OK, I’m Reloaded!: Lions Sign WR Kyre Duplessis
The Lions add a new UDFA rookie receiver out of Delaware
Information sourced from: CFB Reference, Draft Scout
As everyone is now aware, the Lions lost WR Kendrick Law to a torn ACL this week. However the Lions wasted no time reloading and adding UDFA Rookie WR Kyre Duplessis to the roster. Let’s take some time and figure out what he can bring to the table in an already crowded Wide Receiver room.
Duplessis comes from four largely unproductive years at Coastal Caroline followed by a breakout year after transferring to Delaware, where he logged 60 receptions for 824 yards and 5 touchdowns (see image per CFB Reference Below). The question here is can he build upon the upgraded productivity given the large jump from CUSA competition to the NFL.
As far as punt and/or kick returns, he worked in a limited fashion. Returning only 3 punts and 2 kicks. However, one of his punt returns did turn into a touchdown, so maybe there is something there (see image per CFB Reference Below).
Exploring his athletic testing, I was not able to find anything in the RAS database I normally use for him. However draftscout.com was able to provide his pro day numbers. His athleticism is not as high end as Kendrick Law’s was, but it’s nothing to scoff at either.
Tape on Duplessis showed a stark difference to Kendrick Law’s tape. What he lacks in athleticism (again not terrible, just not as good as Law), he makes up for in his ability to run more traditional routes. He doesn’t jump super high but he can go up and get the ball a little. Not a ton of “shake” to his game, but he is not entirely un-elusive. He has decent speed, perhaps the Lions could use him as a gadget player of sorts playing between RB and WR kind of like some folks thought would be done with Law.
At the end of the day, he has similar size to Law, but that’s about where the similarities stop. Can he break the Lions 53 man roster? Perhaps if he can add more to his game in the offseason. Only time will truly tell. While he is less raw, I am just not seeing it at this point.