The Green Bay Packers will face the Detroit Lions in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Christian Watson.
Is Christian Watson Playing in Week 9?
Watson is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Packers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Christian Watson in Week 9?
Watson has a pair of big gains this season (37 and 44 yards), but that’s about all his 2024 résumé has on it. Outside of those two grabs, the burner is averaging 0.94 yards per route this season, a rate that doesn’t deserve our interest at all.
If you squint hard enough, you might be able to mine value from Watson in specific spots (I have my eyes on the Thanksgiving date with the Dolphins), but this isn’t one of them. Through eight weeks, the Lions have the fifth-lowest opponent passer rating on deep passes; that’s enough to talk me out of swinging for the fences.
For the record, the run-centric, low-octane (6.7 aDOT) stylings of Malik Willis will have Watson off my radar for any starts he makes.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Christian Watson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Watson is projected to score 9.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 2.4 receptions for 38.5 yards and 0.5 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Detroit Lions Defense
What makes the 2024 Detroit Lions a scary prospect for the opposition right now is that they can beat you with offense or defense, if not both. We have seen a couple of wobbles defensively this year, but that is where the offense has stepped up, as we saw in Weeks 4 and 7 when they allowed 29 points but scored a combined 73. Overall, this year’s defense has notably outperformed its No. 17 ranking from 2023.
Among the stats we look at, the Lions do not rank below 16th in any category and only rank outside the top 10 in a single category, sack rate (7.0%). They are not elite when it comes to many categories but have been good at the combination of forcing turnovers (second) and third-down conversion rate (first). That helps them get off the field and hand the ball to their explosive offense plenty of times a game.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Christian Watson’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 10:30 AM ET on Saturday, December 28. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 WR PPR Rankings
1) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (vs. DEN)
2) Puka Nacua | LAR (vs. ARI)
3) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (at SF)
4) Justin Jefferson | MIN (vs. GB)
5) Mike Evans | TB (vs. CAR)
6) Nico Collins | HOU (vs. BAL)
7) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. ATL)
8) Davante Adams | NYJ (at BUF)
9) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at CLE)
10) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. DAL)
11) Tee Higgins | CIN (vs. DEN)
12) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
13) Courtland Sutton | DEN (at CIN)
14) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at NE)
15) Drake London | ATL (at WAS)
16) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at CHI)
17) Malik Nabers | NYG (vs. IND)
18) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. ARI)
19) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (at BUF)
20) Jauan Jennings | SF (vs. DET)
21) Zay Flowers | BAL (at HOU)
22) Keenan Allen | CHI (vs. SEA)
23) DJ Moore | CHI (vs. SEA)
24) Jakobi Meyers | LV (at NO)
25) Jordan Addison | MIN (vs. GB)
26) DK Metcalf | SEA (at CHI)
27) George Pickens | PIT (vs. KC)
28) Calvin Ridley | TEN (at JAX)
29) Khalil Shakir | BUF (vs. NYJ)
30) Adam Thielen | CAR (at TB)
31) Jameson Williams | DET (at SF)
32) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (vs. DET)
33) Jayden Reed | GB (at MIN)
34) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. DAL)
35) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at PIT)
36) Xavier Worthy | KC (at PIT)
37) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (at LAR)
38) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. CAR)
39) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at CLE)
40) Darnell Mooney | ATL (at WAS)
41) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (vs. MIA)
42) Josh Downs | IND (at NYG)
43) Hollywood Brown | KC (at PIT)
44) Rome Odunze | CHI (vs. SEA)
45) Romeo Doubs | GB (at MIN)
46) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (at NYG)
47) Amari Cooper | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Rashod Bateman | BAL (at HOU)
49) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at NE)
50) Jalen Coker | CAR (at TB)
51) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. LAC)
52) Xavier Legette | CAR (at TB)
53) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (vs. IND)
54) Christian Watson | GB (at MIN)
55) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (at JAX)
56) Elijah Moore | CLE (vs. MIA)
57) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (vs. NYJ)
58) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. KC)
59) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at NE)
60) Robert Woods | HOU (vs. BAL)
61) Parker Washington | JAX (vs. TEN)
62) Tim Patrick | DET (at SF)
63) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (at WAS)
64) John Metchie III | HOU (vs. BAL)
65) Keon Coleman | BUF (vs. NYJ)
66) David Moore | CAR (at TB)
67) Devaughn Vele | DEN (at CIN)
68) Michael Wilson | ARI (at LAR)
69) Tre Tucker | LV (at NO)
70) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. LAC)
71) Mike Williams | PIT (vs. KC)
72) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (at CIN)
73) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (vs. DEN)
74) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (vs. ATL)
75) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. LAC)
76) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (at PHI)
77) Malik Washington | MIA (at CLE)
78) Brandin Cooks | DAL (at PHI)
79) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at CHI)
80) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. ARI)
81) Adonai Mitchell | IND (at NYG)
82) Alec Pierce | IND (at NYG)
83) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (at MIN)
84) Allen Lazard | NYJ (at BUF)
85) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. KC)
86) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (at PHI)
87) Darius Slayton | NYG (vs. IND)
88) Ricky Pearsall | SF (vs. DET)
89) Jamison Crowder | WAS (vs. ATL)
90) Tyler Boyd | TEN (at JAX)
91) Troy Franklin | DEN (at CIN)
92) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (vs. LV)
93) Mack Hollins | BUF (vs. NYJ)
94) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. ARI)
95) Jalen Nailor | MIN (vs. GB)
96) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at PIT)
97) Michael Woods II | CLE (vs. MIA)
98) Justin Watson | KC (at PIT)
99) Devin Duvernay | JAX (vs. TEN)
100) Greg Dortch | ARI (at LAR)
101) Dante Pettis | CHI (vs. SEA)
102) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (at CIN)
103) Curtis Samuel | BUF (vs. NYJ)
104) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. DAL)
105) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (vs. LV)
106) Tylan Wallace | BAL (at HOU)
107) DJ Chark | LAC (at NE)
108) River Cracraft | MIA (at CLE)
109) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (vs. ATL)
110) Jalin Hyatt | NYG (vs. IND)
111) Ja'Lynn Polk | NE (vs. LAC)
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers Insights
Detroit Lions
Team: The Lions have scored 30-plus points in four straight games – it’s the first SEASON in which they’ve scored 30 points in four games during the 2000s.
QB: Detroit has won five straight games, and in those games, Jared Goff has a 146.6 in-pocket passer rating (78-94 for 1,023 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception).
Offense: Jahmyr Gibbs has a 45-plus yard rush TD in consecutive games, the fifth running back to do that since 2016 (others: Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt).
Defense: In four of their past six games, the Lions have held their opponent to an under-30 % conversion rate on third downs (last week vs. Titans: 3-0]of-11, 27.3%).
Fantasy: David Montgomery has scored in six of seven games this season, but he hasn’t cleared a dozen carries in a game since Week 3 at Arizona.
Betting: Since 2020, the Lions have been 28-13 ATS (68.3%) in games played after Halloween, which is three full games better than any other team.
Green Bay Packers
Team: The Packers ended last regular season winning six of eight games, and they’ve opened this season with a 6-2 mark (of those four losses, three came by fewer than six points).
QB: Jordan Love has thrown an interception in every game this season, and eight of nine have come when operating in the pocket.
Offense: The Packers entered the red zone on a season-high 46.2% of their drives against the Jaguars.
Defense: Green Bay forced Jacksonville to go three-and-out on 58.3% of their drives last week, the defense’s best showing this season.
Fantasy: The status of the QB position means the world in terms of fantasy efficiency for Josh Jacobs. In his last two games with Love starting, he’s come in 38.4% over expectation – in Malik Willis’ two starts, 39% under expectation.
Betting: Since 2020, the NFC North has the three top teams in over percentage in games played after Halloween (Packers: 62.8%, Lions: 61%).