👆 Destroy your friends with a draft cheat sheet that they don't even know exists! 👆
What to expect from this article
Below, we will dive deep into what we can expect from the Lions' offense in 2023, including thorough fantasy football previews for Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta.
For the deep leaguers, dynasty leaguers and superflexers, we will also discuss Hendon Hooker and Marvin Jones at the bottom of this article.
Each player preview will conclude with fantasy football rankings and suggestions for how to approach them in redraft, dynasty and best ball leagues (and superflex leagues for QBs).
2022 Detroit Lions: Looking Back
2022 was an encouraging, gigantic step in the right direction for Dan Campbell and his Detroit Lions, rebounding from a gritty 3-13-1 campaign in 2021 to finish 9-8 and just barely miss the playoffs.
As a team, they improved in every single important offensive metric, finishing:
🟢 5th in scoring (25th in 2021)
🟢 4th in offensive yards (22nd in 2021)
🟡 13th in rushing attempts (21st in 2021)
🟡 11th in rushing yards (19th in 2021)
🟢 3rd in rushing TDs (24th in 2021)
🟡11th in passing attempts (15th in 2021)
🟢 8th in passing yards (18th in 2021)
🟢 8th in passing TDs (16th in 2021)
Their offensive success showed up at the individual level, where:
🟢 Jared Goff was fantasy football's QB 10, the 2nd best finish of his career (he was the QB 7 with the Rams back in 2018)
🟢 Jamaal Williams was fantasy football's RB 13, easily the best finish of his career after never finishing better than RB 32 in any of the previous 5 seasons
🟢 Amon-Ra St. Brown finished as fantasy football's WR 7 in just his 2nd year in the NFL
A very large part of Detroit being a fantasy football goldmine in 2022 was that their defense was a bottom-feeder unit in the NFL, allowing the 5th most points and most yards in football, forcing the offense to play aggressive in order to keep up with—or catch up to—their opponents.
The Lions ran 1122 offensive plays in 2022 (66 per game)—the 12th most in the NFL—allowing them to dial up enough volume in both the passing and rushing attack to produce fantasy football results.
All in all, 2022 left an encouraging taste in the mouths of Detroit Lions fans and fantasy football players alike. There's a lot to build on and look forward to in 2023.
2023 Fantasy Football Preview: Looking Ahead
It's been a busy off-season for the Lions. So far they've
❌ Traded D'Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 4th round pick in 2025
❌ Lost last year's TD leader, Jamaal Williams, to free agency (Saints)
❌ Lost DJ Chark to free agency (Panthers)
❌ Lost Jameson Williams for the first 6 games of 2023 (suspension for gambling)
✅ Signed RB David Montgomery as a replacement for Jamaal Williams
✅ Signed a familiar face, WR Marvin Jones from free agency
✅ Drafted Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft
✅ Drafted Iowa TE Sam LaPorta with the 34th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft
✅ Drafted Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker with the 68th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft
Detroit also took several offseason steps to improve their swiss cheese defense, signing free agents Cameron Sutton (CB), Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (S) and Emmanuel Moseley (CB) while also investing expensive draft capital into ILB Jack Campbell (18th overall), S Brian Blanch (2nd round) and DT Brodric Martin (3rd round).
Still, Dan Campbell's defenses have finished 31st and 28th in points allowed, and 29th and 32nd in yards allowed in his first 2 seasons as the Lions head boss. Detroit's defense should be a much improved unit in 2023, but they won't suddenly become a top tier defense. Detroit will still be "forced" to score points in 2023.
FanDuel's Sportsbook is expecting another step forward for Campbell's Lions in 2023, projecting them for over/under 9.5 wins (-122 over, +100 under) with the best odds to win the NFC North (+155) and 4th best odds to represent the NFC in this year's Super Bowl (+900).
And by the way, Campbell himself currently has the best odds to win NFL Coach of the Year in 2023 (+1000).
Never thought I'd say this but... the Detroit Lions look like a team to target in 2023 fantasy football.
