Written by Dave Birkett at the DetriotFreePress.com
Marvin Jones was a budding high school receiver in California when then-Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey made him the ultimate recruiting pitch.
Come to Tech, Gailey told Jones, and you can be the next Calvin Johnson.
“You know when you’re a 17-year-old (and you hear that) you’re like, ‘Oh, my God. He just said that,’ ” Jones told the Free Press on Wednesday.
As much as he grew up idolizing Johnson, Jones spurned Georgia Tech to sign with Cal after Gailey was fired.
Eight years later, Jones is headed to Detroit to replace Johnson as the Lions’ No. 1 receiver — and looking forward to doing so as his own man.
“That’s pretty much what I want people to understand,” Jones said. “And I know, I get it. He’s the best receiver that this franchise has had. He’s unmatched in terms of his ability. But I’m going to come in and I’m going to do me and everybody will like it.”
One day after Johnson announced his retirement from the NFL, Jones agreed to a five-year, $40 million deal with the Lions.
He was widely considered the best receiver in free agency and with the Lions will complement Golden Tate on a revamped receiving corps.
The Lions targeted Jones early in free agency but got aggressive in pursuing him only after Johnson retired.
Jones had interest from at least nine other teams, including the Cincinnati Bengals, with whom he spent the past four seasons.
He said he picked the Lions in part because of the opportunity to play a more prominent role on offense after spending the past few seasons in A.J. Green’s shadow in Cincinnati.
“It was about me and the opportunity that I was going to get coming to Detroit,” Jones said. “It heated up, and I won’t get into details about other teams, but they wanted me and they let it be known, and I wanted to be there. Be here, I should say. It was just intriguing, and it just worked out.”
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