Lions report, late August 2024

Preseason Game 2: Lions 24, Chiefs 23.

Preseason Game 3: Lions 24, Steelers 17.

QB: As expected, the Lions sat QB Jared Goff and the rest of the key offensive players in the wins over the Chiefs and the Steelers. Basically I don’t think any of the projected starters on offense or defense played in the preseason. The offense functioned better against the Chiefs as you could see from the 346 passing yards they generated. QB Nate Sudfeld started and QB Hendon Hooker played the second half. Hooker went 12 of 15 for 150 yards plus a rushing TD as he makes a push to win the backup job. Against the Steelers, Hooker started and played most of the game. It had to be a tough evaluation because the backup linemen couldn’t protect Hooker against the Pittsburgh’s better defenders. Hooker bounced back and led a few scoring drives and his running ability flashed with 93 yards on the ground. It sounds like it will be a tough call for the Lions to decide who will be Goff’s backup. If they decide Sudfeld is the backup, Hooker would surely remain on the 53 man roster. If Hooker is the backup, Sudfeld would probably get cut. As for Goff, you can expect his fantasy stock to remain steady as we enter draft season. You probably wouldn’t be excited if he was the top quarterback on your fantasy team. He won’t give you anything on the ground like the top tier guys, so it comes down to his passing numbers. He has a high floor and he can help you some weeks. Last year he had 7 games with either 275+ yards or 3+ TDs.

RB: Nice performance again from rookie RB Sione Vaki against the Chiefs, not so much on the ground but how about 60 yards receiving on 4 catches? Some of this was just getting checkdowns against a soft defense in a 2 minute situation but he looked good catching the ball and making people miss. There’s something about this guy. Keep his name in mind as a deep sleeper as I think he should be the number 3 running back. He didn’t play against the Steelers, so I think the coaches saw enough from him to know what he can do. RB Jahmyr Gibbs appears to be OK after he hurt a hamstring in practice. It doesn’t sound like there is any reason for concern, but keep an eye on it just in case. Could they perhaps reduce his workload in the first couple weeks? I’m sure they don’t want him to aggravate it where it would be a concern all year long. Maybe let someone else draft him super high, but if people in your league are spooked and he starts falling, don’t let him drop too far. Don’t forget about RB David Montgomery either. He won’t help as much in PPR leagues, but he should be a steady TD producer again this year. He had 13 last year and he missed 3 games and most of a 4th. This Lions offense should be high powered again in 2024 so Montgomery makes a nice number 2 back on your fantasy team.

WR/TE: Another good performance from UDFA WR Isaiah Williams against the Chiefs with 6 catches for 71 yards and if the preseason games mean anything at all, he should make the 53 man roster. He looked comfortable with the ball in his hands on a jet sweep and punt return as well. Only one catch against the Steelers but he got more work returning kicks and punts. I guess WR Donovan Peoples-Jones will make it too, but it’s not a lock. You have to think the Lions could be looking around the league for receivers that could be available because there is a lack of depth here, and other than DPJ they are really lacking size. They didn’t really replace free agent loss Josh Reynolds, and last year’s 7th round pick WR Antoine Green was recently waived.

K/DST: It looked like PK Jake Bates locked up the job with his performance against the Chiefs. He made 4 of 4 field goal attempts which included a 55 yarder, and a 43 yarder to win the game at the final gun. Even though it’s just preseason, the coaches had to love seeing him get a chance to attempt a game winning kick and he handled it well. He did an extra point though, and then he missed a 30 yard FG against the Steelers, and he has had some penalties on kickoffs which could be due to the new rules or it could be due to the Lions asking him to try different types of kickoffs as they experiment with it like everyone else. I think he begins the season as the kicker but he could be on a short leash. The big leg is a weapon but short misses won’t be tolerated. On defense the Lions predictably struggled a bit playing backups against the Chiefs starters. They’ve been banged up in the secondary throughout the preseason and that is the unit with the most new faces, so it might take some time for that unit to come together.

Next up for the Lions will be the cut to 53 and then the regular season opener against the Rams.

End.