👇 With that all being said, let's do a thorough 2023 fantasy football preview of each and every fantasy-relevant player on the Detroit Lions! 👇
Detroit Lions Quarterbacks
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟡 QB Jared Goff
After a boring first year in Detroit (3,245 yards, 19 TDs and 8 INTs in 2021), Jared Goff bounced back in a big way in 2022, completing 382 of 587 passes (65.1%) for 4,438 yards, 29 TDs and 7 INTs.
It was the 3rd best completion percentage, 3rd most yards and 2nd most TDs in his 7-year career (it also tied for the fewest interceptions in his career).
His 16.7 fantasy points per game were good enough for a QB 10 finish on the season, the 2nd best finish of his career besides a QB 7 finish with the Rams in 2018.
It was, by far, an above average campaign from the former 1st overall pick (2016 Rams).
After 100 career regular season games, the former Cal QB is averaging:
⚫ 15.7 fantasy points per game
⚫ 35 pass attempts
⚫ 22.5 completions (64%)
⚫ 258.5 passing yards
⚫ 1.6 passing TDs (155 total)
⚫ 0.7 interceptions (70 total)
⚫ 0.3 lost fumbles (29 total)
⚫ 0.1 rushing TDs (10 total)
Not always the most reliable option in fantasy football, Goff has scored 15 or more fantasy points in 53 of 100 games (53%) with just barely more games over 20 points (30) than games under 10 points (28).
His ceiling hasn't been gigantic, scoring 25 or more fantasy points in just 15 of 100 games (15%), 4 of which happened last season.
For the record, Goff has hit 30 fantasy points twice in his career, scoring 35.1 and 39.3 points back in his 2018 QB7 season.
Goff averaged 15.9 fantasy points per game over 69 nice contests with the Rams. He's averaged 15 fantasy points over 31 contests with the Lions.
In 6 seasons since becoming a fulltime starting QB in the NFL, Goff's fantasy finishes are:
🟡 2017 (Rams): QB 12 (17 fantasy points per game)
🟢 2018 (Rams): QB 7 (19.4 fantasy points per game)
🟡 2019 (Rams): QB 13 (15.5 fantasy points per game)
🟠 2020 (Rams): QB 19 (16 fantasy points per game)
🟠 2021 (Lions): QB 24 (13.9 fantasy points per game)
🟡 2022 (Lions): QB 10 (16.7 fantasy points per game)
Coming off the 2nd best year of his 7-year career, it's fair to wonder if we should expect regression to the norm for Goff in 2023.
A large part of last year's fantasy football production was that the 2022 Lions allowed the 5th most points and the most offensive yards in football, constantly forcing Detroit's offense into aggressive game scripts as they desperately tried to keep pace with opponents that were scoring at will.
Heading into 2023, Detroit made several splash moves this offense in an effort to improve their swiss cheese defense, signing free agents Cameron Sutton (CB), Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (S) and Emmanuel Moseley (CB) while also investing expensive draft capital into ILB Jack Campbell (18th overall), S Brian Blanch (2nd round) and DT Brodric Martin (3rd round).
Of course, it's unrealistic to expect the defense to suddenly become a shutdown unit after they finished 31st and 28th in points allowed, and 29th and 32nd in yards allowed in Dan Campbell's first 2 seasons as the Lions head boss.
Still, a much improved defense combined with projected positive game script (Detroit is projected for over 9.5 wins) that suggests Detroit will be able to feed their remodeled backfield make Goff a likely regression candidate.
For what it's worth, FanDuel's Sportsbook is expecting a statistical step back for Goff as well, projecting him for:
⚫ Over/under 3850.5 yards (-112)—nearly 600 yards fewer than last year which would be his 3rd fewest in 7 years as a full time starter
⚫ Over/under 24.5 TD passes (-118 over, -108 under)—which would the 4th most/fewest of his 7-year starting career and 4-5 TDs fewer than last year
Still, 3850 passing yards and 24 passing TDs would come out to 250 fantasy points, which would have been good enough for a QB 13 finish last season (does not factor in turnovers and rushing statistics).
28 going on 29 years old in October, Goff is best approached in 2023 as a mid-range QB 2 with occasional streamer potential in predictable shootouts (such as week 1 vs Kansas City).
