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Detroit Lions Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Fantasy Football News 2023

Most Recent Fantasy Football News & Updates

Lions rookie WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has seen "consistent work" rotating in with starters as a slot receiver so far in camp, according to Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic. The 4th-round pick has reportedly displayed strong route-running that has challenged any position trying to cover him and been 1 of the team's top rookies in early workouts. Baumgardner writes that St. Brown getting open underneath has "been a constant" and that he's "likely going to see a bunch of targets underneath this season, especially early." A shaky deep-passing game and lackluster WR depth chart overall can only help St. Brown in that pursuit. The rookie sits outside the top 70 WRs in ADP across FFPC draft formats right now, making him a low-risk bet late in drafts.

The Titans claimed K Sam Ficken off waivers. He was dumped by the Jets on Friday but will now compete with K Tucker McCann for the starting job in Tennessee. Avoid the situation in fantasy drafts until a winner emerges.

The Chargers placed RB Justin Jackson on the reserve/COVID-19 list. When activated, he’ll compete with Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree to be a complimentary back alongside Austin Ekeler.

Update: Jackson returned to practice on July 29.

In assessing the Chargers' RB depth chart, Gilbert Manzano of the Southern California News Group writes: "[Justin] Jackson is probably the most talented running back on the team not named Ekeler, but he struggles to stay on the field because of injuries. If he's healthy during training camp, expect Jackson to win over the new coaching staff and earn the No. 2 job." Durability has certainly been a big issue for Jackson, who played in just 16 total games over the past 2 seasons. But we saw Joshua Kelley disappoint and lose playing time as his rookie season went on. Larry Rountree is the only player among the 3 to be drafted by the current regime, but he was just a 6th-round selection. This looks like an open competition for what's expected to be 2 roster spots. Jackson has played well when on the field and brings intriguing upside as an end-of-draft lottery ticket. This should be a particularly good situation in which to be the #2 back, with Ekeler seeming unlikely to get true workhorse-level rushing work.

New Lions DC Todd Wash says he'll work from a 3-4 base front, according to the Detroit Free Press. Wash adds that DEs Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara have moved to OLB. For practical purposes, that shouldn't mean much difference for their roles. Each will still primarily rush the passer in passing situations. The question will be whether league-hosting sites change the position eligibility for Flowers and/or Okwara. The Lions still list both guys at DE on the team website, so we wouldn't bet on a universal position switch. But keep an eye out for that possibility where you play. In most cases, switching from DE to LB will mean a dip in IDP value, even if a player posts identical stats. That's because most scoring systems produce bigger fantasy totals among LBs, thanks mostly to tackle scoring.

The Lions drafted RB Jermar Jefferson in Round 7. Jefferson broke out as a true freshman with 239 carries for 1,380 yards (5.8 YPC) and 12 TDs. He added 25 catches that year, although he totaled only 18 receptions over his final 2 seasons. Jefferson’s rushing production dropped in 2019, partly because of foot and ankle injuries. Last year he rebounded on the ground to post 133-858-7 (6.5 YPC) in 6 games. The tape shows a runner with plus vision, but there is some concern over his athletic profile. Jefferson posted a 7.38-second 3-cone (8th percentile), a 4.38-second short shuttle (28th percentile), a 31-inch vertical (10th percentile) and a 115-inch broad jump (25th percentile). In Detroit, he could be battling Kerryon Johnson for a 2021 roster spot. With D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams -- at least -- ahead of him, we wouldn't bother with Jefferson in dynasty rookie drafts.

Detroit picked WR Amon-Ra St. Brown in Round 4 of the 2021 NFL Draft. Equanimeous’ brother was the #2 WR in his recruiting class and became just the 4th true freshman to lead USC in catches when he hauled in 60 balls for 750 yards and 3 scores in 2018. St. Brown then posted a 77-1,042-6 line as a true sophomore, although that came on a strong Trojans passing attack. His market shares were mediocre: 21% of the catches, 24% of the yards and 17% of the TDs. St. Brown led USC with 41 catches and 7 TDs in an abbreviated 6-game 2020 season, but sophomore WR Drake Jordan beat him 502 to 478 in yards. St. Brown is a solid all-around receiver on tape, with good contested ability, decent route running and some juice after the catch. “Steady,” “dependable” and “average” were 3 words used by scouts to describe St. Brown’s game in Bob McGinn’s excellent article on The Athletic. Durability is also a question mark here after St. Brown suffered a hand injury as a high school senior, sprained the AC joint in his shoulder in 2018 and 2020 and needed sports hernia surgery after the 2019 campaign. He lands in an offense with a clear need at the position, though. Detroit's WR depth chart currently appears to be led by Tyrell Williams and Quintez Cephus. We'll see how quickly the rookie can climb it.

Titans HC Mike Vrabel thinks WR Josh Reynolds is capable of playing both "inside and outside." Reynolds played 74% of his snaps on the outside in each of the past 2 seasons with the Rams, but positional versatility can only help his cause in Tennessee. The Titans lost a whopping 192 targets from last year with the departures of Corey Davis, Adam Humphries and Jonnu Smith, so there's plenty of opportunity for Reynolds to carve out a big role in 2021.

