Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has a specific type of player in mind that could fill out the third wide receiver role behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams in the Detroit Lions' offense.

Ever since he learned Josh Reynolds was signing with the Denver Broncos, Johnson said Thursday, he wanted to fill Reynolds' role in the offense with a big wide receiver with reliable hands and a solid understanding of the offense though not necessarily in that order.

"We need smart, we need reliable and if we had to be picky, we want a little bit of length, just so it rounds out those three guys we're anticipating entering the season with," Johnson said.

An unexpected contender appears to be meeting all three criteria in Lions camp this summer: Daurice Fountain, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound wideout who has been taking snaps with the first-team offense throughout training camp.

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Fountain, a 2018 fifth-round pick out of Northern Iowa, has bounced around the NFL since the Colts selected him, thanks to a series of severe leg injuries. Despite stints with the Colts, Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs, he has played in just eight regular-season games since entering the league, most recently with the Chiefs in 2021.

But the big-bodied receiver has been one of the early standouts in training camp, alongside St. Brown, Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta. Johnson said the competition is coming down to Fountain, veteran Kalif Raymond (whose return skills have locked up a roster spot), 2023 seventh-rounder Antoine Greene and Detroit native Donovan Peoples-Jones (Cass Tech), who joined the Lions via trade in 2023.

"We have a number of guys competing for that spot," Johnson said. "'Rice has certainly come on so far in training camp. His physicality and explosiveness have shown up. Antoine Green is still pushing on along here to see growth from the springtime. We just need to see the consistency that we've been hoping for from him.

"DPJ has made some big plays for us — he had a big block just the other day that we took note of. And we know what Kalif Raymond is. He's not to be overlooked either because he's going to be a big part of our offense as well."

Fountain, 28, joined the Lions' practice squad a week before the start of the 2023 season after being cut by the Bears. Fountain said he had no connections with the Lions, but the front office took a chance on bringing him in after some standout preseason appearances.

"I really asked (the Lions' front office) when they signed me, 'How did y'all find me?' " Fountain said. "They said, 'Man, we just saw your preseason tape and we wanted you.' "

He is grateful for another opportunity in Detroit after he nearly retired due to ongoing complications from the broken ankle he suffered with the Colts during the training camp in 2019. He played in just five games that season before Indianapolis released him ahead of the 2020 season.

"I ended up having three surgeries and almost had to medically retire," Fountain said. "I was told that I would have to medically retire. Came back that next year, the COVID season, (and) tried to fight through it. Obviously, (I) was still dealing with a lot of pain in my ankle and come to find out that my tibia wasn't fully healed."

He then joined the Chiefs in 2021 and made the team, but was buried on the depth chart and appeared in two games with no catches. 2022's training camp brought another injury: A torn groin. Fountain tried to play through it while rehabbing and ended up being cut. He joined Chicago near the end of 2022 before coming to Detroit for 2023.

He spent last season's practice squad time learning the playbook, while making sure he was not a distraction. This summer, he has been getting into the mix with the offensive scheme and quarterbacks.

"Coming into the spring and being able to just calm down, take a step back and relearn the playbook, learning what the guys want — the philosophy — how Ben and JG (Jared Goff) see everything," Fountain said. "I've just been grinding. Literally just been studying, man, and (I) have an opportunity to go out there and showcase my skills."

Fountain credited his friends and parents, along with Raymond and Bears practice squad wide receiver Nsimba Webster, for pushing him not to give up on his football dreams.

"Up until last year, I was ready to hang it up," Fountain said. "But they just kept on talking to me, staying in my ear like, 'You have a great talent man, just give it one more time. Give it one more time.' And I just stayed in it and now I'm here."

Along with his work as a receiver, Fountain has been working in special teams drills, both as a gunner and as a returner.

Wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and head coach Dan Campbell both said Fountain's work following the 2023 season is a big reason why he is standing out early in practice.

“You could tell he worked on what he needed to work on before we even got to spring ball,” Randle El said. “Just in terms of catch ability and being where he’s supposed to be in terms of all the routes. And he can go up and get it. It's good to see him stepping up like that.”

That frame, plus his ability to contribute in more than one facet of the game, helps his chances of emerging from the wide receiver competition with snaps this season.

"He’s one of those guys that — yeah, he’s caught our eye, he’s caught my eye, like, I see him, and I told him that yesterday, he is making plays," Campbell said Monday. "And the other thing is, he’s doing some things on special teams that is catching our eye, too, so that’s a good sign. Man, to have a big receiver that runs pretty good for that size, and he plays physical, he kind of brings a different game in that room and could potentially help us on special teams? That’s a good sign, so he’s in a good spot."

Fountain believes he can stick with the Lions because his story is similar to Campbell's as a player: Both put in extra work in careers hit by injuries.

"I feel like coach Campbell, man," Fountain said. "Not saying he went through the exact same story that I went through, but he kind of had the same story I had when he was a player. So to have that connection man, he knows what I went through and it's like, it just fits me."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions WR Daurice Fountain stakes claim to role in offense