Detroit Lions Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Lions GM Brad Holmes says WR Jameson Williams will miss Week 1, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. He declined to give a public timetable beyond that, though. "We're going to be very smart with him," Holmes added. We don't know yet whether Williams will start the regular season on the PUP list, but Detroit has clearly indicated they'll be patient in activating him.

Lions QB Jared Goff spoke glowingly on 2nd-year WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. "I'm looking for him when things break down, and I'm looking for him when we need a play," Goff said. "Right now, he's that guy. He can take a sweep to the house. At the same time, he understands defense and coverage, and it's so rare for a young player to have that ability. He keeps asking the right questions and understanding what's going on over there. He's going [up]." St. Brown’s ADP has dropped since early in draft season. As the WR32 in FFPC Main Event drafting, he’s now coming at a reasonable price.

Bears RB David Montgomery has been taking reps with the special teams in training camp. “Wherever they need me, I’m going to be ready to be there,” he said. “I’ve never played special teams before. But I’m always down and excited to learn so I can be better.” Per The Athletic, "Montgomery said it was as simple as seeing his name on the depth chart and going to the special teams drills." We're not sure what to make of this. It could be the Bears just toying around with different options early in training camp. Or it could mean that Montgomery's role on offense will be scaled back this season. We'll see if we learn anything on that front in preseason action. RB Khalil Herbert notably beat Montgomery in both Pro Football Focus rushing grade and Elusive Rating last year.

The Lions have declined to give a public timeline for WR Jameson Williams' return to the field, but it doesn't seem like it's coming soon. According to Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic: "That rehab schedule might stretch on for a while. Not just through training camp but, perhaps, into a chunk of the season." Williams looks like a strong candidate to open the regular season on the PUP list. Consider him no more than a late-round flyer for 2022 redraft leagues.

Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones is "already a favorite" of QB Deshaun Watson, insider Albert Breer wrote after attending training camp. That follows last week's report that the front office and coaching staff are "big believers" in DPJ. The 3rd-year wideout appears to be in the driver's seat for a starting job and could deliver nice fantasy value at least when Watson is eligible to play.

Lions WR Jameson Williams (knee) has been placed on the non-football injury list. He gets that designation, rather than PUP, because his injury happened before he was drafted. Recovering from a January ACL tear, Williams isn't expected to be ready for Week 1 and probably won't be a real factor before the 2nd half of the season.

The Lions re-signed LB Alex Anzalone this offseason and opened spring workouts with him and 2nd-year LB Derrick Barnes as starters. LBs coach Kelvin Sheppard says no one's job is "safe," though. "[Anzalone] has the most time-on-task in my room, but that doesn't designate him the starter," Sheppard tells PrideofDetroit.com. "The things we did last year are not acceptable ... so don't tell me about what a guy did last year." Detroit also added Chris Board and 6th-round rookie Malcolm Rodriguez, brought back former Lion (and 1-year Jet) Jarrad Davis, and got Shaun Dion Hamilton back from a full year spent on IR. In the same interview, Sheppard had praise for Barnes ("The sky's the limit for him."), Board ("He has a unique skill set."), Anthony Pittman ("putting on a clinic so far") and Rodriguez ("It's arrows up on him."). Sheppard added that Rodriguez has already showed the potential to call the defensive plays, which would mean wearing the green dot and likely staying on the field 3 downs. The whole situation will need to play out in camp and preseason, and we're not ready to invest in any of them. Barnes and Rodriguez look most intriguing as dynasty stashes and late-round dart throws in IDP fantasy football leagues.

Per Browns insider Scott Petrak, “the front office and coaching staff are big believers” in WR Donovan Peoples-Jones. Petrak writes that DJP will get “every chance” to start alongside Amari Cooper. The 3rd-year man was always a likely starter, but it’s nice to get confirmation ahead of training camp. DPJ’s fantasy value remains tied to the suspension status of Deshaun Watson.

Per Lions beat writer Kyle Meinke, “the table is set for [Jared] Goff to improve dramatically this season.” As Meinke points out, Goff improved down the stretch last year when OC Ben Johnson took over the offense. This unit is suddenly deep at pass catcher, too, although the health of Jameson Williams (ACL) will be key. Goff might enter the spot-start radar for fantasy, but a lack of rushing upside makes him a clear QB2 for season-long projecting.

Saints DE Marcus Davenport is enduring "a particularly rough offseason health-wise," according to Katherine Terrell of The Athletic. The 5th-year edge player has had 2 surgeries for his injured right shoulder and 3 on his left pinky. The finger injury dates back to college, with the most recent setback being an infection developing after he broke a plate previously inserted into the finger. Davenport says the digit is down to a "nub." The combo of operations have kept Davenport out of workouts this offseason, and it's not yet clear whether he'll start training camp on time. "Training camp would be the goal," HC Dennis Allen said recently. "We've just got to wait and see where he's at." Davenport is in the final year of his rookie contract and coming off a career-high 9 sacks in just 11 games. If he can get all the way back far enough ahead of Week 1, there's plenty of upside. But Davenport also has yet to play more than 13 games in a season. So we'll be tempering expectations.

