Detroit Lions: 3 players to avoid selecting in fantasy football
By Bob Heyrman
With the NFL set to start on September 10th, we’ll dive into a little bit of fantasy football. First, we’ll look at three Detroit Lions to avoid drafting.
NFL football is expected to start in just eight days, but for some reason, I get the feeling many of us are not nearly excited as we’d usually be on a regular year. The year 2020 is anything but ordinary, but maybe after we see that first kickoff on Thursday, September 10th, we’ll be excited for the opening Sunday of the season as the Detroit Lions host the Chicago Bears.
Fantasy football has become a staple to any NFL season, as the fantasy drafts are underway in full force, I can’t help but make a few draft suggestions. This time, it’s three Detroit Lions to avoid drafting this season.
Detroit Lions defense: DST
The first isn’t exactly a player, but a host of players. Everyone should avoid drafting the Detroit Lions defense once again in 2020.
In most formats, when you draft a team defense, you are also drafting that team’s special teams, aka the return game. That is one bright spot when it comes to the Detroit Lions because Jamal Agnew is a tremendous Pro Bowl-caliber returner. Agnew has the potential to take a punt return to the house at any given time. Last season Agnew took both a punt and kick return to the house after failing to do so the year prior.
Agnew and the return game is the bright side. The team defense will surely be better in 2020 than they were in 2019, but that isn’t saying much after how dreadful the Detroit Lions defense produced.
Detroit will face plenty of high powered offenses in 2020, although the defense as a whole will be better, they won’t have much fantasy appeal in ’20.
The Detroit Lions defense yielded a whopping 400 yards per game of total offense, second worse in the league only by two total yards to Arizona. The Lions also allowed a league-worst 284 yards passing and 26th overall, allowing 26 points per game in 2019.
Sure, this isn’t 2019, but we’re just a year removed from that horrendous effort, and unless you are drafting in a 20-team fantasy league, shy away from drafting the Lions defense.