INDIANAPOLIS - The numbers were pretty bleak. Bryant Johnson and Derrick Williams shared duty as the Detroit Lions' No. 3 receiver this season and they combined for 21 catches for 240 yards and zero touchdowns.

"I think it impacted our entire offense. We didn't have much of an impact from that position. We didn't have a difference-maker in there,'' Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said.

Those shaky performances are why the Lions will be looking to find another No. 3 receiver, either in the draft or free agency. Both Johnson and Williams arrived in Detroit during Mayhew's first season - he signed Johnson to a three-year free agent contract and he selected Williams in the third round of the draft.

"You know, it's hard to surprise me. I expected that those guys would do better, but over a period of time it becomes apparent that it's not happening. It didn't happen for those two guys,'' Mayhew said. "Derrick's still a young guy and he can still develop. Bryant's not so young so he needs to work harder to improve his game to be part of this offense next year. I think it impacted our entire offense, not having a third receiver.''

While the Lions have a lot of other weapons on offense, that third receiver is crucial because he should either occupy two players (including a deep safety) or have a significant advantage in a one-on-one matchup.

"(The opponent) probably doesn't have three or four corners who are exceptional players so if our third receiver can be better than their third corner, if we have somebody who can stretch the field and allow Calvin (Johnson) to catch some balls in a deeper area of the field than he normally does, he can make a big play,'' Mayhew said. "It opens up the field more and creates more space. We didn't have much of that last year and we didn't win a lot of those matchups and it was one-on-one with that third receiver. We made a determination, based on the read, to go to that third guy and we didn't win a number of those matchups.''