebron for targets, but due to Anquan Boldin's departure, there's no clear-cut third wideout; NFL Network's Gregg Rosenthal predicts rookie Kenny Golladaywill start in the slot. Matthew Stafford will still hand the ball off to Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick when the duo is healthy.
So will another year with the same roster in Detroit help Jones finish stronger than he did last season? He sure thinks so.
"I want to be that guy that does that. We have a lot of talent on our team that can do that," Jones added. "So when you have a lot of people on your team and you look across, I look across at Tate and Ebron and stuff like that, we are all those guys. But me personally, I want to be the guy that you've seen the first five weeks. I want to be like that for 16, 17, 18 weeks."
