On March 8th, 2016, Calvin Johnson shocked the Detroit Lions organization and their fans by announcing his retirement from football. Three days later, the Lions went out and signed wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr.
Marvin Jones had an underrated awesome season. He averaged 26.5 yards per catch and scored 5 TDs on tight window targets (only Jimmy Graham scored more)
— Matt Harmon, Football Outsiders
The Lions and their fans knew that Jones would never be able to replace a talent like Johnson, but they were hoping he would be a serviceable option for Matthew Stafford lining up with Golden Tate at wideout.
Jones filled in nicely having a very good 2016. He had 55 receptions for 930 yards and hauling in 4 touchdowns. Jones and the Lions were hoping that he could build on the success he had in 2016 heading into the 2017 season. After a slow start to the season, Jones started to produce having arguably his best year as a pro. Jones finished the season with 61 receptions for 1,101 yards and 9 TDs. Jones has become a true weapon for Stafford and the Lions offense, one opposing defenses have to take note of.
The year Jones had with Detroit has been noticed and one source has Jones as the 2nd best receiver in the NFL according to Football Outsiders. They gave him the honor using a stat metric system called DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement).
Here’s a brief summary on what DYAR exactly is according to Football Outsiders:
A value of the performance on plays where this WR caught the ball, compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage.
Jones finished the year with a DYAR 394, meaning his play gave the Lions 394 additional yards than the average receiver would if put in the identical situation. Jones DYAR was second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers Antonio Brown who finished with a DYAR of 429.
