Daurice Fountain emerging as dark horse to steal prominent role for the Lions

Beyond Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, nothing is truly locked in for the Detroit Lions' wide receiver corps. Training camp has been and will continue to be competitive on that front, with a different standout seemingly every day early on.

Daurice Fountain spent all of last season on the Lions' practice squad. That in itself says something. Since coming in to the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, he mostly been on practice squads (Colts, 2018-2020; Chiefs, 2021-2022; Bears 2022) with two catches in eight regular season games.

Not finding a consistent NFL opportunity could push someone toward giving up football. After Monday's practice, which was a tougher one for him based on reports on-site, he acknowledged how he once considered hanging up his cleats (h/t to SI.com).

"I ain’t gonna lie to you, if it wasn’t for Kalif Raymond. There’s a few, it’s a lot of guys, but specifically if it wasn’t for Kalif Raymond and a guy named Nsimba Webster, I probably wouldn’t be here right now. Just because, when I was at my lowest times and I was ready to hang it up, they brought me up...they’ve really been a big help, man. Every day, they’re just encouraging me, especially Kalif. He always finds some way, finds some light in darkness."

Daurice Fountain emerging as dark horse to steal prominent role
Before Monday's practice, Lions' head coach Dan Campbell talked about Fountain.

"Fountain was one of those guys that when we got him here last year, practice squad, by the end of the year he was one of those where you were like, 'Man, this guy improved.' You could see it in practice, you could feel it. Man, he works. He's a worker. He got ability and he works. He's another one, yeah, he's caught our eye. He's caught my eye," Campbell said. "Like, I see him, I told him that yesterday. He is making plays, and the other thing is he's doing some things on special teams that is catching our eye too...."

At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Fountain has a physical profile that isn't prevalent in the Lions' wide receiver group. His athletic profile is also unique to the group. He held the Wisconsin state record in110-meter hurdles for a decade, and coming out of college he posted a 42.5-inch vertical jump (h/t to Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network).

Fountain's good momentum from the first few days of camp wasn't going to completely evaporate with the tough day he had on Monday. But ideally, he would rebound and have a better day on Tuesday. Based on post-practice reports, he did just that.

John Maakaron, SI.com:

"Wide receiver Daurice Fountain bounced back from a difficult practice Monday by making multiple plays, including a touchdown pass from Goff on a defensive busted coverage."
"Fountain hauled in passes from both Goff and Sudfeld, splitting his work between the first and second team offenses."

Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire:

"Daurice Fountain had been one of the offseason standouts before a rough day on Monday. The wideout, hoping to make the jump from practice squad in 2023 to active roster in 2024, bounced back with aplomb. He made two nice, low catches in traffic–no easy feat for a taller wideout."

Eazy from Woodward Sports was in attendance on Tuesday. He went all-in on where he thinks Fountain could land on the depth chart.

Anyone else earning the WR3 role for the Lions, over Kalif Raymond and Donovan Peoples-Jones, would be a big surprise. But things are wide open beyond the top two on the wide receiver depth chart right now, and Fountain is becoming impossible to ignore as the competition rolls on.