When Bob Quinn started evaluating free-agent receivers, he asked himself two very simple questions before beginning to stack the names in order of priority.
"Can he get open?"
"Can he catch the football?"
"Those are the two most important things," Quinn said last week at the NFL League Meetings. "There's other factors that go into it, but really when you boil it down, those are the two most important things."
When Marvin Jones' name came up for evaluation, the answer to both of those questions was an unequivocal yes, and so he jumped to the top of the priority list for Quinn and the Lions.
Quinn told detroitlions.com at the meetings that he'd had an eye on Jones dating back to last October when the free agent list first came out.
Quinn got his man as Jones signed a five-year deal with Detroit early in free agency. Jones joins Golden Tate, Theo Riddick, Eric Ebron and others in the Lions' new-look passing attack after the retirement of Calvin Johnson this offseason.
Jones had 65 catches in 2015 and only two drops. Of his 65 catches, 13 were for 20 yards or more.
"I thought Marvin was a very good route runner," Quinn said. "He's not just a one-dimensional receiver. He can run vertical routes, he can run short routes, he can run intermediate routes. He's got very good hands, so I think he's a guy that can get open and catch the football."
Head coach Jim Caldwell said his new receiver brings a "full arsenal" to Detroit's offense.
"Often times you're looking at individuals, particularly within our scheme, that can line up at a variety of different places and have the full arsenal in terms of routes that they run and types of routes and adaptability, because it'll change on the fly," Caldwell said.
"He can be anywhere within the context of the scheme. To have a guy that has that kind of versatility, I mean, he can run routes down the field, he's a very good route runner. He understands leverage. He's a guy that certainly will make some big plays for you. He's explosive."
