Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown did Amon-Ra St. Brown things in Thursday night's upset win over the Chiefs. He led Detroit with nine targets and six catches, racking up 71 yards and a TD. St. Brown drew 25.7% of the targets, which is actually slightly below his target share in healthy games last year. Perhaps TE Sam LaPorta's emergence keeps St. Brown from broaching a 30% target share this season, but he's still clearly the top dog in this passing game -- and a WR1 in fantasy lineups.
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs worked clearly behind RB David Montgomery in Thursday night's opener vs. the Chiefs. The rookie tallied seven carries and two targets to Montgomery's 21 carries. That's the bad news. The good news? Gibbs looked like the most explosive player in the game, ripping off a 17-yard run and an 18-yard catch. “You can almost hear the acceleration,” NBC's Chris Collinsworth said. Montgomery's reliability is certainly valued by the Lions coaching staff, but we fully expect Gibbs' role to grow from here. Consider him a lower-end RB2 in the short term. But Gibbs could still be a difference-maker later this season. Consider sending a trade offer to the Gibbs owner in your league if he or she is disappointed by this first game.
Lions RB David Montgomery started Thursday night's opener vs. the Chiefs and operated as the lead back throughout. He played 79% of the offensive snaps and out-carried RB Jahmyr Gibbs 21 to 7, totaling 74 yards and a score. Montgomery wasn't targeted but led the backfield with a 56% route rate. There's no doubt that Gibbs is the more explosive back, but Montgomery's no-nonsense running style is clearly valued by HC Dan Campbell and the Lions. Expect Gibbs' role to grow over the course of the season. But, for now, Montgomery looks like a rock-solid RB2. He gets plus matchups the next two weeks at home for the Seahawks and Falcons.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is not listed on the Week 1 injury report. He suffered a minor ankle injury in mid-August but returned to practice over the weekend and is good to go for Thursday night's opener vs. the Chiefs.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) returned to practice over the weekend. He injured his ankle on August 16 but never seemed in danger of missing the season opener vs. the Chiefs. We'll monitor St. Brown's status on the official practice reports this week, but he can be penciled into Week 1 fantasy lineups for now.
The Jets are releasing RB Zonovan "Bam" Knight, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Rapoport adds that Knight "received some interest on the trade front," which could mean he'll catch on quickly elsewhere. We'll see whether Knight will be worth keeping track of heading into the season. His departure from New York should solidify RB Michael Carter's roster status.
Less than one week after signing him, the Titans have released K Michael Badgley. We'll keep an eye on Tennessee's next move at kicker.
The Titans signed K Michael Badgley. Kickers Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff were released in a corresponding move. Badgley, who's made 81.7% of his career FG attempts, isn’t a late-round target.
The Commanders are releasing K Michael Badgley. That means Joey Slye is retaining the job. He spent all of last season in that role for Washington after arriving late in 2021. Slye went 25-of-30 on FGs and 24-of-28 on extra points. Adjust your kicker rankings.
Lions HC Dan Campbell expects WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) back sometime next week. He suffered a minor ankle injury in Wednesday's practice. It doesn't sound like St. Brown is in any danger of missing the start of the season, so we're not adjusting his spot in the 2023 fantasy football rankings. We'll let you know when St. Brown gets back on the field.
Lions HC Dan Campbell said there's "a good chance" WR Jameson Williams (hamstring) will miss the final two preseason games. Detroit was obviously looking to get Williams reps this summer after a lost rookie season. He played 51 snaps in the preseason opener. Now it sounds like we won't see Williams again until after he serves his six-game suspension to open the season. It'll be at least a week or two beyond that before Williams will be a bankable fantasy play. He's only worth drafting in best-ball leagues or redraft leagues with deep benches.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown could be seen "trying to work out his injury" at Wednesday morning practice, according to Pride of Detroit. St. Brown had his right ankle taped, so there's likely a mild sprain. That he was still on the field at all indicates it's nothing we should worry about for our fantasy football drafts. St. Brown remains high in our 2023 fantasy football rankings.
Lions WR Jameson Williams exited practice on Wednesday with an apparent right hamstring injury. Williams walked to the locker room with team trainers, and we’ll pass along an update when we learn more.
The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt says Jets RB Zonovan Knight has "had a really good camp -- he's quite clearly been their best RB." That's, of course, with Breece Hall not yet practicing. But it's noteworthy that Knight earns such praise over Michael Carter and rookie Israel Abanikanda. We're not betting on another Jets RB being starter-worthy in fantasy whenever Hall is active. But Hall's still-progressing recovery from the 2022 ACL tear enhances the available opportunity for the rest of the backfield. Knight has been going basically undrafted by best ball ADP this offseason and sits well down our RB rankings. We'll see whether a big adjustment needs to happen.
The Lions are signing QB Teddy Bridgewater, according to multiple reports. Bridgewater figures to back up Jared Goff. The timing of his addition could signal that Detroit wanted to see if rookie QB Hendon Hooker or journeyman Nate Sudfeld could fill that role. Bridgewater would likely be Goff with a lower floor and ceiling if pressed into duty. He went 49 of 79 passing with the Dolphins last year, averaging a career-high 8.6 yards per pass attempt. But Bridgewater sports just a 3.6% TD rate and 7.3 yards per attempt for his career. He'll turn 31 in November.
Tim Twentyman of the team website lists Lions rookie DB Brian Branch as a player who has "stood out" early in training camp. Branch, a second-round pick, has been working in with the first team. He saw time in CB and safety roles at Alabama before dropping to Round 2 after running slow at the Scouting Combine. Detroit presents opportunity for Branch to earn a regular-season role in either position group. We'll keep watching for more specifics on what role he might fill. We've gone ahead and added him to the IDP rankings, though.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta left practice Monday with a "minor" ankle injury, according to Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. LaPorta is reportedly expected to "test" that ankle at Wednesday morning's practice. We'll see how that test goes, but the quick return leaves us not overly worried about the situation. The rookie isn't moving in our TE rankings.
Lions WR Jameson Williams got back on the practice field on Sunday after going down with a leg injury on Monday. It was a "jog through" practice, per HC Dan Campbell, so Williams might not be full speed quite yet. We'll see if the second-year WR can string together a few healthy weeks leading up to the start of the regular season. He's suspended for the first six games for violating the league's gambling policy.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta has already emerged as a "favorite target" of QB Jared Goff, The Athletic's Colton Pouncy writes. "I’m trying my best not to write about LaPorta every day, but it’s hard not to when he looks as dialed in as he has," Pouncy adds. "Not a day goes by when LaPorta doesn’t make a standout play. ... It feels like Goff targets No. 87 on just about every series, and LaPorta continues to be heavily involved with the first-team offense." It sounds like LaPorta has pretty much already locked up the starting job. He has a chance to be the rare rookie TE to make a real fantasy impact. We just moved him up the TE Rankings.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has had a strong start to training camp and cited his still-growing rapport with QB Jared Goff. “I feel like we have a pretty good connection already,” St. Brown said Tuesday. “I know what [Goff] likes. He knows the way I like to run my routes. I’m starting to see what he sees, he’s telling me what he’s seeing, what he’s expecting, so we’re on the same page, for the most part. So if we can just keep that up, I feel like the sky is the limit for us.” St. Brown followed a hot finish to his 2021 rookie campaign with a PPR WR7 finish last year. He's a key player in our 2023 fantasy football draft guide.
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