Detroit Lions News

The Detroit Lions have opened their 2026 training camp, but three-time Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs is not taking part in practice, as reported by NFL Insider Adam Schefter. A similar situation is playing out in Atlanta with Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, and Schefter notes that the two had offseason conversations about potential long-term contracts. As first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, both Gibbs and Robinson had their fifth-year options exercised this offseason, giving the Lions and Falcons team control through the 2027 season with the potential of using the franchise tag after that. Gibbs is RotoBaller's RB1 and the top overall player for the 2026 season, making any potential hold-in a situation capable of causing ripples throughout 2026 drafts.

With training camps opening for the Atlanta Falcons, running back Bijan Robinson is not practicing, as reported by NFL Insider Adam Schefter. He was a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and with Robinson's fifth-year option picked up to give the Falcons salary control through the 2027 season, Schefter reports that Robinson had been in conversation this offseason about a potential long-term contract. Robinson is RotoBaller's No. 2 overall player for 2026. While there is still more than a month before the start of the 2026 season, drafters would be advised to monitor this emerging situation, as any prolonged hold-in could have serious fantasy ramifications.

Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki is a "natural pass-catcher," and "the opportunity is there" for him to cut into presumed Lions RB2 Isiah Pacheco's touches, per Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Vaki has mostly played special teams through his first two professional seasons and has just seven career NFL carries. The Lions still have star running back Jahmyr Gibbs firmly atop their running back depth chart, but the team replaced veteran RB2 David Montgomery with Pacheco over the offseason. Pacheco has significantly more experience than Vaki, but he's averaged just 3.8 yards per carry on over 200 attempts since the start of the 2024 season. If Vaki can prove himself with a strong performance in training camp and the preseason, he could potentially threaten Pacheco's status as the Lions' clear backup running back. In deeper dynasty leagues, Vaki could be worth stashing just in case he emerges as the handcuff option in Detroit should Gibbs get injured.

Detroit Lions second-year receiver out of Arkansas, Isaac TeSlaa, has shown impressive physical and athletic gains this offseason and is poised to be a lock as the Lions' WR3. TeSlaa flashed quite a bit of upside in his rookie campaign, hauling in 239 yards on 27 targets, 16 receptions, and six touchdowns. He averaged 14.94 yards per reception last season and was a physical specimen at his 2025 NFL combine, ranking second in his class at the position in athleticism score, sitting at the 98th percentile in catch radius, at the 90th percentile in burst score, and at the 97th percentile in speed score. The Lions still have Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown as the clear No. 1 and No. 2 receivers, to go along with Sam LaPorta at tight end; however, TeSlaa should be deployed in three-wide receiver sets and serve as a red-zone specialist. RotoBaller ranks him as the WR69 off the board, and if either Williams or St. Brown were to miss time, TeSlaa would be viewed as a strong WR3 with upside.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff keeps following the same fantasy pattern. He piles up passing numbers, finishes among the top 10, then gets pushed down draft boards because he offers almost nothing with his legs. Goff was the QB9 last season after completing 68% of his passes for 4,564 yards, 34 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He added only 45 rushing yards and did not score on the ground. Detroit gives him enough help to survive that limitation. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Sam LaPorta remain at the center of an offense that finished fourth in scoring, fifth in total yardage, and third in passing last year. There is a new variable with Drew Petzing taking over as offensive coordinator, and Goff was sacked 38 times in 2025. Still, he has finished inside the top 10 in each of his four healthy seasons with the Lions and is currently being drafted as the QB16. Managers who wait at quarterback can target Goff as a reliable value, especially when pairing him with a more mobile option for difficult matchups.

