Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones catches a deep pass from quarterback Deshaun Watson during Day 7 of training camp held at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, July 29, 2023.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
ALLEN PARK — Big. Strong. Fast as the wind. That’s a pretty good combination in a wide receiver, and Donovan Peoples-Jones was regarded as one of the best high school football prospects ever produced by the city of Detroit.
Now he’s come back home, acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns before last week’s deadline. And it’s not hard to figure out why his hometown Lions wanted him.
“We’re talking about 6-2, 210 (pounds) and can run under a 4.5,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “Those guys don’t grow on trees.
And I think so far what we’ve seen from him is exactly that. Really fluid route runner, strong hands, big catch radius, and I think he can work both outside and inside.”
I already know what you’re thinking. And yes, Peoples-Jones is a good bet to factor into Detroit’s struggling red-zone offense — perhaps as soon as Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“No question,” Johnson said. “Red zone, he makes some plays down the field and in the open field as well. Looking forward to getting him out there.”
Peoples-Jones won’t make his Ford Field debut until next week against Chicago, but here’s betting he won’t need a map to find it.
He played his high school ball at Cass Tech, which is located just a couple blocks down the road from the home of the Lions.
As a senior, Peoples-Jones led the Technicians to a 14-0 season and was named the MVP of the state championship game after a 49-22 win over Detroit Catholic Central.
Peoples-Jones caught 60 passes for 1,071 yards and 17 touchdowns during that senior season, and was the eighth-best recruit ever to come out of Michigan according to 24/7.
He signed with Michigan, where he continued to run like hell, but struggled with some of the finer points of the position.
He caught 103 passes for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns in three seasons, then fell to the sixth round after declaring for the 2021 draft.
“I remember when he was coming out of Michigan, I really liked his tape coming out of there,” Johnson said. “He actually fell a little further in the draft than a guy with his skill-set might.”
Last year, Peoples-Jones delivered on his potential with a career-high 61 catches for 839 yards and three touchdowns in Cleveland.
But this year, he faded in the Browns’ offense, catching just eight passes for 97 yards in seven games, including five starts.
Cleveland decided it was time to part ways, and sent Peoples-Jones to Detroit for a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft.
For the Lions, that was a reasonable price to pay to help patch over the depth at receiver.
Amon-Ra St. Brown has continued to do Amon-Ra St. Brown things in the slot, while Josh Reynolds has been a nice complement on the outside.
But there hasn’t been much they can count on beyond that, and then Marvin Jones parted with the team shortly before the trade deadline, exacerbating the need for more help on the perimeter.
Detroit was hoping Jameson Williams would be ready to step into the rotation, but the former 12th-overall pick has continued to struggle with route running and drops. In four games, he’s turned 15 targets into just six catches for 71 yards and one touchdown.
Williams is still incredibly gifted, and the Lions remain committed to developing the speedster.
But now in the midst of a title pursuit, they’re thrilled to have a high-IQ burner like Peoples-Jones added to the mix for the stretch run.
“Even better than (his measurables), at least from my perspective, is everyone talks about how smart he is,” Johnson said. “That’s something we really need in that room. We ask a lot out of our guys lining up in different areas, and being very detailed. I think he’ll fit in very nicely.”
