In 2013, the NFC North was up for grabs and primed for the Motor City Kitties, while the rest of division was battling injuries and inferior coaching strategies. They ultimately threw the season away and the Detroit Lions front office cleaned house and finally extricated the forever failing Head Coach Jim Schwartz and gutted the staff. In comes James Caldwell to take over the reins. He and fellow offensive mind Joe Lombardi (Offensive Coordinator) should bring discipline to a team that has been running rampant without direction. The key to getting this team to fire on all cylinders is to breed maturity and locker room cohesiveness and if the new brass can reflect that model, then we can expect the Lions to be a different team than years prior. We can expect some modesty in this newer system, but if it’s effective it’l translate into fantasy gold for the lions 2014 fantasy outlook.
2014 Detroit Lions Fantasy Outlook
Quarterback: Having Matthew Stafford under center is the key to success for the Lions. Last year, Stafford managed to score multiple passing touchdowns in eleven games and was under 200 yards in only one game. He has pretty lofty passing stats over these past three years (14,655 passing yards, 90 touchdowns) and the Lion have acquired some talent in the offseason to help elevate his game to an elite level.
Wide Receivers: There is only one king of wide receivers in the NFL and that obviously belongs to the monster who is Calvin Johnson. He only missed the 1,500 receiving yard mark last year because of a couple games where he sat out due to injury concerns. There were three games where he was held under 50 yards which had fans seething and screaming for someone’s head. He made up for it where he scored 10+ fantasy points in nine games, and breached the 20 point tally in four. Those numbers should increase with the acquisition of Golden Tate who was just a hair’s reach out of the 900 yard total when he was with the Seattle Seahawks. Tate should feel liberated from the heavy run scheme the Seahawks ran. Being across from Megatron is a benefit for anyone who is blessed to do so.
Running Backs: This position is getting a little blurry after Reggie Bush was battling both injuries and fumbles. Former offensive coordinator Scott Linehan found favor in Joique Bell and would even claim Bush a healthy scratch after what he saw in his alternate back. Bush can redeem himself with the new coaching staff, and especially after blasting through defenders for that 86 yard scamper to the endzone against Jacksonville’s newly improved defense. Either guy is a great PPR play, but you’ll be able to get comparable results from different draft positions with Bell being the guy you can wait on.
Tight End: After years of speculation, the Lions have figured out that Brandon Pettigrew isn’t the greatest option at the position. He does a serviceable job, but they can’t expect to excel in the passing game with a guy who drops clutch passes and contributes mildly. Eric Ebron offers that; maybe not now, but he has the size, speed, and skill set to do become great in the near future. Once he gets acclimated to the bright lights and the nuances of the game, we could see him listed in the top 10 amongst his esteemed colleagues.
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