Detroit Lions Pro Bowl tight end Sam LaPorta (back) was fully cleared earlier this month and will be ready to go for the start of training camp, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. The Lions will determine LaPorta's level of involvement early in camp, but he's expected to be a full-go after having surgery to fix a herniated disc in his back last year that limited him to only nine starts and a 40-489-3 line in his third year in the league. The 25-year-old former second-rounder in 2023 out of the University of Iowa was limited during offseason workouts, but as long as he doesn't suffer a setback with his back in camp, he'll be ready to roll for the 2026 regular-season opener and should once again be a key cog in Detroit's pass-happy offense. And because of his season-ending back injury a year ago, he's heading into the summer as an underrated TE1 in fantasy. Don't forget that LaPorta recorded 146 receptions on 203 targets for 1,615 yards and 17 touchdowns in 33 regular-season games in his first two years in the league. LaPorta is shaping up as a potential TE1 steal in drafts at his pre-camp ADP.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams was a classic boom-or-bust fantasy receiver in 2025. The 25-year-old speedster posted seven games with fewer than seven fantasy points and eight games with 15 or more fantasy points. Most of Williams' boom games came after head coach Dan Campbell took over play-calling in Week 10. This offseason, the Lions hired former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Petzing runs a more run-heavy offense that favors heavy personnel packages and fewer three-wide receiver sets. This could lead to more bust weeks for Williams if Petzing does not see him as a primary weapon, as Campbell did last season. In 2026, Williams will continue to battle Sam LaPorta for targets in a crowded Lions offense. It remains to be seen whether the two can coexist and produce as top fantasy options. Williams looks to continue as a low-floor, high-ceiling player this season, which will make him the ultimate wildcard for managers heading into draft season.

With the continued emphasis being put on heavy personnel usage ahead of the 2026 fantasy season, a player flying surprisingly under the radar is Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta. In a relatively small sample size over the past two seasons, LaPorta has been the league's highest-scoring fantasy tight end on a per-route basis out of multi-tight end sets, and a new-look Lions offense should provide him plenty of opportunities to prove it's more than a fluke. With the Cardinals in 2025, new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing used an additional tight end at a higher rate than all but two current playcallers. With LaPorta's season lasting only nine games before a herniated disc in his back sidelined him for the rest of the year, it's easy to forget that he finished as the TE4 in three of his final four fully healthy games and was the TE7 at the time he hit injured reserve. The fourth-year veteran now finds himself in an offense seemingly built to take advantage of his catch-and-run abilities, and he could prove to be a difference-maker from the middle rounds of 2026 drafts.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs was one of the best players at his position in the NFL in 2025, recording 1,839 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns on 320 touches across 17 games. The 24-year-old averaged 5.0 yards per carry for the third consecutive season while also setting career-highs in targets (94), receptions (77), receiving yards (616), and receiving touchdowns (five). Entering 2026, Gibbs may play an even larger role in the Detroit offense after the team's offseason trade of veteran back David Montgomery to the Houston Texans. Gibbs is understandably valued extremely highly by current redraft ADP, typically being selected as either the first or second running back off the board. Gibbs' main competition, Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, is also a fantastic player with monster upside. However, the offensive ecosystem around Gibbs in Detroit appears more stable than the ecosystem around Robinson in Atlanta, where there are major questions at the quarterback position. When splitting hairs between two elite options, that may be enough of a difference for fantasy managers to go with Gibbs over Robinson.

