MARVIN JONES JR.
Position: Wide receiver
Ht/Wt: 6-2, 198
College: California
Experience: Seventh season
Outlook: Jones is coming off the best season of his career in 2017. He led the Lions with 1,101 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Those nine touchdowns were the fourth most in the NFL among receivers.
Jones was also one of the best deep threats in the game a season ago, recording 15 catches of 25-plus yards (third most in NFL) and 20 catches of 20-plus yards (fifth most).
He and quarterback Matthew Stafford have picked up this offseason where they left off last year. An argument can be made that Jones has been the most consistent playmaker among the receivers throughout OTAs, minicamp and now training camp. He and Stafford certainly look to be on the same page, and they've made a lot of plays down the field so far in camp.
I expect Jones to have another terrific season in this offense.
Practice report: The Lions participated in a joint practice with the New York Giants Tuesday, and that meant Jones got some good work in against cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Landon Collins, two Pro Bowl players in New York's secondary.
Jones' best play of practice came at the end, when he went up and caught a ball over Collins and between Giants corners Eli Apple and Curtis Riley in the back of the end zone for a touchdown in a two-minute team period. It got some oohs and ahhs not only from the crowd, but from teammates as well. Jones had another catch in that drive along the right sideline at the 20-yard line, and was able to get out of bounds and stop the clock.
In one-on-one drills against the cornerbacks, Jones made a nice catch on a comeback route in front of Jenkins. He also made a nice catch with Apple holding on to his jersey. Jones still made the catch even though Apple was flagged on the play.
Jenkins made a nice play on a Stafford pass intended for Jones in an earlier team period. Jones tried a crossing route, and Jenkins was able to stay with him and get a hand on the ball.
Overall, Jones had a solid practice, capped off by that touchdown in the two-minute period against the Giants' starters on defense.
Quotable: "I want to be a guy that makes those plays all the time," Jones said of his touchdown in practice Tuesday. "Every time we step on the field we want to make those dominant plays."