Dynasty Leagues: 🟡 Entering his age 29 season, Goff is currently the QB 21 in dynasty startups. With his contract up after the 2024 season, Goff's clock in Detroit might be ticking after the Lions drafted Tennessee's Hendon Hooker with their 3rd round pick in the 2023 draft. Goff is a "hold" as a QB 2 option for dynasty managers.
Redraft Leagues: 🟠 Jared Goff is currently drafted as the QB 18 around pick 132 overall (11th-12th round turn) in 2023 PPR leagues. In "normal" leagues (8-12 teams with 15—ish bench spots), Goff is not worth drafting but will carry occasional streamer upside in predictable shootouts (such as week 1 against Kansas City).
Instead, fantasy managers would be wise to use that pick on upside at more important positions like RB and WR, such as Jerick McKinnon, Rashaad Penny, Zay Flowers, De'Von Achane, Elijah Mitchell, Adam Thielen, and Rashod Bateman among others.
Goff is currently #143 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings—11 spots later than he's usually drafted in 1 QB leagues.
Superflex Leagues: 🟡 Jared Goff is currently the QB 17 in 2023 superflex leagues, drafted around pick 51 overall (early 5th round). Preferably, you've landed a stronger QB 2 than Goff so that you can instead use this pick on DK metcalf, Jahmyr Gibbs, Kenneth Walker, Keenan Allen, Deebo Samuel, Amari Cooper, Aaron Jones, Joe Mixon or perhaps a higher-upside QB like Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson (as your QB 2).
Best Ball Leagues: 🟠 Jared Goff is currently drafted as the QB 17 around pick 131 overall (late 11th round) in Underdog best ball drafts.
He's a "fine" QB 2 in that range, but I'd rather aim for higher weekly ceilings like those of Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Derek Carr or even Matthew Stafford, all of which are drafted near or after Goff.
If you already selected your QB 2 (or you have Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, or Joe Burrow as your QB 1), instead consider Elijah Mitchell, Jerick McKinnon, Jamaal Williams, Greg Dulcich, Rondale Moore, Dalton Kincaid, Jaylen Warren, Michael Gallup, tank Bigsby or Dalton Schultz, among others.
Max best ball exposure: 10%
Detroit Lions Running Backs
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟢 RB Jahmyr Gibbs
With the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions shocked the world by selecting Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs.
Gibbs is an elite receiving back that dropped just 2 out of a catchable 105 targets in his collegiate career and, with electric speed, he "plays the running back position like someone hit fast forward on just him," according to film guru John Chapman.
At 5'9" and 199 pounds, Gibbs lacks the size you usually need to have to be an every down back in the NFL. But with a playstyle comp that looks a lot like Ray Rice—who had 78 catches in 2009 and 76 catches in 2011—what Gibbs lacks in volume could be made up with efficiency in the receiving game; the 21 year old could be one of the most dynamic pass-catching backs in the NFL over the next decade.
Detroit spending such high draft capital on Gibbs shocked the world because, at the time, the Lions had many glaring needs—particularly on the defensive side of the ball—had already signed free agent RB David Montgomery to replace the outbound Jamaal Williams, and still had 2020 35th overall pick D'Andre Swift on the roster.
Of course, the Lions traded Swift to the Eagles just 2 days later, theoretically freeing up another 147 touches—including 70 targets—after Jamaal Williams already vacated 274 touches—including 16 targets.
With 421 backfield touches—including 86 targets—up for grabs, Montgomery and Gibbs are terrific compliments to one another that should replace the Jamaal Williams (Montgomery) and D'Andre Swift (Gibbs) roles with ease, if not with improvement.
Over 27 regular season games with Dan Campbell as the head coach, D'Andre Swift averaged:
⚫ 14.7 PPR points per game
⚫ 13.3 touches per game—including 4.1 catches on 5.5 targets
⚫ 74.1 scrimmage yards
⚫ 0.6 TDs per game (15 total)
Limited to 13 games in 2021, Swift finished as fantasy's RB 15 in raw points, but was the RB 10 in PPR points per game (16.1).
And limited to 14 games in 2022, Swift finished as fantasy's RB 21 in raw points, but was the RB 16 in PPR points per game (13.6).
