Dan Campbell gives a big public warning to Lions' receivers on Wednesday

On Monday Detroit Lions' head coach Dan Campbell was asked about receiver depth and he gave a pretty candid answer when he said "we're dying for someone to step up." A few days later that is still very much the message that is out there, only now there's a warning attached to it. You're not going to get the job just because you're a receiver.

"Honestly, what it is, is we just need a reliable staple, you know? Like, that's what Reynolds was for us. Josh Reynolds was the reliable guy we could count on he was gonna be where he's supposed to be when he was supposed to be there to play any spot, and he'd make a critical catch for you" Campbell said. "You need a steady reliable, when the ball needs to find you because coverage dictates it, and that's the guy we need to find. Who is that guy? That is important now. That being said, we don't want to just keep a guy because he's receiver 3,4,5. Like, we want to keep the best players we have in the roster, and that could come in the running back room. Okay."

I mean, there it is right there. The Lions are not willing to just give a guy a job because he's a receiver and they want to carry a certain amount of receivers. It looks like they're ok with just carrying a small amount of guys into the season initially and that means the Lions are willing to make some cuts to do it.

It tracks with the way the Lions' running back room has been this offseason. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery were expected, but then Sione Vaki is having a great camp, Craig Reynolds is having a great camp, Jermar Jefferson is having a great camp and Zonovan Knight and Jake Funk have been looking good too. There's a real shot the Lions could carry five running backs this season.

The messaging is out there. It's on guys like Daurice Fountain, Kaden Davis, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Maurice Alexander and Tre'Quan Smith to find that next gear and get to it or they could be looking for a new spot to play in September. The Lions want the best players on the roster and they don't seem to mind risking going into the season with little depth to do it.

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