2015 DETROIT LIONS MEDIA GUIDE
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and size with an outstanding work ethic that has<br />
resulted in him now being considered among the<br />
very best players in the game.<br />
While he produced at a high level early in his<br />
career, Johnson elevated his game the past four<br />
seasons to historical proportions. Despite injuries<br />
and missing three games last year, Johnson still<br />
registered over 1,000 yards and reached 10,000<br />
yards in the fewest games (115) in NFL history. In<br />
2013, he became the first player in NFL history to<br />
register 5,000 receiving yards over a three-year<br />
stretch and he now holds the NFL career record for<br />
average yards per game (88.0). In 2012, Johnson<br />
broke Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice’s single-season<br />
receiving yards record when he recorded 1,964<br />
yards. He also set records in 2012 for the most<br />
consecutive 100-yard games (eight) and tied an NFL<br />
record with 11 100-yard games in a season. In 2011,<br />
Johnson set a team record with 16 touchdown<br />
catches, and he accumulated 1,681 receiving yards,<br />
now the third-most in team history.<br />
Joining Johnson in 2014 was Tate, who led the<br />
Lions with a career-high in catches (99) and yards<br />
(1,331). He had the sixth-highest single-season<br />
tally of receptions and tied for the seventh-most<br />
yards in a season by a Lions receiver. Four of his<br />
top-5 career single-game receiving totals, including<br />
his three best games, all occurred last year.<br />
With both Johnson and Tate each registering<br />
1,000 receiving yards in 2014, it marked the sixth<br />
time in team history two receivers netted over<br />
1,000 yards in the same season.<br />
Few teams feature a group of talented tight<br />
ends who offer multiple dimensions as do the<br />
Lions. Pettigrew, the seventh-year tight end who<br />
re-signed a four-year contract extension in 2014,<br />
re-wrote the record books for Lions tight ends in<br />
2010 and 2011, and he continues to move toward<br />
threatening the team’s career receiving records<br />
by tight ends. Joining Pettigrew is Fauria and<br />
Ebron, the Lions’ 2014 first-round selection. Fauria<br />
provides an additional weapon for the Lions offense<br />
in the Red Zone, having caught eight touchdowns in<br />
his first two seasons, and Ebron presents matchup<br />
challenges for opponents with his size, speed and<br />
ability to flex out wide.<br />
Upfront, the Lions have transformed the<br />
offensive line over the past few years to feature<br />
a young, tough and physical offensive line. After<br />
drafting Reiff in 2012, who now has started the past<br />
two years at left tackle, the Lions added Warford at<br />
right guard in 2013 and drafted Swanson at center<br />
in 2014 as the long-term replacement for 14-year<br />
veteran Dominic Raiola. Depth has also been<br />
addressed with the signing of undrafted free agents<br />
Waddle (2013) and Lucas (2014), both battling<br />
for the starting spot at right tackle. At left guard,<br />
the Lions drafted Laken Tomlinson, considered by<br />
most as the top guard of the <strong>2015</strong> draft, while also<br />
acquiring Manny Ramirez, a Pro Bowler who can<br />
play both guard and center, via trade from Denver.<br />
At running back, Joique Bell has emerged<br />
as the Lions’ workhorse in the backfield. Last<br />
year, he rushed for a career high 860 yards and<br />
seven touchdowns and caught 34 passes for 322<br />
yards. It was the second-consecutive season he<br />
accumulated over 1,100 yards from scrimmage.<br />
Third-year RB Theo Riddick has been effective<br />
in the passing game out of the backfield as he<br />
caught a career high 34 passes for 316 yards and<br />
accumulated four receiving touchdowns last year.<br />
Bell and Riddick are joined by <strong>2015</strong> second-round<br />
draft pick Ameer Abdullah.<br />
<strong>DETROIT</strong> <strong>LIONS</strong><br />
On defense, the team’s ability to disrupt<br />
opponent offenses starts upfront with the Lions<br />
defensive line. Over the past two seasons, the Lions<br />
have allowed the lowest rushing yards per game by<br />
opponents (84.5) in the NFL. Since 2010, the Lions<br />
defensive linemen have registered 164.5 sacks,<br />
fourth-most in the League among defensive line<br />
units. Ansah, along with Jason Jones, Devin Taylor<br />
and Darryl Tapp, will lead the way of the edge at<br />
the defensive end position. The Lions immediately<br />
reinforced its interior at defensive tackle with the<br />
additions of Ngata and free agent Tyrunn Walker<br />
along with 2014 draft pick Cauran Reid and <strong>2015</strong><br />
pick Gabe Wright.<br />
At linebacker, the team returns starters Stephen<br />
Tulloch in the middle and Levy at one of the outside<br />
spots. In 2011, Tulloch had career highs in sacks,<br />
interceptions and fumble recoveries in his first<br />
season with Detroit, which led to him signing a<br />
new five-year contact in the following offseason.<br />
The importance of re-signing Tulloch to a longterm<br />
deal was not understated by Mayhew as he<br />
referred to him as the quarterback on defense. Levy<br />
proved to be one of the NFL’s biggest playmakers<br />
over the past two seasons at outside linebacker<br />
when he garnered seven interceptions, most among<br />
linebackers. He is one of only two players to collect<br />
200+ solo tackles since the start of the 2013<br />
season. In 2014, Tahir Whitehead, drafted in 2012,<br />
had a break out year as he started 15-of-16 games.<br />
In the secondary, the Lions are led by Quin and<br />
S James Ihedigbo at safety. Quin joined the Lions<br />
in 2013 and settled the team’s free safety position<br />
and added great leadership to the overall defense.<br />
The Pro Bowler’s 10 interceptions are the most<br />
among safeties in the NFL over the past two years.<br />
Ihedigbo joined Quin at the safety position in 2014<br />
and registered a career-high four interceptions. On<br />
the outside, the Lions return Slay and veteran CB<br />
Rashean Mathis, who re-signed with the Lions to a<br />
new two-year deal. Along with Lawson, free agent<br />
CB Josh Wilson and <strong>2015</strong> draft picks Alex Carter<br />
and Quandre Diggs look to strengthen the team’s<br />
defensive back unit.<br />
The Lions now feature two of the strongest<br />
kickers in the NFL. Martin has become a valuable<br />
weapon for Lions special teams as a punter and<br />
kickoff specialist and will be called upon for years<br />
to come. Mayhew also solidified the kicking game<br />
when he re-signed Prater to a new three-year deal<br />
this past off-season.<br />
LEGAL BACKGROUND<br />
Throughout his journey leading up to his current<br />
post, Mayhew has always kept an eye toward the<br />
future, as evidenced by his strategic exposure to<br />
several jobs and internships while earning his law<br />
degree from Georgetown’s Law Center (2000). He<br />
is one of three Lions’ front office executives and<br />
administrators with law degrees.<br />
During the 1999 NFL season, while attending<br />
law school, Mayhew served a nine-month<br />
internship in the Washington Redskins’ pro<br />
personnel department, which exposed him to the<br />
responsibilities of an NFL scouting department.<br />
While with the Redskins, he scouted NFL players,<br />
including late NFL cuts, and worked the waiver<br />
wire and also assisted in the evaluation of college<br />
players for the 2000 NFL Draft. Mayhew also had<br />
two separate internship stints with the NFL in both<br />
the labor operations and legal departments.<br />
In labor operations, Mayhew worked closely with<br />
NFL executives on issues involving player contracts<br />
and the salary cap. With the legal department,<br />
EXECUTIVES AND COACHING
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