Detroit Lions

Lions are 5th team in NFL history to have 3 players with 80+ catches

Published Jan. 3, 2016 3:48 p.m. ET

foxsports

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has three very productive options when he drops back to pass. Running back Theo Riddick and wide receivers Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate each eclipsed 80 catches on the season.

The 2015 Lions are only the fifth team in NFL history to pull off this feat.

The #Lions have become the fifth team in @NFL history to have three players catch 80+ passes in a season. pic.twitter.com/9EPrEK3Kio
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 3, 2016

Johnson has been putting up these numbers for a while. The ninth-year pro has caught at least 80 passes in four different seasons, including a career-high 122 receptions in 2012.

Since signing with the Lions in the spring of 2014, Tate has turned into one of Stafford's favorite targets. He led the team with 99 receptions last year, so a second consecutive season with at least 80 receptions is not all that surprising.

Riddick, however, just emerged this season. The third-year back rarely takes handoffs, but his shiftiness makes him a great pass-catcher coming out of the backfield. This is his first season with at least 80 receptions, smashing his total of 34 from last year.

There's a big drop-off after Johnson, Tate and Riddick, as tight end Eric Ebron was Detroit's only other player with at least 40 receptions in 2015.