Nate Burleson: Detroit Lions' Kenny Golladay 'next up' for NFL stardom

Rookie wide receivers were by and large a disappointing bunch in 2017.

Cooper Kupp, Juju Smith-Schuster and running back Alvin Kamara were the only rookies who ranked in the top 50 of the NFL in catches, and the three receivers taken in the top 10 – Corey Davis, Mike Williams and John Ross – combined for just 45 receptions all year.

But while early returns were disappointing for the group as a whole, Detroit Lions rookie Kenny Golladay did enough to convince at least one analyst that he’s a future star.

“He’s a No. 1 wide receiver,” CBS and NFL Network analyst Nate Burleson said at the Super Bowl earlier this month. “Kenny Golladay is a monster.”

Golladay missed five games because of a hamstring injury and caught just 28 passes on the season, but he averaged 17 yards per catch, the sixth most among qualifying players with at least one catch per game.

At 6 feet 4 and 214 pounds, Golladay has the size, strength and speed to be a dominant pass catcher, and the third-round pick out of Northern Illinois was able to make an impact while playing primarily as the Lions’ No. 3 receiver behind Marvin Jones and Golden Tate.

“One thing that jumps off is his catch radius,” said Burleson, who played his final four NFL seasons for the Lions. “Most of his plays, he’s like fully extending himself. I saw him go completely parallel to the ground and I seen him explode up in the air. I identify with guys that were drafted in the third round, so as soon as he made those couple plays I was like, ‘Hold on, who is this dude?’ Cause I’m watching TJ Jones rocking the 13, like, ‘All right, they got a good receiving corps.’ And then this dude wearing 19 is just going nuts.”

Golladay caught a pair of touchdowns in his NFL debut, including a diving 45-yard catch that proved to be the game-clincher against the Arizona Cardinals, and he capped his season with a 54-yard touchdown grab in a Week 17 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Tate said the Lions have the makings of a “dangerous” receiving corps as Golladay continues to improve.

“If he keeps working the way he worked this year, and keeps learning, I think the sky’s the limit for that guy,” Tate said. “He’s one of those guys that can break a game.”

And Burleson compared Golladay to Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for the way he attacks the ball and takes advantage of his big frame.

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“I know how (Matthew) Stafford thinks. Certain guys that lay out and expose themselves in the middle of the field and are fearless in the way they attack the ball, he likes to feed those dudes,” Burleson said. “So I do feel like he has a chance to be a No. 1. And he will be. It depends on what happens. He’s in a system right now where Golden’s got to get the ball, Marvin’s got to get the ball. You’ve got tight end play and running backs that catch the ball out of the backfield. I don’t want him to get lost in the sauce, but I do feel like he’s that hidden gem that’s next up.”

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!