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Marvin Jones emerging as prize catch for Detroit Lions

By The Sports Xchange
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) fights to break free from St. Louis Rams Mark Barron (26) during the first half of play at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 29, 2015. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) fights to break free from St. Louis Rams Mark Barron (26) during the first half of play at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 29, 2015. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo

DETROIT -- Calvin Johnson's legacy as one of the most dominant wide receivers in NFL history is safe, but the Detroit Lions haven't missed Megatron as much as many thought.

Marvin Jones, who signed with the Lions as a free agent days after Johnson retired in March, leads the NFL with 408 yards receiving through three games and has been one of the few bright spots in the team's disappointing 1-2 start.

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In Sunday's 34-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Jones caught six passes for a career-high 205 yards and two touchdowns. He leads the NFL at 22.7 yards per catch.

Jones picked the Lions over a number of suitors in free agency because of the chance to play a more prominent role than the one he had been cast in his first four years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Lions' clear No. 1 receiver ahead of Golden Tate, Jones never had more than 65 catches or 816 yards in Cincinnati.

"I just knew it was a great opportunity and we have the great players in place to do something big," Jones said. "The feeling of me being a part of something big and guiding the team to win games, obviously we didn't do that the past couple weeks, but I still think that this might be the most talented team that I've been a part of. And you see it out there and we just have to put it all together. That means start fast. So we need to start fast and just continue to progress."

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Jones has opened eyes so far this year with his deep-ball ability and body control. He's made a number of twisting, toe-tapping catches along the sideline, and on Sunday he scored on passes of 73 and 35 yards from Matthew Stafford.

He said his mindset on deep balls is "that I'm going to win 100 percent of the time," and so far this year that's been the case.

"As a receiver you have to have that mentality," Jones said. "If you don't have that mentality than you shouldn't be playing receiver. But I think when I'm on the sideline or wherever whenever the ball's up, that I get the ball. Matt does a good job of throwing it in different spots for me to go get it."

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