When Detroit Lions veterans gather for training camp on July 28, free agent acquisition Isiah Pacheco will have his first opportunity to prove that the Lions still possess the top running back tandem in the league. Expectations are through the roof for three-time Pro Bowler Jahmyr Gibbs following the offseason trade that sent David Montgomery to the Texans, but having already handled 337 opportunities in 2025, it's unrealistic to think he'll absorb the bulk of Montgomery's 182 vacated touches, and so in factors Pacheco. After racking up more than 2,100 yards and 14 touchdowns across his first two years with the Chiefs, Pacheco has dealt with injuries over the past two seasons that have seen his efficiency plummet and limited him to only 952 total yards. In Detroit, he won't be asked to carry the load, but the opportunities he does see could be of the high-value variety, with the Lions again projected to have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league and Montgomery averaging 16 carries from within the five-yard line over his three seasons with the team. At RotoBaller's WR43, Pacheco holds enough standalone value to make him worthy of selection at the end of 2026 drafts, but his true value comes through the insurance he provides as a back capable of handling an every-down role in a worst-case injury scenario.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has steadily finished as the fantasy WR3 in each of the past three seasons, and there is little reason to believe he'll stray far from there in 2026. Even with the late-season emergence of teammate Jameson Williams, who topped 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight year, St. Brown remains the unquestioned lynchpin of Detroit's high-powered passing offense, earning an already staggering 31.3% target share and an even more unreal 37.5% share in the red zone. Without the threat of pulling the ball down and running, nearly all of Jared Goff's dropbacks translate to passing production, allowing him to lead the NFL in both passing yards and touchdowns over the past four seasons, and with St. Brown his most trusted target, the four-time Pro Bowler remains one of the safest picks in fantasy. St. Brown is RotoBaller's WR5 and a player who should continue to shift matchups throughout the 2026 season.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa caught only 16 of his 27 targets for 239 yards in his rookie campaign in 2025 in 17 games after being a third-rounder out of the University of Arkansas, but he was a vital red-zone weapon for quarterback Jared Goff and caught six touchdowns in his first year in the NFL. He added eight receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the team's final three regular-season games. As he heads into Year 2, TeSlaa looks ready to make a leap in his sophomore season, with receivers coach Scottie Montgomery saying that the 24-year-old looks stronger and more athletic this offseason. The Lions still have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta drawing serious targets, but with Kalif Raymond now out of town, TeSlaa has a clear path to a bigger role as the unquestioned WR3 in Detroit. The Lions have been touting TeSlaa's abilities all offseason, hinting that he should be much more involved in Year 2. His fantasy stock is on the rise in both dynasty and redraft formats, with RotoBaller ranking him as the No. 69 fantasy WR for 2026. TeSlaa makes for an interesting late-round upside pick in Detroit's pass-happy offense.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa did not see much of the ball as a rookie, but he made his limited chances count. Six of his 16 catches went for touchdowns, and Detroit started leaning on him more late in the year. TeSlaa caught 12 passes for 174 yards and four scores from Weeks 13 through 18 after opening the season as the fourth receiver. He now enters camp behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, with Dan Campbell saying the coaching staff grew more comfortable with him as 2025 went along. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound wideout also drew praise for his work this spring. Targets will be the issue. St. Brown, Williams, Sam LaPorta, and Jahmyr Gibbs are all going to be featured, and TeSlaa will not keep scoring on nearly a quarter of his opportunities. Detroit does expect his role to grow in Drew Petzing's offense, though. With TeSlaa sitting at WR70 in RotoBaller's rankings and carrying an ADP of 255, he is a cheap swing on size, red-zone work, and a possible second-year jump.

Since the start of the 2022 season, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff has led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns. In four fully healthy seasons with the Lions, he has never finished outside the top 10 for fantasy, and despite expected improvements to both the team's offensive line and play calling ahead of the 2026 season, he is currently being drafted as the QB16. The Lions return both 1,000-yard receivers from a year ago, and with tight end Sam LaPorta expected back at full health and three-time Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs ready to inherit a true bell cow role, an easy argument could be made for Goff's supporting cast as the strongest in the league. The former first overall pick has topped 4,400 passing yards and 29 touchdowns in each of the past four seasons, and with the Lions boasting what is on paper one of the league's most fantasy-friendly schedules, there is no reason to expect that streak should end in 2026. In a season where the third, or even fourth tier of fantasy quarterbacks is deep and flat, Goff may be the poster child for punting at the position and is capable of delivering a league-winning performance from the closing rounds of drafts.

Former Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, who is facing legal issues in Florida, was released by the Lions last week and cleared waivers on Monday to become a free agent, according to ESPN. Arnold was released after he was arrested on felony charges of armed robbery and kidnapping. He's expected to visit NFL teams that have shown an interest in signing him. The 23-year-old defensive back turned himself in on June 24 after authorities accused him of orchestrating the abduction and beating of three men whom prosecutors believe he wrongly suspected of having stolen luxury goods and $100,000 in cash from him. Arnold was a former first-round pick by the Lions in 2024 out of the University of Alabama, and he was scheduled to start outside opposite D.J. Reed this year before his release last week. He had two years and $4.8 million left on his rookie contract. It's unclear at this time if any other NFL team is willing to take on Arnold's baggage and give him another chance.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams finished as the fantasy WR5 over the final 10 weeks of the 2025 season, and while many are quick to point to the absence of tight end Sam LaPorta as the driving factor behind his late-season breakout, there's evidence of his leveling up even before LaPorta was placed on injured reserve with a herniated disc. The two games following Detroit's Week 8 bye proved to be LaPorta's final two outings of the season, but they were also arguably his most productive two-game stretch of 2025, totaling 150 yards on 11 catches while reeling in one of his three touchdown grabs on the year. In those two games, the start of his end-of-season run of dominance, Williams caught 10 passes for 185 yards and two scores, finishing as the WR14 and WR3. With LaPorta expected to be healthy again for 2026, the Lions are likely to deploy more of the two-receiver sets from which Williams has proven to be a dynamic weapon. If Williams can find more consistency in his fifth season, an expectation expressed publicly by wide receiver coach Scottie Montgomery in one of his final media sessions of minicamp, the 2022 first-round pick could pick right back up on the 82-catch, 1,400-yard, and nine-touchdown pace with which he ended 2025, and he should have little trouble outproducing his current ADP as WR26.

