Matthew Stafford

Last year's drops not indictment of Detroit Lions WR Golden Tate's hands

Published Jun. 25, 2015 2:47 p.m. ET

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Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate knows he dropped a handful of passes last year—his followers made sure of that.

"The social media nowadays, someone's going to let you know," Tate said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "Someone's going to tweet at you or give you a shoutout for the good or the bad."

Pro Football Focus pinned six dropped passes on Tate in 2014, according to the Free Press. That figure is a considerable spike for the usually sure-handed receiver, considering he only dropped five passes in his first four NFL seasons combined.

Birkett believes Tate's bloated drop number is the result of more targets. Last season, his first with the Lions, quarterback Matthew Stafford threw in Tate's direction 144 times. For comparison, the pass-catcher was only targeted an average of 66 times per season when he played for the Seattle Seahawks.

The additional attention may have resulted in a few more drops, but it also yielded career-high marks for Tate in receptions (99) and yards (1,331).

(h/t Detroit Free Press)

Photo Credit: Steve Flynn/USA TODAY Sports

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