Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate assume top spot among WR duos

The Detroit Lions offense has always had the potential to be spectacular, and I think we all had a feeling that Golden Tate was going to have a breakout season in a pass-friendly offense. He was quietly a top receiver during his time with the Seattle Seahawks, because he was consistently averaging around nine yards per target. It’s just that he never receive enough credit nationally, and perhaps some of that was due to the “Fail Mary” reputation. I think it has to do with the fact that he didn’t receive enough targets to turn the rate stats into production and, more importantly, fantasy production. Tate’s been a fantasy beast away from a run-heavy offense, and the Lions now have something that we thought they would obtain once Calvin Johnson returned from his nagging ankle injury: the NFL’s best wide receiver duo.

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During Johnson’s absence, Tate looked exactly like a No. 1 receiver, and I think he would be the top option on several teams in this league. I mean, take a look at the numbers he’s put up this year. Only the great Antonio Brown has more receptions than Tate’s 66, and the Lions No. 2 option is also fourth in the NFL with 909 receiving yards. With 9.8 yards per target, he’s been even more efficient in the Lions offense, showing off some playmaking with 13.8 yards per reception and nearly seven yards after the catch per reception, according to the Pro Football Focus.

I think you get the point: Tate has been phenomenal this season and has been one of the top receivers in the league. So then, what happens if you take a receiver who is playing like one of the top ten in the league and add him to a future Hall of Famer and the most impressive WR in the game? Well, the Miami Dolphins caught a glimpse of that potential last week.

Calvin Johnson led the way with 15 targets, turning them into seven receptions for 113 yards and a TD, averaging 16.1 yards per reception. We knew Tate would finally be the one to take off all the pressure from Megatron and allow him to make even more big plays, and that’s exactly what happened. Tate has shown that he can be a playmaker and had some nice YAC on Sunday, but he mostly played the role of the possession guy with 11 receptions for 109 yards, averaging just under 9.9 yards per reception. 11 receptions on 13 targets yields an 84.6% catch rate, and that’s a picture-perfect day as far as consistently moving the chains goes.

This seems like just the tip of the iceberg for the Lions, as they have someone who once had over 1,900 receiving yards in a season and has had at least 1,400 yards in each of his past three years. Meanwhile, their new weapon is on pace for over 1,600 receiving yards, since he’s averaged 101 yards per game to this point in the season. His average will fall while Johnson’s injury-induced-but-still-solid 76.8 yards per game increases.

With Roddy White disappointing as the guy across from Julio Jones and Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery not at their best with the Chicago Bears in a state of dysfunction, the best WR duo battle lies in the NFC North. It’s Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate vs. the Green Bay Packers duo of Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson. I think Johnson and Tate are even more impressive than the Packers duo, especially since they are doing this without the benefit of the robotically efficient and mesmerizing Aaron Rodgers.

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