Fantasy managers considering Gibbs must acknowledge and accept that David Montgomery is going to be heavily involved for at least the next two years, and may very well lead the team in touches during that time. Painfully, Montgomery will be especially involved near the goal line, a role that catapulted Jamaal Williams to a league-high 17 touchdowns last season.
But there's no denying the electricity of Gibbs in the passing game, a cheat code to unlocking massive upside in fantasy football. With Jameosn Williams set to miss the first 6 games and no other clear 2nd option behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, it's fair to wonder if Gibbs will be 2nd on the team in targets in 2023.
Gibbs is best approached as a weekly RB 2 with RB 1 potential in any given week, especially projected shootouts with pass-heavy game scripts (such as week 1 against Kansas City).
Dynasty Leagues: 🟢 Just 21 years old, Jahmyr Gibbs is currently the RB 5 in dynasty startup drafts behind only Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor and Breece Hall, but ahead of Saquon Barkley, Austin Ekeler, Josh Jacobs, Nick Chubb, Travis Etienne and more.
Gibbs is currently #2 in my dynasty rookie rankings, sharing a tier with Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Redraft Leagues: 🟡 Jahmyr Gibbs is currently being drafted as fantasy's RB 14 around pick 36 overall (3rd-4th round turn) in 2023 PPR leagues.
It's an expensive price to pay with Najee Harris, Tee Higgins, Chris Olave, Joe Burrow, DK Metcalf, Lamar Jackson, Joe Mixon, Aaron Jones, Deebo Samuel, Kenneth Walker, TJ Hockenson, Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen all available in that range.
Gibbs is currently #44 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings—8(ish) spots later than he's usually drafted.
Best Ball Leagues: 🟡 Jahmyr Gibbs is currently drafted as the RB 12 around pick 37 overall (early 4th round) in Underdog best ball drafts.
It's an expensive price to pay with Breece Hall, Josh Jacobs, Calvin Ridley, Amari Cooper, Deebo Samuel, Lamar Jackson, keenan Allen, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Travis Etienne, DeAndre Hopkins, Terry McLaurin, Joe Burrow, Mike Williams, Joe Mixon and DJ Moore all available in that range.
Max best ball exposure: 15%
🟡 RB David Montgomery
2022 was arguably the worst season of David Montgomery's 4-year career, scraping new career lows in touches (235), rushing attempts (201), rushing yards (801) and touchdowns (5).
He finished the season as fantasy's RB 24 for the 2nd time since he was a rookie in 2019. It was the 3rd season (out of 4) that Montgomery was the RB 21 or worse.
Looking for a fresh start, the Iowa State running back left the Chicago Bears—the team that drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft—to sign a three-year, $18 million contract ($11 million guaranteed) with the division rival Detroit Lions.
It was an intriguing landing spot for Montgomery considering that outbound Jamaal Williams vacated 274 touches, including a league-leading 17 rushing touchdowns.
Montgomery's balloon lost some air the very next month when the Lions selected electric rookie Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in the NFL draft.
That said, Detroit also traded D'Andre Swift just two days after selecting Gibbs, freeing up yet another 147 touches—including 70 targets—to bring the total to 421 vacated touches, including 86 targets.
With 400+ backfield touches up for grabs, Montgomery and Gibbs are a thunder & lightning combo that should have no trouble replacing the Jamaal Williams role (Montgomery) and D'Andre Swift role (Gibbs), if not improve the output we saw last year.
After 30 regular season games with Dan Campbell and D'Andre Swift in Detroit, Jamaal Williams averaged:
⚫ 11.5 PPR points per game
⚫ 15.1 touches per game—including 1.3 catches on 1.5 targets
⚫ 63.2 scrimmage yards per game
⚫ 0.7 TDs per game (20 total)
Williams was fantasy football's RB 43 in 2021 (9.2 PPR points per game) before exploding for 17 TDs and an RB 13 finish in 2022 (13.3 PPR points per game).
As for Montgomery himself, after 55 career regular season games where he's handled at least 10 touches, he's averaging:
⚫ 14.4 PPR points per game
⚫ 18.9 touches—including 2.7 catches on 3.4 targets—per game
⚫ 85.8 scrimmage yards per game
⚫ 0.5 TDs per game (30 total)
⚫ 0.1 lost fumbles per game (5 total)
Of course, he had 16 games of 21 or more touches during that time, a workhorse workload he likely won't get every game with Gibbs in town.
