Detroit Lions: Kenny Golladay’s 2019 season was underappreciated

The Detroit Lions 2019 season was hard to watch, but Kenny Golladay still manage to have quite the year, but it went underappreciated.

The Detroit Lions would finish an “astounding” 3-12-1 at the end of the 2019 season, earning their right to draft cornerback Jeffrey Okudah. During the consistent losing, wide receiver Kenny Golladay was going off, having a phenomenal season given the circumstances.

With an injury to Matthew Stafford, he would have to deal with eight games with David Blough or Jeff Driskel under center, which is drastically different. That did not stop Golladay, who still had himself a season, leading the league in touchdown catches among receivers.

At the end of the season, Golladay would have 65 receptions for 1190 yards, with 11 scores, which were the highest on the team in each of those categories. He would also manage 18.3 yards per reception, with his longest reception being a seventy-five yard one.

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He deserves more credit for these numbers than he has gotten, finishing seventh in the league for yardage.

His 18.3 yards per reception was third in the league among other receivers with only AJ Brown of the Tennessee Titans and Mike Williams of the Los Angeles Chargers being ahead of him.

In terms of recognition, he did earn his first nod to the Pro Bowl in his third season in the National Football League (NFL).

Golladay had to make adjustments as different quarterbacks were phased into the offense, but he still managed to have on heck of a season on one of the worst teams.

In each of his first three seasons, Golladay has emerged more and more like a steady receiver for the Lions, and 2019 was another improvement upon his prior numbers.

The bottom line is, Golladay had to deal with an injured Stafford, adjust to Driskel and Blough, and still managed to produce. The product of Northern Illinois University seems that he is the wideout that will be the anchor of this receiving core for the time being.

He has proven he can take on the role of a top receiver on this Lions team; it just sucks that the team was 3-12-1, and his exceptional season was kind quiet. With a great season in 2019, Golladay is primed to come out even stronger in 2020, he will also be in a contract season, meaning he will be playing for a bigger contract extension.

Site Co-Expert Bob Heyrman recently suggested that the Lions need to be ready to hand out a massive contract. Time will tell, but one thing is certain, his 2019 season went underappreciated in the midst of all the losing the Lions did.

The way Kenny Golladay seems to improve each year, the Detroit Lions better have the checkbook ready to keep their star wideout catching passes for future seasons.