With training camp about to get underway, we will look at some of the training camp battles, questions, early fantasy rankings, and interesting numbers to look at over the next few weeks.

QB: I would be shocked if QB Jared Goff played in the preseason. He got his contract extension and the Lions know what he can do in this offense. He didn’t play in the preseason last year. The Lions have joint practices with the Giants so he’ll get plenty of work there. Goff is a safe bet to produce like he did last year because the wizard behind this offense, OC Ben Johnson, stayed despite being a hot head coach candidate. I am just getting started checking some rankings from various websites, and I even saw some magazines on the shelf on my last visit to the grocery store. Anyway, depending on how you do your tiers, Goff isn’t in the top 2 tiers. His ranking seems to be around 13 to 15, give or take a couple spots in either direction. I can’t argue. Like I said, his passing numbers should remain solid barring injuries to the offensive line or receivers. But he gives you nothing on the ground, so the dual threat guys of course have more upside.

RB: Wow, in looking at some early fantasy rankings, people are very high on RB Jahmyr Gibbs. You’ll probably have to use your 1st round pick if you want to make sure you get him. He could slide into round 2, but either way, being drafted that high makes it almost impossible to outperform your draft position, but Gibbs should be able to meet those high expectations. We’ll monitor training camp news to see if he is making strides as a receiver, because that was one area that he could clearly improve from last year. And look, RB David Montgomery isn’t going anywhere, so Gibbs might have some down weeks here and there if Montgomery has the hot hand, or if Montgomery still gets the majority of the goal line carries. This offense showed last year it can support both backs and I think Montgomery remains a viable option. He had over 1000 yards with 13 TDs last year. He won’t catch many passes so you can have lower expectations in PPR leagues, but I still think he should be ranked in the low 20s.

WR/TE: Let’s start at tight end because that’s an easy one. TE Sam LaPorta is challenging Travis Kelce on most draft boards as the top fantasy tight end. It feels like a tossup. I might lean toward LaPorta but I could be biased. At receiver the consensus top 3 are Tyreek Hill, CeeDee Lamb and Ja’Marr Chase. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is in the next tier right behind that trio, with Justin Jefferson sliding just a bit this year without Kirk Cousins. St. Brown is solid as a rock, tough as nails, and matchup proof. I don’t have Netflix so I haven’t seen their Receiver show where St. Brown is featured but I heard they went into detail about one of the injuries he played through last year. He’ll probably be drafted right in the same range as Gibbs, either late 1st or early 2nd depending on league size or rules. Can WR Jameson Williams be a breakout player in 2024? His ranking seems to be in the 40s or 50s among receivers. He’s worth a late round pick because he has upside. He has shown flashes of his potential. But look at this offense. You have a lot of mouths to feed with 2 running backs, a receiver, and a tight end all above him on the food chain. It’s true that with Josh Reynolds gone, Williams is now the number 2 receiver. But he was getting starter level snap counts toward the end of last year as the number 3 and the production was erratic.

K/DST: The Lions will enter training camp with two kickers. They signed PK Jake Bates last month and released UDFA James Turner. So Bates will battle PK Michael Badgley for the job. Bates made 77 percent of his field goal attempts in the UFL but because of his leg strength I know he attempted a lot of long kicks. He made some 60+ yarders so if he can provide consistency on shorter kicks he could win the job. The Lions defense could have value in fantasy leagues this year. If you like streaming, the Lions play the Rams in week 1. It’s not a favorable matchup, but Matthew Stafford can be turnover prone at time. The Lions play 3 of their first 4 at home, with the road game at Arizona. The home games in week 1 and 4 are prime time games, so you know there will be a super charged crowd making it difficult on the opposing offenses. Maybe you draft the Lions defense, hold them for 4 weeks and then drop them when they have their week 5 bye and start streaming at that point. They just have to sort things out in the secondary.

The first preseason game is set for Thursday August 8 at the Giants. In my next report I will have observations from that game along with all other news coming out of training camp. The Lions have announced their schedule of practices that will be open to fans but I am going to skip it again this season.

End.