So if we look at the 39 career games that Montgomery has landed between 10 and 20 touches, his per game averages are:
⚫ 12.3 PPR points
⚫ 16.3 touches—including 2.4 catches on 3 targets
⚫ 76.6 scrimmage yards
⚫ 0.4 TDs (16 total)
⚫ 0.1 lost fumbles (4 total)
He's had a low floor in that span, hitting 15 or more PPR points in just 12 of 39 games (31%) with 17 of 39 games landing under 10 PPR points (44%).
The ceiling hasn't been especially high either, hitting 19 PPR points in just 6 of those 39 games (15%), including a high of 25.3 back in 2020.
(And by the way, if we put those games of 21+ touches back into the split, Montgomery still hits 15 PPR points in just 40% of his games and fewer than 10 PPR points in 35%.)
For what it's worth, FanDuel sportsbook is projecting Montgomery for over/under 725.5 rushing yards (-112), which would be 76 yards fewer than the career low he set last year, 801.
FanDuel also has him pegged for over/under 5.5 rushing TDs (-150 over, +118 under), which seems awfully low for the presumed goal line back in Detroit, a role that produced 17 rushing TDs for Jamaal Williams last year. Montgomery is averaging 6.5 rushing TDs per year and has 6 or more rushing scores in 3 of 4 professional seasons in his career.
725 rushing yards and 5 rushing TDs would be just 102.5 fantasy points, which would have dropped Montgomery into the RB 46 spot last year. That obviously does not factor in catches, receiving yards or receiving scores, but Montgomery will likely cede all passing game work to elite pass-catching back Jahmyr Gibbs anyways (Jamaal Williams suffered a career low 12 catches for 73 scoreless receiving yards on 16 targets while D'Andre Swift was the pass-catching back last year).
Taking over the "Jamaal Williams" role, Montgomery has big time TD upside in 2023. But with no expected usage in the passing game, Mongtomery will likely have to find the end zone to pay fantasy dividends in any given week.
The 26 year old is best approached as a boom bust RB 3/flex heading into 2023.
Dynasty Leagues: 🟡 Entering his age 26 campaign, Montgomery is currently drafted as the RB 33 in dynasty startups. He's a decent "hold" for those currently rostering him, but dynasty managers would be wise to "sell" him sooner than later if they can.
Redraft Leagues: 🟡 David Montgomery is currently drafted as fantasy's RB 30 around pick 85 overall (early 8th round) in 2023 PPR drafts.
The price itself is fine, but fantasy managers might instead consider Deshaun Watson, Alvin Kamara, Christian Kirk, Diontae Johnson, Michael Pittman, Marquise Brown, James Cook, Dak Prescott, Brandin Cooks, Kadarius Toney and more.
Montgomery is currently #84 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings—right near his current ADP.
Best Ball Leagues: 🟡 David Montgomery is currently drafted as the RB 24 around pick 78 overall (mid 7th round) in Underdog best ball drafts.
It's an expensive price to pay with Dameon Pierce, Jahan Dotson, Jordan Addison, Kadarius Toney, Gabe Davis, Dallas Goedert, D'Andre Swift, Darren Waller, Rachaad White, James Conner, Brandin Cooks, Deshaun Watson, Isiah Pacheco, Elijah Moore, Javonte Williams and Zay Flowers (among others) all available near or after Montgomery.
Detroit Lions Wide Receivers
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟢 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
Building on an already impressive rookie campaign, year 2 was even better for Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions' 2021 4th round pick from USC.
ARSB piled up 106 catches (7th in the NFL) from 146 targets (9th) for 1161 yards (11th) and 6 TDs (24th) to finish as fantasy's WR 7 in PPR leagues, his 2nd finish inside the top 22 of fantasy WRs.
After 31 career regular season games where he's played at least 11 offensive snaps, Amon-Ra St. brown is averaging a very strong:
⚫ 15.8 PPR points per game
⚫ 8.5 targets per game
⚫ 6.3 catches per game
⚫ 66.7 yards per game
⚫ 0.4 TDs per game (11 total)
⚫ ARSB also has 16 career rushing attempts for 156 rushing yards and 1 TD
He's scored 15 or more PPR points in 13 of those 31 games (42%), with more games over 20 PPR points (10) than games under 10 PPR points (9).
