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I received my first invite of the year to join a fantasy football league and thought it is not too early to analyze the landscape a bit, especially now that the NFL Draft is complete. 

If you built your fantasy football team last season of only Detroit Lions players, there’s a good chance you would have won your league championship. 

Jared Goff passed for 4,629 yards and 37 touchdowns last season, with only 12 interceptions. He did take 31 sacks, which lose you a point per sack in some leagues, but overall, Goff was an above average starter. His outlook this coming season is considerably uneven. He has a new offensive coordinator, and there is no telling how quickly the passing offense will gel. Goff offers little value as a rusher. The Lions added a tall and talented wide receiver in the draft, which could add more passing touchdown opportunities in the red zone. The team also upgraded at guard. 

My projection on Goff is a slow start while the offense adjusts to a new coordinator and adding two rookies to the starting lineup, but the Lions have too much talent to fail. For the 2025 season, Goff will have 4,500 yards passing, 40 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and take 25 sacks. He’s a quarterback who can win you a championship if you draft starting wide receivers and running backs in the first three rounds, and land Goff in the fourth round or later. 

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs should be a coveted first round pick in all fantasy football leagues. You won’t be disappointed if drafting him first overall. Gibbs’ combination of rushing and receiving stats makes him a league-winning player. Last season Gibbs rushed for 1,412 yards and 16 touchdowns. If that were all he contributed to your team, you were a very happy customer. Gibbs also had 52 receptions for 517 yards and four touchdowns. If you’re doing the math, that’s a 2,000-yard season with 20 touchdowns. 

Next season, look for Gibbs’ role to continue to expand. David Montgomery will get carries and take red zone touches. He ran for 775 yards and scored 12 rushing touchdowns, but Gibbs is going to get the lion’s share of touches on offense. My guess is that Detroit’s new offensive coordinator may add his own unique wrinkles to the offense, but that this year’s output will closely mirror last year’s effort. Draft Gibbs early, especially if your league rewards long yardage plays. 

My projection for Gibbs is 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns rushing, with 60 receptions for 600 yards and five touchdowns receiving. Expect the team to rely on Gibbs more as the offense finds its footing early in the season. The shared touches with Montgomery will keep Gibbs fresh for your playoff run. 

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is a two-time and back-to-back NFL All-Pro. Last season he caught 115 passes for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is Goff’s go-to receiver. If you lose out on Gibbs in the first round of your draft, see what St. Brown can do for you. 

Complicating St. Brown’s production in 2025 will be the continued emergence of Jameson Williams, the addition of Isaac TeSlaa and the potential for a slow start in the passing game as the offense adjusts to a new coordinator. St. Brown is an elite receiver, however. He will get his. I expect WR1 numbers, but not as prolific as last season. I project 101 receptions for 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns. 

Williams’ fifth year option was picked up by the Lions. Despite some self-harm to his career, Williams is still a strong number two receiver, in fantasy and on the field. He is a threat to catch a long touchdown at any time. Last season, Williams caught 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns. While he will have competition for touches, especially by TeSlaa, Williams will improve on last year’s performance. 

A glaring stat from 2024 was that Williams was targeted 91 times, catching 63.7 percent of those targets. The league average catch rate is 77 percent. With his eye on securing a massive contract, look for Williams to ball out to the best of his ability. My projection is 70 receptions for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns. There is also a good chance Williams takes an end around for a long touchdown. 

TeSlaa is a rookie, but he is a 6’4” and 214 lb red zone threat. Defenses can’t cover everybody, and TeSlaa could benefit when teams cover more established targets, like St. Brown, Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta. Last season, the Lions’ leading third wide receiver was targeted 44 times and caught 33 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns. Drafted as much for his blocking as his receiving, TeSlaa should be on the field more than a typical third wide receiver. My projection for TeSlaa is 40 receptions for 600 yards and 10 touchdowns. 

LaPorta saw his targets take a sharp decline from 2023 (120) to 2024 (83). As a result, his receptions also dropped significantly, from 86 to 60, as did yards and touchdowns. For a tight end, LaPorta was still a solid start in 2024. His 60 receptions last season provided 726 yards and seven touchdowns. With other targets raising their production, it makes sense that there is a decline elsewhere. Past performance indicates LaPorta is the odd man out. My projection for LaPorta is 50 catches for 500 yards and five touchdowns. He is a solid mid- to late-round pick. 

The Lions defense allowed only 20.1 points per game last season, which is great considering injuries. That performance could be tough to repeat with a new coordinator calling the plays. Last year’s sacks total left a lot of room for improvement. The Lions’ defense ranked 23rd in the league with 37 sacks. The team has addressed the pass rush this offseason and Aidan Hutchinson will return healthy, so it is fair to expect a greater emphasis on rushing the passer will lead to an increase in the number of sacks by the Lions defense. 

The Lions totaled 16 interceptions last season, fifth in the NFL. Safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, who combined for 13 interceptions, are back. That level of turnover production will be hard to repeat, but this may be the best safety combo in the league. I’m not counting them out. 

The Lions had one punt return touchdown last season, by Kalif Raymond, who averaged 13.8 yards, eighth in the NFL, on 30 attempts. With Kalif back, there’s a good chance he takes one to the house. The team did not return any kickoffs for a touchdown. 

Overall, the Lions defense/special teams is one of the few worth drafting. 

Kicker Jake Bates connected on 26 of 29 field goals and 64 of 67 extra points last season, fine numbers for a kicker. He plays in a dome most games and kicks for a high-powered offense. He is one of the few kickers worth a draft pick in fantasy football. 

Much like last season, targeting Lions players in your fantasy football draft this year is a smart play. 

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