Tim Patrick ultimately worked out fine, but it took way too long for the Detroit Lions to find a viable replacement for Josh Reynolds as their No. 3 wide receiver last offseason. Misplaced faith in a flimsy group of internal options all summer led to adding Patrick and fellow veteran Allen Robinson to the practice squad after roster cuts.
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Patrick is a free agent, and while he could be back there's no denying he's on the wrong side of 30 with two lost seasons due to major injuries before this past campaign. It's not that the Lions will or will have to spend big to find a viable No. 3 receiver, and they could look to the draft to find an option.
But free agency of course comes first, and the Lions should be looking at available wide receivers who fit the template they need.
Richard Silva of the Detroit News has a couple wide receivers on his list of 10 free agents who could put the Lions over the top in 2025. But it's safe to say one garnered more attention than the other, if only based on a noticeable history of digital ink.
Underrated free agent wide receiver should be on the Lions' radar
Silva mentioned Darius Slayton, who has spent his entire six-year career with the New York Giants, catching passes from the lackluster collection of quarterbacks they've been putting out there.
"Better receivers are out there — hello, Tee Higgins — but Slayton (6-1, 198) could end up being the best bang-for-your-buck option. Slayton's production doesn't pop off the screen, but that's more a critique of New York's offense than anything else. He was the best option on a bad team — Slayton led the Giants in receiving yards in 2022 (724) and 2023 (770), and he was third in 2024 (573) — and has been a big-play machine since he entered the league as a fifth-round pick in 2019. He's averaged 15 yards per catch on 259 career receptions."
Slayton has topped 720 yards and averaged 15 or more yards per catch in four of his six seasons. It's always been worth wondering what he could do with a better quarterback/in a better offense, and it truly felt like it should've happened when he was a free agent in 2023 before the Giants brought him back on a two-year deal.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has pointed to Slayton as someone who would have a more robust free agent market than a lot of people expect, while suggested he could seek a contract similar to what Darnell Mooney got from the Atlanta Falcons last offseason (three years, $39 million; $15 million signing bonus, $26 million guaranteed).
Three years, $39 million with two years fully guaranteed at signing seems like it'd be a little rich for the Lions to invest in their No. 3 receiver. But Slayton seeking a contract in that range and actually getting it are two different things. A receiver with still-untapped potential like he has should be on the Lions' radar in free agency.
