This is an opinion piece from MLive.com reporter Kyle Meinke.

DETROIT -- Marvin Jones set a career high for receiving yards last year. If not for a December injury, he might have hit 1,000 for the first time in his career.

Statistically, his first season in Detroit was an excellent one. Of course, anyone paying any kind of attention knows how misleading that is. And when it was over, he was disgusted.

With himself, with how his season ended, with how Detroit's season ended.

Disgusted.

"I didn't have a good season," Jones said in that Seattle locker room, the bitter exit just minutes old. "I will come back, and I will have a great season next year."

It's too soon to make any kind of definitive proclamations about whether he's done that. But with each passing day, all signs indicate Jones is indeed heading for a bounce-back season.

Consider the latest evidence. Jones caught a team-high four passes in Detroit's 16-6 exhibition win Saturday night against the New York Jets, one of which was a thing of beauty. With the ball at New York's 5-yard line, Jones ran a sweet little fade, Matthew Stafford put it right in his mitts, and Jones tapped both toes for the score.

It's a play with a high degree of difficulty. It's also a play that's nearly indefensible when run well.

"Down there, you're a little bit limited in where you can go and what you can do," Stafford said. "The idea is to get really good at a few things, and that's one that everyone in the league wants to be really good at. We are no different."

All disclaimers apply here. Yes, it's the preseason. Yes, it's the New York Jets. Yes, the New York Jets are still in the NFL. But here's the thing -- this isn't just a one-time deal. This wasn't some lucky break.

This is the sort of thing we've seen from Jones in practice damn near every day.

Jones is just so good along the sideline, and especially in the end zone. And he's been especially good in this camp. During red-zone drills, Jones is often Stafford's No. 1 target. And he's beaten just about everyone, including Darius Slay,with consistency.

On Saturday night, it was Morris Claiborne getting beat on a perfectly executed fade, a play that came as no surprise to anyone who has been hanging around Lions camp the last couple weeks.

"He does a nice job with his body control, man," Stafford said. "His body control is pretty outrageous. By the sidelines, he's always got a knack for finding a way to get that last, little foot in or whatever it is. He did it again tonight with the fade."

Detroit Lions vs. New York Jets preseason game 2017 16 Gallery: Detroit Lions vs. New York Jets preseason game 2017

While Jones' big camp is encouraging, it's worth noting he also looked this good last year too. He had those 519 yards receiving the first five weeks of the season too, before fading fast.

Defenses started paying him more mind. They shaded coverage his way. They bodied him up with some in-your-face press man. And he just wasn't physical enough to break the coverage.

Until we see him bracketed in that kind of coverage, and how he handles it, it's impossible to know whether we're going to see Good Marvin or Bad Marvin this season.

But there are promising signs that he's better equipped to handle what's coming his way. He focused on his strength this offseason, for one, which could help him handle those physical coverages better. He's also worked on coming out of his breaks quicker, which has already paid huge dividends.

"I think he's better in terms of his cuts within the system," coach Jim Caldwell said. "I can see improvement from him, that's for sure."

Most of all, though, Jones worked with Randy Moss this offseason to be a more QB-friendly route runner. He's worked to become more precise with where he sticks his foot in the ground and makes his cut. That makes him a more consistent route runner, which also makes him a more predictable route runner.

Now instead of seeing Jones come open and then throwing the ball, Stafford is better able to predict where he'll be, and can throw him open.

"I think he does a really nice job of talking to the quarterback with (his) body language," Stafford said. "Putting your foot in the ground the correct distance, the correct depth of the route, whatever it is. Putting that foot in the ground and getting it right, that's when I can cut the ball loose."

Jones has been really good in camp. It's gone a little unmentioned because of the excitement that's building around Kenny Golladay, and that's understandable. With as big as the draft has gotten, people are always excited about the shiny new toys. His two-touchdown debut was a lot of fun to watch.

But that's a No. 4 receiver we're talking about, or if things break right, maybe a No. 3. Rookie receivers are notoriously unrelaible. (Golladay had one catch for 6 yards against New York.) Even Calvin Johnson caught just 48 passes for 756 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie -- and he had far few targets around him than what Detroit has now.

What Jones has been doing througout camp, and again in the win against New York, is far more consequential to the Lions' chances of contending this season. If Bad Marvin shows up, they're going to need Golladay and everybody else on hand.

But if Good Marvin shoes up, this offense will look entirely different. And with three weeks left until the opener, all signs continue to suggest he's back.