The Titans have agreed to a 1-year deal with WR Josh Reynolds, according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com. The 26-year-old wideout posted career highs in targets (81), receptions (52) and receiving yards (618) with last year's Rams. His 11.9 yards per catch dipped vs. the previous 2 seasons, however. In Tennessee, Reynolds has a shot to replace Corey Davis opposite A.J. Brown, in a pass-catching corps that also shed Adam Humphries and TE Jonnu Smith this offseason. It's a nice landing spot for opportunity. We'll see what else the Titans add this spring.

WR Marvin Jones has agreed to a 2-year, $14.5 million deal with the Jaguars, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. (That includes $9.2 million guaranteed.) Jones reunites with OC Darrell Bevell, who ran the Detroit offense the past 2 years and now serves as Jacksonville's OC. Jones also joins a receiving corps led by D.J. Chark and 2nd-year WR Laviska Shenault. Those 3 figure to lead the depth chart, leaving little room for Keelan Cole, Chris Conley or Collin Johnson to find relevance. Jones played all 16 games last year for the 1st time in 3 seasons, catching a career-high 76 balls for 978 yards and 9 TDs. His arrival complicates the target outlook for Chark and Shenault.

The Chargers are retaining K Mike Badgley with a 1-year deal, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Badgley ranked 10th in the league in FG attempts but tied for just 17th in FGs converted. His 72.7% success rate marked a 2nd straight year of decline in that category. The new contract makes Badgley worth selecting in FFPC best-ball drafts, but don't consider him a sure bet to last the season.

The Jets have agreed to a 1-year, $7 million deal with LB Jarrad Davis, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That money makes him look like a favorite for a starting spot in the defense of new HC Robert Saleh. The Jets likely have plenty more potential changes coming this offseason, so we'll wait to project too much. C.J. Mosley should be back after opting out last season (and losing basically all of 2019 to a groin injury). Blake Cashman is the only other ILB currently under contract.

The Lions have agreed to a 3-year, $39 million deal with impending free agent DE Romeo Okwara, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Okwara posted career highs in sacks (10) and QB hits (18) last season and is headed into just his age-26 campaign.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is told that there will be an "open competition" this offseason between Rams QBs Jared Goff and John Wolford. Goff has been far too inconsistent from game to game in 4 seasons under Sean McVay -- but it'd frankly be a major surprise if he lost a battle to Wolford, a former undrafted free agent who didn't even complete 60% of his passes at Wake Forest. The takeaway here, though, is that Goff is on thin ice in Los Angeles. We'll see if the Rams add any additional competition this offseason.

The Lions are set to hire Anthony Lynn as OC, according to insider Michael Lombardi. Lynn struggled -- particularly with in-game management -- as Chargers HC over the past 4 seasons, but all 4 of those squads finished top 11 in total yards. In his only previous OC stint, Lynn led the 2016 Bills to a 16th-place finish in yards and 10th place in points. That team led the league in rushing yards, yards per carry and TDs -- with RB LeSean McCoy going for 1,267 yards and QB Tyrod Taylor for 580. Lynn is a former RBs coach, and especially with Detroit breaking in a new QB, we'd expect a run-leaning attack in 2021.

The Lions are finalizing a deal to make Dan Campbell their new HC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Campbell spent 10 seasons playing TE in the league and has been in the coaching ranks for the past 11. The first 6 of those came in Miami -- primarily as a TEs coach, with a 12-game stint as interim HC in 2015. Campbell has been assistant HC and TEs coach in New Orleans under Sean Payton for the last 5 years. It's a relatively uninspiring hire, but we'll see who Campbell brings aboard as OC.

Rams QB Jared Goff (thumb) was a full-go in Tuesday's practice, while QB John Wolford (stinger) was sidelined. HC Sean McVay wouldn't say who will start vs. the Packers on Saturday, but it's seemingly trending toward Goff. We'll continue to monitor the situation.

Rams QB Jared Goff (thumb) is active for today's game against the Seahawks. "No word yet on if he's starting or if he's the emergency QB," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted. We'll see whether Goff's actually starting this game or if it's John Wolford. You shouldn't be using him in fantasy either way.

Rams QB John Wolford "took the majority of snaps" in practice this week and is "prepared to start," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Jared Goff reportedly threw well this week despite his injured thumb and is "pushing to play." HC Sean McVay has yet to decide which guy will start, per Rapoport. We'll see about this situation on Saturday.

Rams QB Jared Goff (thumb) is listed as questionable for Saturday's Wild Card game vs. the Seahawks after a limited week of practice. HC Sean McVay has been non-committal on Goff's status, but The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue notes that Goff had "good velocity" on short- and medium-range passes on Thursday. Goff said afterward that he's "progressing well." It seems like he has a legitimate chance to start this weekend. We'll find out for sure around 3 pm ET on Saturday.

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