Detroit Lions’ Marvin Jones ‘does get frustrated’ with lack of catches

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Considering Marvin Jones’ production this season, it’s understandable the veteran Detroit Lions receiver would be frustrated.

Jones has just 14 catches for 146 yards through five games, with just one touchdown, and a career-low 10.4 yards per catch.

“I’ll tell you the truth,” offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell told reporters Tuesday during a conference call. “I mean, the guy does get frustrated. I think any time you’re a player of his caliber you feel like if I get the ball, I’m going to help the team. And that’s definitely something that, a mentality I want all our guys to have, that they want the ball. And Marv is no different.”

Jones may be no different than any other competitive receiver who wants the ball. But he’s also been down this path before, and the results weren’t great.

During Jones’ first season with the Lions in 2016, he got off to a blazing start and cooled off dramatically. His frustration was palpable, though he did finish with 930 yards that season and bounced back the next year.

This season, Jones — who has only had three catches for 17 yards the past two games — is on pace for 467 yards.

Bevell said defenses aren’t necessarily game-planning specifically against Jones, and he said he remains effective in blocking schemes.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re taking him away,” Bevell said. “But I really think that Marv has done a really nice job for us. I kind of complimented him (Monday) because the wide receivers, they want to catch the ball, they want to catch and run and make big plays that way. But if you go back and look at some of the dirty work he’s done in the run game I think it really speaks a lot to who he is and how much he wants to help us offensively just any way that he can.

“Does he want the ball? Absolutely. Do we want him to have the ball in his hands? Absolutely. And we’re going to continue to look for ways and try to be creative to make sure that the ball goes to him.”

It’s hard for reporters to gauge the level of Jones’ frustration without daily interactions in the locker room. But Bevell seems aware of Jones’ situation and what he needs to do assuage any of his frustrations or concerns.

“But I think he understands what we’ve been trying to do,” Bevell said, “what the game plan entails, how he fits into it. I think he’s comfortable with that.

“We’ll just have to continue to work with the plans when the coverage goes a different way, continue to move (him) around, continue to just try to find a different way to get the ball into his hands, and do I think he understands that.”

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

This article was originally published by Freep.com. Read the original article here.