He's also flashed a week-winning ceiling, scoring 33 or more PPR points in 3 of 31 games (10%), including a career high of 39.4 PPR points in week 2 against the Commanders last season.
ARSB was a fantasy football gold mine last season, drawing the 9th most targets in football as Detroit's bottom barrel defense allowed the 5th most points per game, frequently forcing the Lions' offense into a pass-heavy game script in order to keep up with—or catch up to—their opponent.
Detroit spent this offseason making transactions to improve their defense, signing free agents Cameron Sutton (CB), Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (S) and Emmanuel Moseley (CB) while also investing expensive draft capital into ILB Jack Campbell (18th overall), S Brian Blanch (2nd round) and DT Brodric Martin (3rd round).
TLDR: Detroit's defense should look better than last season—though that's not saying much—which theoretically could lessen the need to pepper ARSB with targets.
Still, it's unrealistic to expect the defense to suddenly become a shutdown unit after they finished 31st and 28th in points allowed, and 29th and 32nd in yards allowed in Dan Campbell's first 2 seasons as the Lions head boss.
It's also worth noting that DJ Chark skipped town for Carolina, leaving behind 4-5 targets per game, noteworthy considering the Lions have no clear-cut 2nd option in the passing game with Jameson Williams set to miss the first 6 games of the year (suspension).
Of course, Detroit did sign familiar face Marvin Jones, who averaged 4.2 catches, 62.3 yards and 0.5 TDs (36 total) over 69 games with the Lions between 2016-2020.
But that was with a different regime and QB, and Marvin Jones is entering his age 33 season having not reached 850 yards or 5 TDs since 2020.
For what it's worth, FanDuel Sportsbook appears to be anticipating a significant step back in yardage for ARSB, projecting him for over/under 1000.5 yards (-112), which would be 161 yards fewer than last year (I'm taking the over). They're also projecting him for over/under 5.5 TDs (-112) after scoring 5 in 2021 and 6 in 2022.
ARSB is best approached as a mid-low end WR 1 in PPR leagues.
Dynasty Leagues: 🟢 23 going on 24 in October, Amon-Ra St. Brown is currently drafted as the WR 7 around pick 10 overall in dynasty startup drafts. He's an exciting "hold" for current managers.
Redraft Leagues: 🟡 Amon-Ra St. Brown is currently drafted as fantasy's WR 9 around pick 20 overall (mid 2nd round) in 2023 PPR drafts.
The cost itself is certainly reasonable, but it's a very competitive spot with AJ Brown, Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Jacobs, Garrett Wilson, Tony Pollard, Josh Allen, Jaylen Waddle, Jalen Hurts and Breece Hall (among others) all in ARSB's vicinity.
ARSB is currently #18th overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings, 1-2 spots ahead of his ADP.
Best Ball Leagues: 🟡 Amon-Ra St. Brown is currently drafted as fantasy's WR 9 around pick 14 overall (early 2nd round) in Underdog best ball drafts.
It's an expensive price to pay considering he's drafted ahead of Nick Chubb, Davante Adams, Jaylen Waddle, Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley, just to name a few.
Max best ball exposure: 15%
🟡 WR Jameson Williams
Jameson Williams' NFL career is not off to a very hot start.
The Lions' 12th overall pick in 2021 suffered a torn ACL in the National Championship Game during his senior season at Alabama. The injury limited Williams to just 9 appearances in his rookie campaign, where he caught just one of 9 targets—albeit for a 41 yard touchdown.
Then, in April of 2023, Williams was suspended for the first 6 games of the 2023 season for violating the NFL's gambling policy.
And most recently in late July, it was reported that Williams will miss some time at Lions training camp while he deals with with a leg injury—though it's not believed to be serious or long-term.
It would be fair for Lions' brass to be losing patience after investing expensive 2021 draft capital into Williams.
And it also presents an opportunity to bet on late talent if fantasy football managers have lost patience as well.
