The Detroit Lions will face the Green Bay Packers in Week 9. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Lions skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Jared Goff, QB
Weeks like last are going to happen for QBs on elite teams. Goff threw for just 85 yards against the Titans as Detroit found a hundred different ways to score on their way to 52 points, finishing the week as QB18.
You take the good with the bad. We always preach the value of having players tethered to great teams — Goff checks that box. He was just the victim of a crazy game. He remains the most efficient QB in the game (last four games: 84.3% complete, 11.7 yards per pass, and a 12% touchdown rate). That puts him into my top 10, a solid accomplishment given the lack of rushing production.
The Packers have caused plenty of turnovers this season, and that leads the highlight shows, but they are allowing the eighth-most yards per completion. All Goff does these days is complete passes at a historic rate. They also rank 29th in blitz rate, making it likely that Detroit’s receivers have plenty of time to find soft spots against this aggressive secondary.
David Montgomery, RB
The Lions got a short field for their second position last week — two handoffs to David Montgomery later, and they had seven points on the board. Easy game.
At various points this season, I’ve questioned the veteran’s versatility, in part to him failing to catch multiple passes in the majority of games this season. Montgomery, clearly, read about those concerns and decided to throw for a score last week. What can’t this offense do?
The Packers allow the third-most yards per carry after contact to RBs this season, giving me all the confidence in the world that Monty will cash in the opportunities he gets inside the 10-yard line.
The volume is never going to overwhelm, but the value of those touches is what matters. And given how successful Detroit’s offense is right now, Montgomery’s value is as safe as running backs averaging 6-8 more touches than him.
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB
What the Lions are doing with their two-back system is astounding. It’s been so consistent, I don’t know how you bet against it at this point.
Jahmyr Gibbs took a carry 70 yards to the house last week against the Titans and has a 20-yard touch in six straight contests. The volume is never going to reflect that of a prototypical top-10 back, but rules are made to be broken. Gibbs’ skill set, along with the numerous ways this offense can punish defenses, makes him a safe option, even if it’s only 15 touches a game.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR
That’s now five straight games with a touchdown for St. Brown, as he has added scoring savant to the tools already in his expansive bag. Is there anything he can’t do?
His aDOT is down a tick this season, something that could make him slightly less appealing in this specific matchup against a Packers defense that is constantly attacked downfield (fifth highest opponent aDOT), but we are nitpicking at the tippy-top of the ranking board.
St. Brown cleared 16.5 PPR points in both games against the Cheeseheads a season ago, and expecting similar production on Sunday is plenty fair.
Jameson Williams, WR
The Year 3 breakout is on hold for at least one more week as he finishes serving his PED suspension, but Williams has more legal troubles surrounding him. This is a situation you’ll want to monitor, but for the time being, he’s a strong option to hold — we’ve seen glimpses of development, and the tools are in place for him to return weekly value.
Kalif Raymond, WR
I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to preaching “bad result, good process” when it comes to calls that go sideways, but it’s important to note that there are two sides to that coin.
I was in on Kalif Raymond last week, as I projected him to take on a greater role following the Jameson Williams suspension, and I wanted any exposure I could get to this passing game.
I was right! He scored 15.4 fantasy points and finished the week as WR26. If you started him over Malik Nabers, A.J. Brown, and Tyreek Hill … you’re welcome.
I kid. Obviously, you didn’t make those calls, but more importantly, my projection was completely off base. The game got a little goofy due to the score, but Raymond wasn’t on the field any more often than he was through the first seven weeks and ranked sixth among Detroit pass catchers in snaps.
Wrong wrong wrong, but I got bailed out by a seven-yard touchdown and a 90-yard punt return happening within seven minutes of one another. So, thank you. Thank you, fantasy gods. I see you. I hate to think about the price I will have to pay for this gracious gift, but that’s a curse for me to bear, not you.
You shouldn’t be playing Raymond this week. Running hot like last week is nice, but doubling down is dangerous. I have Allen Robinson II, Tim Patrick, and Raymond all ranked in the WR45-55 range, understanding that one of them has a chance to outperform in a significant way but being realistic in acknowledging that it’s little more than a dart throw after learning next to nothing in Week 8 due to the one-sided nature of that game.
Sam LaPorta, TE
Week 8 was LaPorta’s fourth finish as a viable fantasy starter, though it didn’t come without a sweat. Brock Wright found the end zone before the starter, and then LaPorta had a score taken off the board after his touchdown was reversed.
It was all shaping up for another big Detroit, small LaPorta game when the Lions were again in tight positioning and pitched it to touchdown-savant David Montgomery. The halfback, however, flipped the ball to the throwing position and delivered an on-target pass to LaPorta, bailing out fantasy managers across this great nation.
You’re playing him in season-long options because you’re not going to have a better option (from a roster construction standpoint, you shouldn’t), but I’m steering clear in DFS. The Packers blitz at the fourth-lowest rate this season (18.5% of opponent dropbacks), and that’s bad news for LaPorta, even with Jameson Williams serving the second game of his PED suspension:
Target rates when Goff is not blitzed, 2024:
- David Montgomery: 27.9%
- Amon-Ra St. Brown: 25.5%
- Jahmyr Gibbs: 22.2%
- Tim Patrick: 16.9%
- Kalif Raymond: 15.3%
- LaPorta: 11.2%
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%).