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Detroit Lions Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Fantasy Football News 2023

Most Recent Fantasy Football News & Updates

The Jaguars signed K Michael Badgley. He's the only K on Jacksonville's roster. So, by default, Badgley looks like the team's Week 1 starter.

The Lions have moved WR Jameson Williams (knee) to the Reserve Non-Football-Injury list. That knocks the rookie out for at least the first 4 games of the season -- but it'll likely be longer than that before he makes his NFL debut. "The hope is he’ll be ready to play around midseason," NFL Network's Tom Pelissero tweeted. We currently project Williams to play 11 games this season.

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 signed RB Justin Jackson. The 26-year-old has flashed over 4 NFL seasons, averaging 5.0 yards per carry and 7.8 yards per catch. But he's reached double-digit carries only 6 times and had trouble staying healthy. It's also notable that Jackson had to wait until August 1 to land a job. We'll see if he can push Jamaal Williams for Detroit's #2 RB job. Jackson's arrival shouldn't impact RB D'Andre Swift's role.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

The Lions selected EDGE Josh Paschal in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. Paschal delivered career highs in tackles (52), tackles for loss (15) and sacks (5) as a senior. Paschal brings decent speed and athleticism but profiles as more of a run defender than threatening pass rusher. He, of course, follows Aidan Hutchinson to a Detroit team that also returns DEs Charles Harris and Romeo Okwara. Paschal might be hard-pressed for early playing time and might top out as a rotational player.

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.)

The Lions signed WR Josh Reynolds to a 2-year deal with a "max value of $12 million," according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Reynolds joined Detroit last November after getting dumped by the Titans. He played 63+% of the offensive snaps in all 7 of his games with the Lions but averaged just 5.1 targets, 2.7 catches and 43.7 yards per game. We'll see what else Detroit does to address the WR room this offseason, but Reynolds isn't a great bet to be a real fantasy asset in 2022.

Chris Burke of The Athletic writes that the Lions “are not cutting Jared Goff … [and] they’re probably not trading him either.” Goff is set to count ~$31 million against Detroit’s ’22 cap, and moving on just doesn’t make sound financial sense for them or a potential suitor. GM Brad Holmes said the following after the regular season (per The Athletic): “Jared, I can’t say enough about his resiliency — and I’ve been talking about it at length. You guys [the media] have heard me talk about it all of the time about just the mental toughness and the physical toughness and his resiliency. That’s why he fit from the very get-go.” Ultimately, Goff is just a QB3 in early best ball drafts.

Lions beat writer Kyle Meinke wonders if QB Jared Goff's late-season play was enough to earn him the long-term starting job. “Goff was acquired to help stabilize the offense until Detroit could draft a long-term solution," Menike writes. “But [Goff] was so good down the stretch that he might have played himself into the conversation for that role.” The former Ram improved down the stretch when HC Dan Campbell took over play-calling duties. But the real dilemma here is a lack of top-tier QBs in the 2022 draft. While Detroit holds the 2nd overall pick, expect them to address a need elsewhere.

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