The NFL's Next Elite Wide Receivers, Lions' Next Move | MAILBAG

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Here in the greater Philadelphia region, we hit record-setting temperatures before sunrise multiple times over the past week.

Unfortunately, for your neighborhood sportswriter, the NFL news has … cooled. Significantly.

So it goes, in June, where cannonballs into the community pool are far more frequent than the buzzing of a text message scoop or social media news alert for a signing, or trade, or a coach getting tossed onto the hot-seat like a toddler being tossed into the water for their swim lesson.

However, a quick look at the calendar reveals that we are less than one month away from training camps opening, which is hard enough to believe, and that the 2025 NFL season is screaming down the tracks at breakneck speeeeeeeeeeeed.

Inside this week’s mailbag, a look at the next young receiver to climb into the elite tier across the NFL and where the Lions might look to add between now and running out of the tunnel in Lambeau in Week 1.

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Before We Get to Your Questions … Don’t Miss Out!

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Now, let’s get after it!

Are there any second-year wide receivers who you think are positioned and talented enough to make a big leap forward? (Your-Friend-Geoff on BlueSky)

There is a legitimate possibility that in five years we are going to look back on the 2024 wide receiver class similarly to how we view the 2020 class that produced the likes of Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, and Tee Higgins, or the 2014 haul that included Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Davante Adams, and Brandin Cooks.

Seriously, the talent that entered the league at receiver last year has the potential, given their respective skill sets and situations, to become perennial All-Pro caliber players.

For the purpose of this exercise and question, let’s take Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., and Ladd McConkey out of the equation. After all, Nabers was the Giants’ most explosive only playmaker on offense last season, catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards with seven thouchdowns … In 15 Games. Seriously, just imagine what Nabers is capable of if he can stay healthy for a full season and having Russell Bombs Away Wilson tossing him the rock for at least a handful of games.