Lions HC Dan Campbell doesn't expect 1st-round WR Jameson Williams to be on the field for the start of camp. "I don't see him being ready for training camp," Campbell told reporters this week. "We'll see then. I'm very hopeful, but I don't see it. We're going to do this thing the right way, and when he's ready, he'll be ready. I don't feel like you're going to see him out there Day 1." That makes sense and falls in line with recent word that Williams is no lock to begin the regular season on time. "He needs a lot of strength development in that body, his lower extremities, his legs, his knees, his everything," Campbell added. The Lions have reason to be cautious with Williams this season, and cautious definitely seems like the ideal way to approach to the rookie's fantasy outlook.

Lions OC Ben Johnson admits that it'll be a "challenge" to get WR Jameson Williams ready for the start of the season. The 1st-round rookie continues to rehab his January ACL tear and isn't participating in OTAs. "That’s a real struggle for us is to get him back, to get him healthy, and then (get him) as many reps as possible with the quarterbacks so that we know exactly where he’s going to be, we can anticipate the throw," Johnson said. Williams seems like a long shot to be active come Week 1 and might even open the season on the PUP list, which would cost him the first 6 games. Fantasy owners shouldn't be expecting him to contribute early, although he could be an asset over the 2nd half of the season.

Browns beat writer Zac Jackson believes “the chances are high” that the team adds a veteran WR. No available player would impact Amari Cooper’s role. But we could see competition for the young guys behind him: Donovan Peoples-Jones, David Bell and Anthony Schwartz. Will Fuller, Julio Jones and T.Y. Hilton are some of the big-name WRs still available. Odell Beckham (ACL) is worth a mention, too, but Jackson doesn’t believe a reunion is likely.

Speaking at rookie minicamp, Lions WR Jameson Williams said he doesn’t have an update on when he’ll resume running routes. Williams tore his ACL on January 10 — 8 months prior to Week 1. “We’re taking it slow,” Williams said. “I’ve been out here getting some good rehab with the trainers two times a day. So everything’s been going good so far.” HC Dan Campbell passed on putting any sort of timetable on Williams’ return to the field, but it’s safe to call the ‘Bama stud questionable for Week 1. We’ll update his status throughout the summer.

Browns insider Tony Grossi believes “opportunity [is] knocking” for 3rd-year WR Donovan Peoples-Jones. Grossi notes that Will Fuller — connected to Cleveland long before today — could be an option down the road. But Peoples-Jones’ stock at least looks stable in the short-term, assuming free agent Jarvis Landry plays elsewhere. The Browns selected 2 WRs in the draft — David Bell in Round 3 and Michael Woods in Round 6 — but DPJ will enter camp as the favorite to start with Amari Cooper. The real key here is just how many games Deshaun Watson will miss due to suspension.

The Lions traded up 20 spots to select Alabama WR Jameson Williams with the 12th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. Detroit sent the 32nd, 34th, and 66th picks to Minnesota to make the big move. A torn left ACL suffered in January’s National Championship prevented Williams from working out in the pre-draft process. But the tape is clear: Williams has unnatural speed. He blows by defenders in his routes and destroys angles after the catch. He averaged a huge 19.9 yards per catch at Alabama last year, including 9.3 yards after the catch, and scored 4 TDs of 70+ yards. Williams led the Tide and ranked top 5 in the nation with 1,572 yards and 15 TDs. He also averaged 35.2 yards per kick return with 2 TDs, earning SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Year honors. That, curiously, followed 2 mostly invisible seasons at Ohio State, where Williams totaled just 15 catches. It’s worth factoring into his NFL projection – but it’s tough to look at his 2021 production and tape and not come away excited. We’ll, of course, need to keep an eye on that left knee. Williams underwent surgery on January 13. University of Alabama team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain, who did the procedure, said in March that he expects Williams to be ready by training camp. When healthy, he’ll join D.J. Chark and Amon-Ra St. Brown as Detroit’s top 3 WRs.

EDGE Aidan Hutchinson landed with the Lions in the 2022 NFL Draft. Hutchinson topped 60 tackles in each of his 2 full seasons starting at Michigan (among 4 total). He finished with a school-record 14 sacks in his final season. But Hutchinson’s career 0.76 tackles for loss per game ranks just 16th in this edge class. He’s an above-average athlete and hard worker but doesn’t profile as quite a top-shelf pass rusher.

The Lions are re-signing WR/KR Kalif Raymond, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Raymond caught a career-high 48 balls in 2021, his 1st year with Detroit. We wouldn't bet on a repeat, though, with T.J. Hockenson and D'Andre Swift returning from injuries, Amon-Ra St. Brown having broken out late in the year and D.J. Chark arriving in free agency. (Plus, we'll see what the team does in the NFL Draft.)

CB Carlton Davis and the Buccaneers have agreed to a 3-year $45 million deal, according to multiple reports. Davis has played in 51 of a possible 65 games in 4 years since arriving as a 2nd-round pick, starting all but 1 of those contests. He has topped 1 INT just once among his 4 seasons but averaged 1.3 passes defensed per game over the past 3 years. Davis has also been a solid tackle collector for the position. He should be drafted in most CB-required leagues and is even worth a look in plenty of formats with generic DB slots.

QB Teddy Bridgewater will be signing a 1-year deal with the Dolphins, according to multiple reports. He's expected to serve as QB Tua Tagovailoa's backup.