For what it's worth, Williams was one of my very favorite prospects in the 2021 draft class, a DeSean Jackson prototype and easy Calvin Ridley comparison that still could go down as the best WR in what was once thought to be a loaded WR class.
Fantasy managers considering Williams must be willing to accept that Williams will miss the first 6 games of the season, which is 43% of the regular season in fantasy football. That's significant.
But when he does return, Williams will be a high upside, splash play waiting to happen in an offense that finished 5th in scoring and 8th in passing yards last season.
Still just 22 years old, Williams is best approached as a WR 4 with big upside for more in 2023.
Dynasty Leagues: 🟢 Still just 22 years old, Jameson Williams is currently the WR 38 in dynasty startups. His value is undoubtedly suppressed having done nothing in the first 23 possible games of his career, frustrating impatient dynasty managers and theoretically creating a strong "buy low" opportunity for those who want to bet on upside.
Redraft Leagues: 🟢 Jameson Williams is currently drafted as fantasy's WR 50 around pick 137 overall (mid 12th round) in 2023 PPR drafts.
If you can stomach 6 weeks of guaranteed inactivity, Williams is a high upside bench stash for your playoff push.
Others in that vicinity worth considering are Rashaad Penny, Zay Flowers, De'Von Achane (if Miami doesn't sign another back), Elijah Mitchell, Adam Thielen and Rashod Bateman. Williams is the highest upside option out of that batch, save for Penny in the event of a D'Andre Swift injury.
Williams is currently #107th overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings, a whopping 30(ish) spots ahead of his ADP.
Best Ball Leagues: 🟠 Jameson Williams is currently drafted as fantasy's WR 49 around pick 99 overall (early 9th round) in Underdog best ball drafts.
Whereas he appears to be a high upside value stash in 2023 PPR leagues, his Underdog price is too rich for my taste. I'd rather spend that pick on nearby peers Alvin Kamara, Rashod Bateman, Tua Tagovailoa, Dalvin Cook, James Cook, Michael Thomas, Evan Engram, Courtland Sutton, Antonio Gibson, Skyy Moore, AJ Dillon, Zach Charbonnet, Dak Prescott, David Njoku, Samaje Perine, Pat Freiermuth, Rashaad Penny or Odell Beckham among others.
Max best ball exposure: 5%
Detroit Lions Tight Ends
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟡 TE Sam LaPorta
With the 34th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions picked Iowa TE Sam LaPorta, one of the top pass-catching TEs—who played WR and CB in high school—in this year's draft class.
LaPorta is not (yet) a good blocker which always poses a serious threat to a rookie's playing time, but he is a YAC monster (yards after catch) and the former WR was reportedly split out wide on multiple occasions at Lions' rookie camp, indicating that the Lions view him as a receiving threat, not an extension of the O Line.
The 22 year old (23 in January) is reportedly already turning heads in Detroit, as The Athletic's Colton Puncy called LaPorta "the best player on the field by a wide margin" at Detroit's May rookie minicamps.
LaPorta will do his best to fill the void left by TJ Hockenson, who was traded to the rival Minnesota Vikings in the middle of last season, freeing up roughly 7 targets, 54.3 receiving yards, 0.4 TDs and 12.6 PPR points per game.
Of course, fantasy managers need to be warned that rookie tight ends are historically bad bets in fantasy football. Most of them don't "break out" until year 3 or later.
That said, with Jameson Williams set to serve a 6 game suspension to open the 2023 season and no other clear 2nd option behind Amon-Ra St. Brown (Marvin Jones? Josh Reynolds? Kalif Raymond? Jahmyr Gibbs 👀), LaPorta at least has a chance to make some noise as a candidate for the #2 role in the passing game.
Still, LaPorta is not an option in "normal sized" redraft leagues (8-12 teams, 15ish roster spots). He could enter the streaming conversation in shootouts and good matchups.
Long-term though, LaPorta + ARSB + Jameson Williams could be one of the most dynamic three-headed pass-catching crews in the entire NFL.
Dynasty Leagues: 🟢 Still just 22 years old (23 in January), Sam LaPorta is currently the TE 12 in dynasty startups. He is currently #14 overall in my dynasty rookie rankings.
