We at Lions Wire are continuing our examination of Bob Quinn’s 2017 draft class by analyzing the snap counts of every rookie’s season-long workload.

This is the third installment in the series of articles that analyze how the players were used throughout the season as well as predicting how their role will change moving forward.

If you missed it, be sure to check out our previous reviews of Jarrad Davis, and Teez Tabor.

3rd-round pick: WR Kenny Golladay

The chart below shows Kenny Golladay’s snap count for all 16 games broken up by defensive snaps, the percentage of defensive snaps, special teams snaps and the percentage of special teams snaps.

Note: Snap count information was collected Golladay’s profile page at pro-football-reference.com.

When the Lions drafted Golladay he was viewed as a project who would take some time acclimating to the NFL, but his domination of training camp and the pre-season proved he was ready to perform on the big stage.

Unlike second-round pick Teez Tabor, Golladay was thrown right into the mix from game one and he delivered a two-touchdown game in the season opener.

While his production dipped over the next two games his snap count stayed high, registering over 55 percent of snaps. Then a hamstring injury stalled his progress, robbing him of five games. When he was finally healthy, Detroit brought him back slowly, but returned to his typical snap count level the next week.

In the four post-injury games, Golladay appeared to be gaining responsibilities; he saw his snap counts rise with it each game. But it was the final four games of the season when we saw a shift in offensive philosophy that will likely carry over into the future.

In those final four games, not only did Golladay see the field over 80 percent of offensive snaps, but he was also out-snapped veteran Golden Tate: 58 to 56 against Tampa Bay, 50 to 47 against Chicago, 58 to 50 against the Bengals and 51 to 48 in the finale against the Packers.

Prediction for 2018

The Lions utilize a lot of three-man receiver sets and they have the personnel to pull it off with Golladay, Tate and Marvin Jones all under contract in 2018.

With coaching changes in flux, it’s possible an offensive scheme change will alter this approach—but Bob Quinn built the roster to maximize the weapons available for Matthew Stafford and keeping these three players on the field accomplishes that.

I am anticipating Golladay to be heavily involved in the Lions plans moving forward and commanding over 80-percent of the snaps is very realistic. That being said, his on-field production still illustrates that he is still behind Jones and Tate in the pecking order. His out-snapping of Tate isn’t a knock on Tate as much as I believe it speaks to Golladay’s potential.

Another factor that illustrates Golladay’s importance: his use on special teams. He saw one snap there in the opening game of the season, and then never took the field for special-teams duty again.

Being able to play special teams is a very important asset to Quinn, but seeing the volume of offensive snaps Golladay has without playing special teams, it tells me there are bigger plans in the works for Golladay’s future.

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