We are just one week away from the start of the 2022 NFL regular season (Rams vs. Bills on Sept. 8) and 10 days away from watching our Detroit Lions take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field.
With training camp in the books and all of the preseason games completed, many fans are prepping for their upcoming fantasy football draft (or multiple drafts) if you are like me.
In recent years, you were probably better off avoiding most players from the Lions when it comes to fantasy football but there have been a few who have paid off (see Amon-Ra St. Brown to end the 2021 season).
With that being said, here are 3 Burning fantasy football questions for the 2022 Detroit Lions.
Detroit Lions: 3 Burning fantasy football questions for 2022
Will Amon-Ra St. Brown continue his torrid pace?
If you played fantasy football in 2021, chances are that rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown went unrostered for the first 11 or 12 weeks or so as he did not exactly get off to a hot start. But if you picked up St. Brown after his Week 12 performance (10 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown) and put him in your starting lineup, he paid off for you in a big way. In fact, from Week 12 through Week 17, St. Brown had 51 catches for 560 yards and five touchdowns in those six games.
One thing to keep in mind is that St. Brown put up those amazing stats over the final six games when many of the Lions’ offensive weapons were out with injury and he was Jared Goff’s main target. With D’Andre Swift, DJ Chark, T.J. Hockenson, and eventually Jameson Williams being in the mix, I expect St. Brown’s production to take a bit of a hit in 2022.
If I had to guess, St. Brown will finish the 2022 season with 80-85 catches (down from 90) for 850-900 yards (down from 912) and 5-6 touchdowns (he had five in 2021).
Those are still decent stats but if you are thinking he is going to catch nine passes per game and put up over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, you need to pump the brakes!
Is D’Andre Swift worthy of a Top 10 pick?
When the Detroit Lions selected RB D’Andre Swift with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, I was pretty disappointed as I really was hoping they would select Jonathan Taylor out of Wisconsin.
As it stands, Taylor is arguably the best running back in the entire NFL and Swift has a ton to prove to even be in that conversation.
During his first two seasons in the league, Swift has shown flashes of brilliance but he has also shown that he (up to this point) cannot play a full season as he has missed seven games since coming into the league.
I believe D’Andre Swift is on a mission in 2022 and I would absolutely fine if I could snag him at the end of the first round or so of a fantasy football draft. He is currently my RB 7.
Is Jameson Williams draftable?
After the Detroit Lions traded up to select WR Jameson Williams in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Williams told reporters that his game plan was to be ready to go by training camp.
As we know, that did not happen and the Lions have made it clear that they are going to be very cautious with Williams as he continues to come back from his ACL injury.
Williams has been placed on the PUP list to start the season, which means he has to sit out at least the first four games, and from the sounds of things, he could be out even longer (I am projecting a Week 7 return, following the bye week).
Though I do think Williams will eventually be a good fantasy option, he is only draftable at this point if 1) You are in an extremely deep league with huge rosters or 2) If your league allows for IR spots.
