The Detroit Lions went looking for a complement to Calvin Johnson when they hit free agency three years ago, and if that’s all they found — after years of striking out in their search — they would have been thrilled.
But as the Lions get ready for a wild card game Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks, Golden Tate, their prize acquisition from that 2014 spring, has turned into much more as a receiver.
Tate led the Lions in receptions each of the last two seasons, but playing alongside Johnson, he never quite got the credit he deserved.