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 TE Tucker Kraft.
Is Tucker Kraft Playing in Week 9?
Kraft 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 Tucker Kraft in Week 9?
Kraft has been a TE1 in four of five games since seeing his role expanded (over 81% snap share in each of those contests). The target rate is always going to be low given the number of options on this offense. But he is averaging one red-zone touch per game over this run, and that’s a role that should catch your eye.
If Jordan Love is active, I’m fine with considering Kraft as a top-10 tight end. If not, I’m looking to go elsewhere against a Lions defense that ranks sixth in terms of limiting red-zone trips and second-best on third downs.
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.
Tucker Kraft’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Kraft is projected to score 11 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.6 receptions for 44.8 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.
Tucker Kraft’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 3:45 AM ET on Wednesday, December 25. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (at NO)
2) Trey McBride | ARI (at LAR)
3) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at CLE)
4) George Kittle | SF (vs. DET)
5) Sam LaPorta | DET (at SF)
6) David Njoku | CLE (vs. MIA)
7) Mark Andrews | BAL (at HOU)
8) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. GB)
9) Travis Kelce | KC (at PIT)
10) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. BAL)
11) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. KC)
12) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at JAX)
14) Tucker Kraft | GB (at MIN)
15) Brenton Strange | JAX (vs. TEN)
16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (at PHI)
17) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. LAC)
18) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LV)
19) Stone Smartt | LAC (at NE)
20) Zach Ertz | WAS (vs. ATL)
21) Kyle Pitts | ATL (at WAS)
22) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. DEN)
23) Cade Otton | TB (vs. CAR)
24) Noah Gray | KC (at PIT)
25) Isaiah Likely | BAL (at HOU)
26) Cole Kmet | CHI (vs. SEA)
27) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. LAC)
28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. DAL)
29) Noah Fant | SEA (at CHI)
30) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at TB)
31) Foster Moreau | NO (vs. LV)
32) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. ARI)
33) Michael Mayer | LV (at NO)
34) Tommy Tremble | CAR (at TB)
35) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (vs. IND)
36) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. NYJ)
37) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (at BUF)
38) Payne Durham | TB (vs. CAR)
39) Jordan Akins | CLE (vs. MIA)
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%).