NFL Fantasy Football Matchup Cheat Sheet: Detroit Lions
In NFL daily fantasy leagues, matchups are important. Pay attention to favorable matchups rather than the overall quality of individual players. It is better to select an above-average offensive player facing poor to average defense than an elite talent facing above-average to elite defense.
Each position in ranked according to one of these four ratings: Elite, Above-average, Average, and Poor.
Offense
QB Matthew Stafford: Above-average
RB Reggie Bush: Above-average
WR1 Calvin Johnson: Elite
WR2 Golden Tate: Above-average
Slot WR T.J. Jones: Average
TE Eric Ebron: Above-average
O-line: LT Riley Rieff, LG Rob Sims, C Dominic Raiola, RG Larry Warford, RT LaAdrian Waddle: Average
Calvin Johnson is far and away the best receiver in the game today, and he is sure to be mentioned as second best below Jerry Rice in future conversations about the greatest receivers of all time. Facing poor to average secondaries, Megatron is always a good play, but with his astronomic salary you’ll have to sacrifice top options at other positions to fit him on your roster.
Golden Tate is the sneaky play here. He quietly had an excellent season last year, showing a knack for forcing missed tackles and picking up yards after the catch. Teams will be forced to double and sometimes even triple-team Megatron, leaving a lot of open field for Tate to roam free. Look for secondaries with a good CB1 and poor to average CB2 and 3 and safeties. When Detroit is facing a team that matches this description, pull the trigger on Tate.
Defense
CB1 Rashean Mathis: Average
CB2 Chris Houston: Poor
Nickel CB Dwight Bently: Poor
Safeties: SS James Ihedigbo, FS Grover Quin: Average
Linebackers: WLB DeAndre Levy, MLB Stephen Tulloch, SLB Kyle Van Noy: Above-average
D-line: DE Jason Jones, DT Nick Fairley, DT Ndamukong Suh, DE Ezekiel Ansah: Above-average
Quarterbacks and wide receivers, especially WR2s and slot receivers, have an excellent matchup against Detroit. Mathis had a surprisingly decent season last year, but he is 33 years old and not getting any younger, so expect a decline in his play this year. Don’t hesitate to take above-average WR1s against him. Running backs will have a much tougher time facing Detroit than wide receivers due to the Lions’ excellent front 7.
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