Detroit

Lions

St. Brown tied for second on the team in targets but still left fantasy managers scrambling for answers after investing a first-round pick in the talented wide receiver. Fellow wide receiver Jameson Williams stole the show on this night, erupting for 121 yards and a score through the air, something that isn’t overly likely to be the new norm in Detroit. Even so, the emergence of Williams as a viable threat in this offense could make a small dent in the weekly target expectations for St. Brown moving forward. Don’t get it twisted, you’re starting St. Brown with confidence.

LaPorta had a relatively quiet night by his lofty standards, ranking fourth on the team in targets and failing to find the end zone. Even so, LaPorta remains an integral part of an aggressive offense and should find better fantasy performances moving forward. Unfortunately for his fantasy managers, he was unable to corral his lone end zone target against the Rams, something that could have helped to inflate his numbers. Up next is a solid matchup through the air against the Buccaneers in Week 2.

Williams scored on a 52-yard bomb to send the Lions to a 17-3 lead early in the third quarter before the Rams came clawing back to retake the lead with under five minutes left to play. The nine targets led the team for the first time in Williams’ three-year career, indicating the arrival of another primary option for an aggressive and efficient offense. Williams is sure to return more boom weeks in the future, although it remains unlikely he leads the team in targets in many games this season. He gets a solid on-paper matchup against the Buccaneers in Week 2.

Gibbs scored the first touchdown of the game on the first play following the two-minute warning, sending the Lions into the half with a 10-3 lead. He would then see most of the backfield work in the third quarter before ceding the bulk of the usage to David Montgomery in overtime. Expect a relatively even split in backfield opportunities for the Lions moving forward, although Gibbs could have the upper hand for touches against the stout run defense of the Buccaneers in Week 2.

Montgomery started hot in this one, starting the game as the primary ball carrier before taking a backseat to Jahmyr Gibbs in the second half. Overtime was a different story as the team rode Montgomery’s fierce between-the-tackles running to the game-winning score on the first possession. The backfield split between Montgomery and Gibbs remained fairly even as the former saw 18 opportunities to the 17 of the latter. Expect a similar split moving forward, which largely places a cap on the weekly floor and ceiling of Gibbs in the process. That said, Gibbs could see more usage in Week 2 when the team hosts the Buccaneers’ stout run defense in Detroit.

In true Lions fashion, Goff attempted just 28 passes versus 31 team rush attempts in a game they largely controlled throughout after going up 17-3 early in the second quarter. Most notably, Goff’s leading pass-catcher was third-year wide receiver Jameson Williams, whom Goff fed nine targets and was the recipient of his lone touchdown toss. The offense remained concentrated amongst the backfield, Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Williams, but the addition of another primary contributor could make weekly fantasy production more sporadic for the Lions moving forward. A two-minute drill field goal tied the game for the Lions after the Rams came roaring back to life in the second half. The Lions then won the coin toss in overtime and drove the field to score the game-winning touchdown, never giving the ball back to the Rams. Up next for Goff and the Lions is a home date with the Buccaneers in Week 2, a matchup that could tilt more production to the aerial game.

Nothing to see here for one of the healthier teams to enter Week 1. The big headline from this game is the return of quarterback Matthew Stafford to Detroit.

Gibbs described his training camp hamstring injury as a “little tweak” and that he’s feels about 98-100%. This is great news for fantasy managers as the second-year player says he feels more confident heading into year two. While Gibbs will continue to share the backfield workload with David Montgomery, expect Gibbs to be more involved overall with the offense.

Peoples-Jones was released as part of final roster cuts Tuesday but resurfaces with the team on their practice squad a day later. It would take a lot for DPJ to find his way onto the active 53-man roster on game days without significant injuries in Detroit.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since Robinson amassed a whopping 102 receptions with the Bears in 2020. The veteran pass-catcher has bounced around the league during the subsequent three years, spending time with the Rams and Steelers after leaving Chicago following the 2021 season. He spent under four months with the Giants before being released Tuesday during final roster cuts.