File under the heading of Kooky Talk the latest quotes from Matthew Stafford. In his understandable desire to put a positive spin on the upcoming season, he puts forth the idea that the Lions will be tougher to defend with Calvin Johnson retired. Okay.

"We used to feature Calvin, and everybody kind of got theirs after that," Stafford said in an interview. "I think it's going to be tougher for defenses, in a certain way, that they don't know who we're going to. There's no guy to key in on."

It's reasonable that Stafford wants to feel this way, but realistically, the main difference is that instead of Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate being the main targets, it will be Tate and Marvin Jones. Most likely, Tate will have a bigger year than he's had previously -- he put up some of his best numbers in Detroit when Johnson was hurt -- and Jones will be an intriguing No. 2 to consider about 30-35 receivers into drafts.

Because if the Lions are going to spread the ball around with a bunch of guys getting a ton of catches, as Stafford goes on to say, players who have shown very little to this point will need to be surprisingly productive.

At No. 3, Detroit is putting forth Jeremy Kerley and T.J. Jones. Kerley went over 800 yards back in 2012 but since then has seen his numbers dwindle in three straight seasons; he could barely get on the field for the Jets last year. Jones is a 2015 sixth-rounder who caught 10 passes last season. The team is optimistic enough about these players that they added Andre Caldwell in May and Andre Roberts in June. Maybe opposing defenses won't know who the Lions are going to, or maybe they'll just reasonably assume that Tate and Jones are the important players to cover.

The Lions also have Eric Ebron at tight end, entering his third season. Maybe he'll be the guy inheriting a bunch of targets. But if he is, he'll need quite a leap up from his first two seasons. Last year he averaged 3.5 receptions and caught 5 TDs in 14 games.

If one of those receivers does step up, the most likely player hurt by it will be Theo Riddick. The team probably doesn't think Riddick catching 80 passes makes the offense extra difficult to defend. Ideally the No. 3 would catch balls downfield, not average 8.7 yards per reception.

In any case, the Lions won't be tougher to defend without Megatron. The top two wide receivers will probably catch most of the passes. It's who will 3rd in line that is the most noteworthy question. That player being a significant fantasy factor seems less likely.

--Andy Richardson