Going into the 2021 NFL season, most around the organization knew that the Detroit Lions may be a little short-handed at a few skill positions. It was one of the areas of the roster that general manager Brad Holmes was doing his best to piece things together, despite being hamstrung by a lot of dead cap.
Once the season began, reality rapidly began to set in. Outside of tight end T.J. Hockenson, there weren’t many pass-catchers keeping defenses up at night. And as the first half of the season marched on, that fact became more and more evident—allowing teams to really focus on stopping Hockenson.