There’s been much ado about the Detroit Lions wide receiver depth chart this offseason. And the headlines haven’t been good. Many seem to believe the Lions will enter the 2021 NFL regular season with one of the worst receiver corps in the entire league.
That after the new regime in Motown allowed veteran wideouts like Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola, Jamal Agnew, and Mohamed Sanu to all leave Detroit this offseason. And in their place, the team signed several veterans to one-year deals in free agency.
Now the Lions are hoping to cobble together a consistent receiver group for new quarterback Jared Goff out of names like Breshad Perriman, Kalif Raymond, Tyrell Williams, and Damion Ratley. You can now add yet another free agent name to the list. But this one has direct ties to Goff.
On Friday it was reported that the Lions have signed wide receiver Chad Hansen. The details of the deal aren’t yet available. As a college transfer to the University of California, Berkeley from Idaho State, Hansen played with Goff at Cal in 2015. He posted 19 receptions for 249 yards and a touchdown as a sophomore that season.
Ironically, Hansen didn’t have his breakout performance in college until Goff was already in the NFL. With Cal quarterback Davis Webb under center, the junior wideout recorded an incredible 92 catches for 1,249 yards and 11 touchdowns in just 10 games for the Golden Bears in 2016.
The 6-foot-2, 202-pound Hansen was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York Jets but has struggled to find a long-term home ever since. The Lions will be his seventh NFL team in five years.
The 26-year old Hansen has played in a total of five NFL games since playing in 15 contests his rookie season. Last year he posted 17 receptions for 236 yards and a score for the Houston Texans.
According to The Athletic’s Chris Burke, Goff and Hansen have worked out together in the past, so there’s some chemistry to consider there.
The Detroit Lions are looking for someone to emerge to become a reliable target at receiver for Jared Goff this summer. Considering their past connection, Chad Hansen could be the answer to the team’s biggest question of 2021.