Jared Abbrederis and the Detroit Lions

Former Wisconsin Badger WR Jared Abbrederis is trying to catch on with the Detroit Lions

Jared Abbrederis came to Wisconsin Football as a walk-on.  He outperformed his origins and was a key player for several years as a receiver and returner.

With Madison in the rear view mirror, Abbrederis is now trying to stick in the NFL.  He is currently playing for the Detroit Lions.  But his 2017 NFL preseason start had a quiet start.

Abbrederis caught two passes for 18 yards on just four targets in a 24-10 Detroit victory over the Indianapolis Colts.  He did not get any opportunity to return kicks or punts.  However, Abbrederis did record a tackle on special teams.

Wisconsin Badgers Football

Abbrederis now resides in the UW record book tied for 11th with 53 career games for the Badgers. He’s also 2nd in total receiving yards (3,140) in Wisconsin history and tied with Brandon Williams for most total receptions (202) in program history.  Finally, Abbrederis is tied for 2nd in program history with 23 total TDs.

After a tremendous career at Wisconsin the Green Bay Packers picked Abbrederis in the 5th round of the 2014 NFL Draft.  Coming out of Wisconsin, there were health concerns given his concussion history.  In addition, he only completed four reps on the bench at the NFL Combine and his agility and speed testing were ordinary.

An ACL injury ruined his first season in Green Bay.  But he was consistently buried on the depth chart in Green Bay.  Abbrederis caught 10 passes in 15 games played in two active roster seasons in Green Bay.  He  joined the Detroit Lions this offseason right as the Lions look to retool its WR corps without Calvin Johnson in the mix.

He signed a one-year prove it type deal with Detroit for just $615,000.

Abbrederis dominated college CB including Bradley Roby, a 1st round pick the year Abbrederis went in round 5.  He ran beautiful crips routes, high-pointed the ball well, and showed solid hands.  He also added value as reliable returner.

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Unfortunately given his injury history and his size (6’1″ 195 pounds), Abbrederis is most often confined to the slot.  This is where a lack of overall strength is a problem as teams wonder if he can’t get a clean release against NFL-sized press coverage.

The Lions have hail-mary specialist Golden Tate and Marvin Jones as its top WR.  Detroit spend a 3rd round pick at the position with Kenny Golladay.   At present, Detroit has 13 WR on its roster with six (including Abbrederis) scheduled to hit some form of free agency in 2018.  Most teams will keep six WR on the active roster and Tate, Jones, and Golladay are locks.  Consequently, that leaves three jobs for the other 10 WR including Abbrederis to fight over.  Therefore, the former Wisconsin star will need to make more of an impression over the rest of the preseason.