Redraft Leagues: 🟠 Sam LaPorta is currently drafted as the TE 19 around pick 173 overall (mid 15th round) in 2023 PPR leagues. He is not someone I would draft outside of best ball leagues, but he could find himself on the streaming radar in possible shootouts with good matchups.
Williams is currently #197th overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings, a whopping 24(ish) spots behind his ADP.
Best Ball Leagues: 🟠 Sam LaPorta is currently drafted as fantasy's TE 20 around pick 162 overall (mid 14th round) in Underdog best ball drafts.
He should be no higher than your 3rd TE (unless you have Travis Kelce) and, even then, I'd rather draft Matthew Stafford, Irv Smith, Taysom Hill, DJ Chark, Marvin Mims, Jordan Love, D'Onta Foreman, Kenneth Gainwell or Tim Patrick and then just target Mike Gesicki, Tyler Conklin or Hayden Hurst later.
Max best ball exposure: 5%
Other Names to Know for Deep Leaguers, Dynasty Players and Super Flexers
See below for analysis on:
⚫ QB Hendon Hooker (Rookie)
⚫ WR Marvin Jones
🟠 QB Hendon Hooker
With the 68th overall pick (3rd round, 5th pick) in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, a geriatric rookie (he will be 26 in January) who's recovering from a torn ACL with an incomplete collegiate profile that provided more questions than answers.
Hooker didn't do much in 3 seasons with Virginia Tech before going nuclear with head coach Josh Heupel in Tennessee, leaving fantasy footballers to wonder if Hooker was good because of the system fit or if Hooker is just good, period (or both).
On film, Hooker showed well as a thrower and possesses the mobile ability to be a threat on the ground when a play breaks down, useful for fantasy football purposes.
Head Coach Dan Campbell already publicly stated that 2023 would be a "redshirt" season for the rookie.
That said, things could get a bit interesting in 2024 with Jared Goff set to become a free agent after next season.
Hooker is not someone you need to prioritize in your dynasty rookie drafts, but he's someone to monitor in Superflex dynasty leagues.
Hooker is currently #26 overall in BBFF's dynasty superflex rookie rankings.
🟠 WR Marvin Jones
With DJ Chark out of the picture, the Lions 2023 training camp will likely feature a three-way battle between Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond for the WR 3 role in Detroit.
And to incentivize the intrigue a bit more, the winner of the contest will also likely serve as the team's de facto WR 2 for the first 6 weeks of the season while Jameson Williams serves his suspension (gambling), noteworthy considering last year's Lions finished 5th in scoring and 8th in passing yards last season.
With five 800+ yard seasons on his 10 year resume, Marvin Jones is likely the early camp favorite to land the job after spending half of his career in Detroit between 2016 and 2020.
Jones enjoyed the best years of his career in Detroit, averaging 13.5 PPR points per game on 6.9 nice targets, 4.2 catches, 62.3 yards and 0.5 TDs per game (36 total) over 69 nice contests with the team.
Of course, that was with a completely different quarterback (Matthew Stafford) and coaching staff—three of them, actually—and Jones was in the prime of his career (ages 26-30).
After 140 regular season games in his career, the Bengals' 2012 5th round pick from California is averaging:
⚫ 11.7 PPR points per game
⚫ 6.3 targets per game
⚫ 3.9 catches per game
⚫ 52.8 yards per game
⚫ 0.4 TDs per game (58 total)
⚫ Marvin Jones has never lost a fumble in his career despite 561 regular season touches
⚫ He also has 19 rushing attempts for 148 scoreless yards in his career.
Long a boom/bust option in his career, Jones has almost twice as many games under 10 PPR points in his career (69 of them; nice) as games of 15 or more PPR points (36).
But he does have the occasional explosive ceiling, hitting 20 or more PPR points in 17 of 140 games (12%), including 5 games over 30, two of which crossed 43.
Of course, Marvin is 33 years old now and had just 529 yards last year—his fewest since an injury plagued 2018—despite playing 16 games in an explosive Jaguars offense. He's no sure bet to run ahead of Josh Reynolds or Kalif Raymond.
Jones is not an option in "normal" sized redraft leagues (8-12 teams, 15ish roster spots), but he's a somewhat intriguing last round dart in deep best ball leagues.
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