Allen Park — Detroit Lions receiver Greg Dortch is no stranger to playing in a loaded offense.
Dortch was with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, when they won 11 games, including their first seven in a row, and finished with an Expected Points Added (EPA) per pass that ranked eighth in the NFL, at plus-0.11. DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Christian Kirk were starters, and Rondale Moore, who had 435 yards that season, served as the team’s backup option in the slot when Kirk bumped outside.
Which unit, between Arizona’s in 2021 and Detroit’s in 2026, is more talented?
“I think it’s close, man,” Dortch said Thursday. “I think that ’21 offense … with DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green — those are two Hall of Famers — Christian Kirk, you had Rondale Moore, (running back) James Conner, (quarterback) Kyler (Murray), we had a really good offense.
“But this offense here is explosive, and guys are younger. I would give us (in Detroit) the edge.”
Dortch hopes to be more productive this upcoming season than he was in 2021, as he was limited to three catches for 15 yards in his first year with the Cardinals. He went on to hold a more prominent role in 2022 (467 yards on 52 catches) and was a legitimate contributor under offensive coordinator Drew Petzing from 2023-25, compiling 879 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns.
Petzing is entering his first year as Detroit’s offensive coordinator.
“The plays are similar, but they’re not,” Dortch said when asked how much his familiarity with Petzing puts him at an advantage early in training camp. “You’ve just got to show up, regardless if Drew’s here, regardless if I have another offensive coordinator, I still have to show up and gain their trust and be consistent. That’s what I’m trying to do every day.”
What also made Dortch appealing to the Lions, who signed the speedy receiver this offseason to replace the outgoing Kalif Raymond, were his skills as a returner. Dortch has averaged 9.1 yards per punt return over the last four seasons, and his average as a kick returner over that same stretch is 23.9 yards.
Dortch averaged a career-high 11.6 yards per punt return in 2025, which ranked 12th among the 35 players who had at least 10 attempts.
“The return skills are second to none, in my opinion,” Petzing said. “I think he does a great job with the ball in his hands. He plays in the slot a lot, or has, which I think is something he does at a high level. … He’s got to go out and earn that right now throughout camp, and I think he’s doing a nice job of going out there and competing.”
Dortch, listed at 5-foot-7 and 183 pounds, is often tabbed as a “gadget” receiver. But he pushes back on that description, pointing toward his numbers: “I’ve got over 1,000 yards receiving in my career, 10-plus receiving touchdowns,” Dortch said. “That’s not just a gadget player. The stats talk for themselves. I’m a football player. You can label me gadget, you can label me a slot, an outside. I’m a football player, I just get the job done.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell is cautious to heap too much hype on Dortch this early into training camp, “but just watching his movement skills and the drill work as a returner, and even some of the little things as a receiver, it’s even better than I thought.”
“There’s things about him,” Campbell added. “I mean, you watch him maneuver through some of these drills and it looks pretty good. That’s pretty exciting. I like Dortch. Man, he’s working. He wants to be one of the guys and adapt to what we do and how we do it. I think every day he gets a little bit better and learns how we … do what we do.”
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions WR Greg Dortch ‘even better’ than Dan Campbell was expecting
Reporting by Richard Silva, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Richard Silva, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
