Things are slow this time of year but we do have a look at the Lions 2024 schedule, plus news and notes as the Lions have been working through their offseason program.

QB: Well it took a little longer than some thought but QB Jared Goff did get his contract extension, boosting him to $53 million per year. With that potential distraction out of the way we can expect Goff to be a steady fantasy performer again in 2024. It’s early but it seems Goff’s fantasy ranking will be as a low end 1 or a strong 2. QB Hendon Hooker is trying to earn the backup job and based on reports from OTAs and minicamp he is making progress but still has things to work on. It’s worth remembering that Hooker didn’t run a pro style offense in college, and with very limited practice time last year, he has a long way to go. If Goff went down would the Lions feel confident that Hooker could keep things running smoothly on offense? I’m not sure, but QB Nate Sudfeld is the only other quarterback on the roster. Ryan Tannehill is probably the best available free agent quarterback. Goff likely won’t play at all in the preseason so Hooker will get a lot of game reps in August to show what he’s got. So far he’s been up and down.

RB: The Lions clearly hope RB Jahmyr Gibbs can contribute more in the passing game in 2024, and I think he will. There is room for him to grow there compared to what he did last year and that assumed boost in this receiving numbers seems to be baked into his sky high fantasy rankings. I wouldn’t want to forget about RB David Montgomery though. As for the rookie from Utah, RB Sione Vaki, if he plays a role on offense, could it be as a pass catching back? He showed good hands at Utah and has some receiver background from high school. But it’s hard to see where he would take too many touches away from Gibbs. We’ll watch Vaki in the preseason to see if he can carve out a role on offense. Gibbs was battling some sort of injury during minicamp but there is nothing to indicate that it’s serious.

WR/TE: Brad Holmes made some interesting comments in an interview on the local sports talk radio station recently where he didn’t seem concerned at all about the depth at receiver. I know I’m concerned, but it seems Holmes feels good about guys like WR Donovan Peoples-Jones and WR Antoine Green as depth. If you want to dig deeper, watch WR Daurice Fountain in the preseason. He has been around the league for a while but doesn’t have much game experience. He could steal a roster spot, as could an undrafted rookie like WR Isaiah Williams. Clearly you have WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and WR Jameson Williams as the top two. St. Brown is probably a first rounder in most fantasy leagues. Jameson Williams is an x factor with the upside to make him worth a late round fantasy pick. I’ll take a closer look at him in next month’s report. WR Kalif Raymond figures to be the number 3 receiver but will only have fantasy value in super deep leagues. TE Sam LaPorta could be the top tight end in many fantasy drafts given that Travis Kelce will be 35 and showed signs of slowing in 2023.

K/DST: The Lions did not draft a kicker so it didn’t look like PK Michael Badgley would need to worry about his job. But not so fast my friend. Undrafted rookie PK James Turner from Michigan has been very impressive according to reports from the practice field, and we have late breaking news that the Lions are indeed going to sign PK Jake Bates, who had a very impressive season for the Michigan Panthers in the UFL. This was something I had speculated could happen, so maybe there will be a battle after all. It might be unusual to bring three kickers to training camp, but last year they kept a kicker on the practice squad all year, so it could be three kickers battling for two jobs. Remember the Lions go for it on fourth down a lot, so a Lions kicker, whoever it may be, isn’t necessarily a great fantasy option. The Lions defense should improve this season but they will need to sort out the new look secondary.

2024 Schedule:

Week 1 Sept. 8 vs LA Rams 8:20

Week 2 Sept. 15 vs. Tampa Bay 1:00

Week 3 Sept. 22 at Arizona 4:25

Week 4 (MON) Sept. 30 vs. Seattle 8:15

Week 5 Oct. 8 BYE

Week 6 Oct. 13 at Dallas 4:25

Week 7 Oct. 20 at Minnesota 1:00

Week 8 Oct. 27 vs. Tennessee 1:00

Week 9 Nov. 3 at Green Bay 4:25

Week 10 Nov. 10 at Houston 8:20

Week 11 Nov. 17 vs. Jacksonville 1:00

Week 12 Nov. 24 at Indianapolis 1:00

Week 13 (THU) Nov. 28 vs. Chicago 12:30

Week 14 (THU) Dec. 5 vs. Green Bay 8:15

Week 15 Dec. 15 vs. Buffalo 4:25

Week 16 Dec. 22 at Chicago 1:00

Week 17 (MON) Dec. 30 at San Francisco 8:15

Week 18 Jan 4/5 vs. Minnesota TBD

Schedule thoughts: As usual, back loaded with division games – 4 in the last 6 weeks. At least six national TV games – five in prime time plus Thanksgiving Day, pending additional flexing. Also, three games that are projected as the main game in the Sunday late afternoon doubleheader window. The Lions are expected to be a contender again this year and their schedule reflects that. These aren’t the days where Lions players could stay under the radar in some fantasy leagues with all of their games at 1:00. You have to search pretty hard to find potential bad weather games with only three outdoor games on the entire schedule. That figures to benefit Goff and the offense.

I will be back next month with a training camp preview.

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