ESPN's Ben Solak thinks the Detroit Lions should trade tight end Sam LaPorta as they stare at upcoming big contract extensions for him, star running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and safety Brian Branch. The Lions are also carrying sizable second contracts at quarterback (Jared Goff), wide receiver (Amon-Ra St. Brown), edge rusher (Aidan Hutchinson), and offensive tackle (Penei Sewell). Gibbs is probably untouchable as one of the best dual-threat backs in the NFL. LaPorta had an eye-popping rookie season with 86 catches, 889 yards, and 10 touchdowns, but he's lost some volume in Detroit's passing attack as receiver Jameson Williams has developed into the team's WR2. In the last two years, LaPorta's 25% target per route fell to 19.7%, and Williams has produced more yards per target, yards per route, and explosive receptions per target. The 25-year-old former second-rounder is now the clear fourth target in an explosive Lions offense, which makes him somewhat expendable. Additionally, LaPorta isn't a very strong blocker. Solak predicts that the Carolina Panthers, a team that hasn't had a difference-making pass-catching tight end since Greg Olsen, could come calling if the Lions are willing to listen.

In case the Detroit Lions' trading of David Montgomery to the Texans was not enough of a signal that fourth-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs was going to be the team's bell-cow back for the 2026 season, head coach Dan Campbell said the words clear as day in one of his first media sessions of organized team activities, telling reporters, "He's going to be our bell-cow now," and then later, "We're going to hang our hat on him quite a bit. We're going to do a lot of things we feel like he does well." Running backs coach Tashard Choice, who has known Gibbs since he was a high school recruit, has since expressed belief that the 2023 first-round pick is in the best shape of his life, and having already finished as the RB4 and the RB2 in his past two seasons (while Montgomery was still averaging more than 200 touches of his own), expectations are through the roof for 2026. The Lions signed former Chief Isiah Pacheco to a one-year deal in free agency, but after averaging more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage over his first two years in the league, the 2022 seventh-round pick has struggled through injuries and has been held to only 952 yards and three touchdowns across the past two seasons. While he will undoubtedly play a role in keeping Gibbs fresh, all the rhetoric out of Detroit suggests that the backfield is ready to be fully handed over to one of the most explosive playmakers in the league. As such, Gibbs has earned the top overall spot in RotoBaller's 2026 single-quarterback fantasy rankings.

The Detroit Lions have made it clear that running back Jahmyr Gibbs will be their bell-cow back in 2026, which means that newcomer Isiah Pacheco must prepare for a backup role in his new digs, according to Kory Woods of MLive Media Group. Pacheco, who won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, signed a one-year deal with Detroit to replace David Montgomery, who was traded to the Houston Texans in early March. The 27-year-old former seventh-rounder in 2022 out of Rutgers started 31 of 34 games in the last three seasons in KC, but he's preparing for a much different role in Detroit. He's looking at a drastically reduced role in the Lions' backfield, especially after dealing with injuries in recent seasons. Pacheco missed nine games in 2024 with a broken right fibula and missed a month with an MCL sprain in 2024. In his first two years in the league, Pacheco averaged at least 4.6 yards per carry, but that number has dropped to 3.8 yards per attempt the last two years. Pacheco is committed to his new role behind Gibbs, but he has tumbled to No. 44 in RotoBaller's RB rankings for the 2026 campaign, making him more of a handcuff for Gibbs' managers.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown continues to be quarterback Jared Goff's security blanket and "looks a little stronger and more explosive" as he heads into his sixth year in the league in 2026, according to Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official website. St. Brown proved difficult to cover for the team's defenders during a recent two-day minicamp. The 26-year-old former fourth-rounder in 2021 out of USC has led the league in catches (547) in the last five seasons and should continue to be an elite player for fantasy managers in 2026. St. Brown is the Lions' unquestioned WR1 and has made the Pro Bowl in four straight seasons. In 17 starts in 2025, he caught 117 passes (career-high 172 targets) for 1,401 yards and 11 touchdowns. St. Brown has had 100-plus receptions and over 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last four seasons, and he's scored double-digit touchdowns in each of the last three years in Detroit's improved offense. He will come off the board in the early rounds of fantasy drafts again this fall, and he's ranked as RotoBaller's No. 5 fantasy WR.