Lions QB Jared Goff looked like the same old limited passer in Sunday's loss to the Eagles, but that didn't stop WR Amon-Ra St. Brown from helping fantasy football players. The 2nd-year wideout posted an 8-64-1 receiving line on a team-high 12 targets, accounting for 32.4% of Goff's total attempts. WR D.J. Shark followed, producing a 4-52-1 line on 8 targets (21.6%). TE T.J. Hockenson (7, 18.9%) was the only other Lions to see more than 3 looks. He caught 4 of those for 38 yards. It was a fine opener on the usage front for all 3 players, each of whom ran a route on more than 75% of Goff dropbacks. The initial results look especially encouraging for St. Brown, if you spent an early-ish pick on him. Week 2 brings a fine home matchup with Washington.
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.
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.
Lions QB Jared Goff (knee) is active for today’s game vs. the Packers. That’s good news for WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and RB D’Andre Swift.
Lions QB Jared Goff (knee) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Seahawks. QB Tim Boyle will make his 3rd start of the season. He was decent enough last week to trust WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and RB D’Andre Swift in Week 17 fantasy lineups.
Lions HC Dan Campbell called QB Jared Goff (knee) "doubtful" to play vs. the Seahawks on Sunday. That figures to mean another start for QB Tim Boyle, who was at least good enough to feed WR Amon-Ra St. Brown 9 catches on 11 targets for 91 yards and a score last week. St. Brown remains a solid Week 17 fantasy play.
Lions WR Kalif Raymond has joined WR Josh Reynolds on the COVID list. If they're not able to get cleared for Sunday's game vs. the Seahawks, Detroit will be down to WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown, Khadarel Hodge, Trinity Benson and Tom Kennedy. St. Brown should continue to rack up targets, and RB D'Andre Swift should step back into a big role in the passing game.
ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms that Lions QB Tim Boyle is expected to start vs. the Falcons today. QB Jared Goff remains on the COVID list. Boyle threw for a whopping 77 yards on 3.35 yards per attempt back in Week 11 -- although, in his defense, that game was played in crappy weather. Still, Boyle is a significant downgrade for Detroit's offense today.
Lions TE T.J. Hockenson will miss the final 4 games of the season after undergoing thumb surgery on Thursday morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Hockenson is expected to make a "complete recovery in time for the offseason program," Schefter adds. His absence leaves behind a team-high 7.0 targets per game. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, who's tallied 12 targets in 2 straight, looks like the biggest beneficiary.
The Lions are placing WR Tyrell Williams on IR for the concussion that kept him out of Monday night's game in Green Bay. That means the veteran receiver will miss at least 3 more contests. Quintez Cephus led Detroit wideouts in targets and worked well ahead of the rest of the group in playing time against the Packers. On top of that, he looks like the best player among them to date. Kalif Raymond and rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown checked in close to each other as the 2nd and 3rd WRs in Green Bay, claiming 63% and 60% of the offensive snaps, respectively.
Lions WR Tyrell Williams (concussion) has yet to practice this week and is unlikely to play vs. the Packers on Monday night. That’ll leave Detroit with some combination of WRs Kalif Raymond, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Quintez Cephus and Trinity Benson. Avoid.
The Lions held QB Jared Goff and many other starters out of Friday night's preseason finale. Fourth-round rookie WR Amon-Ra St. Brown played, however, and continued to see just limited action. He spent just 7 snaps on the field, while the game's starters played 26. According to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, St. Brown "hasn't played a single snap" in 2 WR sets through 3 preseason contests. There's certainly room for his role to grow through the season, but the rookie doesn't look like a player you should bother with in redraft fantasy football leagues.
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.
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