Marvin Jones Jr. was admittedly not too happy with how his first season in Detroit ended up in 2016. After getting off a to blazing start (33 catches for 623 yards and four scores in his first seven games), Jones was rather pedestrian the rest of the way, finishing with 55 catches for 930 yards and just those four scores.
He entered last offseason determined to get better. He enlisted the help of Hall of Fame nominee Randy Moss, and together the two went over Jones' film and did on-the-field work to help improve what Jones identified as a couple weaknesses -- route running and lower-body strength.
Jones' work in the offseason instantly caught the attention of his teammates, coach and most importantly quarterback Matthew Stafford, when the team reconvened for training camp in the summer. It continued right into the regular season, and Jones finished the year with 61 catches for 1,101 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns.
Jones' receiving totals included a career single-season high 15 catches of 25-plus yards this season, which tied for the third-most in the NFL. His average of 18.0 yards per catch ranked second in the league.
Last offseason proved that when Jones sets his mind to improving something, results follow.
So what's on the docket for improvement this offseason?
"I'm going to be better at the yards after the catch," Jones said this week. "I think it's something that when I was younger and early on was something I was great at that kind of got lost in the years.
"I want to be able to take something to the house on a consistent basis. I just want to be a complete receiver in that manner."
Jones established himself this year as one of the best deep threats in the game. His 894 yards at the point of the catch tied with Keenan Allen and only trailed DeAndre Hopkins (1,081), Antonio Brown (1,062) and Julio Jones (940).
His 207 yards after the catch, however, ranked tied for 97th in the league.
Jones wants to continue improving his core and lower body strength, along with his route running, in order to gain more separation at the catch, and have the strength to break more tackles to bust more of those long runs after the catch.
"If I do that, I mean, the game is over," said Jones, who plans to enlist the help of Randy Moss again this summer.
If Jones does improve that part of his game, and he remains just as much of a deep threat, we could be talking about him around this time next year in the same category with those heading to Orlando for the Pro Bowl.
