Bold prediction of the week: Battle for fourth receiver spot gets spicy

The Houston Texans hosted the Lions in joint practices this week, and two names that consistently came up among the standouts were Lions receivers Chris Lacy and Deontez Alexander, the latter of which came up with this huge catch in practice:

That’s good news for the Lions, as Jermaine Kearse, who was running away with the number four receiver role, suffered a broken leg early in last week’s preseason game and exposed the lack of depth the Lions had at the position.

After the mess that took place on offense last week with receivers completely unable to get open, finding someone to fill Kearse’s void should be a top priority, and surely Darrell Bevell will make it so.

Bold prediction of the week: Chris Lacy and Deontez Alexander combine for 10 catches, two touchdowns

That may not seem like a lot for two guys, after all that looks like a classic Calvin Johnson stat line. However, it’s important to remember that this is the preseason, and if the coaching staff is starting to like either of them in particular (or both), then they likely won’t see more than a half of action, if even that much.

It’s also important to remember that 10 catches would likely warrant at least 14-15 quality targets, something that would be an amazing feat given how the reserve linemen played last week.

Targeting these two should be the top priority on Saturday night, as the depth among tight ends and running backs is already much more cemented than it is at receiver. Even with the Lions showing lots of love to Brandon Powell in his depth role, these two offer a much different skill set with more long speed and presence as downfield threats.

No matter the stat line at the end of the day, it’s critical that the offense gives these two receivers quality looks against in a live game situation. If either Lacy or Alexander step up during this game, it could lead to a lot more looks next week, which would go a long way towards securing a roster spot, since the first-team offense usually plays the entire half of the third preseason game.