Green Bay Packers: Top five wide receivers in NFC North

3 of 6

Jan 4, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate (15) catches a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford (not picture past Dallas Cowboys strong safety Barry Church (42) during the first quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoff Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Golden Tate

If you want yards after the catch, look no further than Golden Tate. Tate was an excellent free agent acquisition by the Lions two years ago, and he’s been a key piece to the offensive puzzle in Detroit since.

The 5-foot-10, 198-pounder may lack the desired size to man the boundary and create size mismatches, but he has the speed and agility to wreak havoc in the slot.

Tate’s first season in Detroit ended with 1,331 receiving yards and four touchdowns. While his yards total fell to 813 last year, his touchdown count increased to six. His production in Detroit has been consistently better than in Seattle.

The biggest challenge for Tate will now be sans Calvin Johnson. Is Marvin Jones a capable outside threat to allow Tate to dominate underneath? He did handle the role as the No. 1 receiver when Johnson missed games in 2014, putting up games of 154 and 151 yards with a touchdown in each.

Those games were against the league’s two worst defenses that year (New Orleans and Atlanta) but it still shows he’s comfortable playing in that role.

Tate is easily one of the best receivers in the NFC North, and his price tag is beginning to look a bargain for the Lions.

Next: No. 3

Home/Green Bay Packers News