Welcome back to our roster preview series! We’re taking a look at the year that was in 2023 and the year ahead for Detroit Lions players up until the start of training camp.
Sidebar, if you’re scalping tickets to training camp, you’re a loser.
Today, we’re examining the rookie season of Antoine Green and his chances to secure the wide-open WR3 role in Detroit.
Previous previews: QB Hendon Hooker, RB David Montgomery, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Kalif Raymond, TE Sam LaPorta, TE James Mitchell, LT Taylor Decker, RT Penei Sewell, G Kevin Zeitler, C Frank Ragnow, DE Aidan Hutchinson, DE Josh Paschal, DT DJ Reader, DT Alim McNeill, DT Levi Onwuzurike, LB Alex Anzalone, DB Brian Branch, S Ifeatu Melifonwu.
Antoine Green
Expectations heading into 2023
The seventh-round selection in a loaded draft class, Green became an afterthought. Josh Reynolds held pole position to be the team’s WR2 during training camp while Jameson Williams was set to serve his six-game suspension, and if the Lions needed a reliable option at WR3, they had Marvin Jones Jr., Kalif Raymond, and Denzel Mims as veterans.
During training camp, Dan Campbell spoke to the variability of the young receiver’s performance that summer.
“Yeah, I would say you know, inconsistent,” Campbell told reporters before a day of practice in August. “Man, he does some things that really show, and then it just, you know it dips. And there again, he’s a young player. Does some things that really catch your eye, and then some things the opposite way. So just, he’s inconsistent right now. And the more that he can—you know those can—he lessens the inconsistency, the better off he is going to be. That’s part of what camp is for him.”
Green’s path to the roster last summer was pretty clear: clean up the inconsistent play, prove your worth on special teams, and be ready in case things go sideways with the wideout depth ahead of him.
Actual role in 2023
9 games (0 starts): 106 offensive snaps played (9%), 71 special teams snaps (15.7%)
Stats: 1 catch, 2 yards
PFF offensive grade: 53.7 (161st out of 200 WRs with at least 2 targets)
PFF receiving grade: 49.2 (195th out of 200)
PFF special teams grade: 59.3 (794th out of 1089 special teamers with at least 43 snaps)
Green’s rookie season was an uneven tilt. Early on, Green was getting a handful of snaps on offense (anywhere from 11% to 20% in Weeks 2-5), but starting in Week 11, Green was inactive for seven straight weeks. Despite Marvin Jones Jr. stepping away from football a month and a half into the season, the early return of Jamo after his gambling suspension was reduced left little room for opportunities in a crowded wide receiver room.
Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens saw Green get the most snaps he received in a single game (33 on offense, 44%; 11 on special teams, 52%), but that largely had to do with Jones Jr. being inactive and the Lions trailing 28-0 at halftime.
What’s most interesting, though, is the way the coaching staff worked Green into the Lions’ postseason. Even if it was just 10-12 snaps in each game between offense and special teams, Green got a taste of what it’s like to be on the field and in that moment when the lights are the brightest. Valuable and worthwhile time on task, even if he wasn’t getting targets or playing in crucial spots.
Outlook for 2024
With Josh Reynolds leaving for Denver during free agency, and Detroit opting to steer clear of a wideout in this year’s draft, the Lions wide receiver room is less congested, and there’s a real path for Green to receive a bigger role with more opportunities as the team’s WR3. But that opportunity only exists because the coaching staff saw some development out of Green.
“I think that’s another one of those, like you asked about B-Jo [Lions S Brandon Joseph]. I would say AG [Antoine Green] was another guy that by the end of the year, we felt improvement,” Campbell said of the second-year receiver during OTAs.
“There was a noticeable difference from the time he walked in here to the end of the season, just what he was doing on scout teams for us. He played a little bit at the end of year, but those targets were going other places. But we saw significant growth. We saw speed. We saw speed on the releases,” Campbell recognized.
A player can have all the physical tools in the world, and Green has the body type for an X-receiver at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, but in order to earn some playing time for this staff, a player has to prove they have a grasp of the playbook and be ready to compete. Campbell feels like Green has satisfied those prerequisites heading into training camp.
“He’s a smart football player, knew the offense. Really having high hopes, came in early this camp,” Campbell said of Green. “He had a little bit of an injury last week, so we didn’t get to really see him. He’ll be back up doing a little bit of individual and stuff, so it’s hard to say. That progress is on hold because we weren’t able to get him out there last week. But certainly, we like the player and there’s enough—let’s see what happens in camp. He’s another guy, let him go compete.”
Along with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Kalif Raymond, Green will have the opportunity to compete for a much bigger role in this offense, and the WR3 battle will be one of the most intriguing spots to keep an eye on this summer.
