In this report, we will look at the news and notes from Lions training camp, plus we will review the first preseason game, a 16-14 loss to the Bengals. Basically all the starters didn’t play, and the roles on offense remain well defined for fantasy purposes.

QB: Not much to report on QB Jared Goff as he didn’t play in game 1, but he might see some action in the upcoming game. All reports are that he is meshing well with new OC Drew Petzing. Much like the previous coordinators, it seems to be collaboration with Goff to get the plays and schemes he is comfortable with. I’m starting to think Goff could exceed his ADP this season, maybe not significantly because of his low ceiling. But he could be a starter in a larger league. One thing to watch for is that the Lions have lost their projected starting center Cade Mays to injury. He broke a bone in his wrist and figures to miss several regular season games. The Lions line was hurt last year when Frank Ragnow retired. Mays was supposed to fix that but now his absence will hurt his ability to develop chemistry with the rest of the line and with Goff. Other news came from the backup spot as QB Teddy Bridgewater has decided to retire. With only undrafted rookie QB Luke Altmeyer behind him the Lions had to scramble to quickly find an available veteran backup and just like in the Progressive commercial they called on QB Josh Dobbs. Except this is to be the backup quarterback, not to do someone’s taxes. Dobbs is smart so he’ll pick things up quickly. I suppose it’s possible the Lions sniff around to see if they could acquire a backup from some other team, but they haven’t really devoted resources to the backup spot in recent years so I think they will be content to give Dobbs the job. Altmeyer started against the Bengals, then Dobbs came in, then Altmeyer returned and finished the same. Altmeyer threw two interceptions but one should have been caught and the other was in the final minute with the Lions deep in their own end so it was a desperation throw trying to force the issue in that situation.

RB: There was some drama with RB Jahmyr Gibbs but as expected he got his contract extension after holding in for the first week or so of camp. I know you hear people sometimes worry about injuries for players that miss time in camp but I don’t think Gibbs was out long enough for that to be a concern. Plus he has mostly avoided injury in his NFL career, knock on wood. RB Isiah Pacheco is out with an MCL injury. He is expected to be ready for week 1. RB Sione Vaki was projected to be the third back on the depth chart but he missed some time with a broken nose. RB Jacob Saylors took advantage of the opportunity and he has been impressing people at camp and that carried over to the game against the Bengals where he had 83 total yards. It looks like Saylors is a pretty safe bet to make the team as the fourth running back. But if Gibbs were to suffer a serious injury Saylors could be in the mix for playing time. A couple of veteran backs were late additions to the roster in RB Raheem Blackshear and RB Trayveon Williams but they seem like camp bodies at best.

WR/TE: The reports from camp say WR Jameson Williams is trending up and WR Isaac TeSlaa is trending down a bit. I don’t really see Williams elevating to a true 1B to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown being 1A, but he does have potential to exceed his projections a bit. TeSlaa was reportedly not looking great in practice and that seemed to carry over to the game in Cincinnati as he had a pass go through his hands and deflect off his helmet for an easy Bengals interception. Later TeSlaa dropped a pass on fourth down. The hope was that TeSlaa would step up and be that third receiver but perhaps they will end up using more multiple tight end formations, which Petzing liked to do in Arizona. And less targets for TeSlaa would mean a slight bump up for St. Brown, Williams, and TE Sam LaPorta. WR Greg Dortch is still projected to be the 4th receiver as a possible gadget player on offense plus return man. The battle for the 5th receiver spot is up for grabs and nobody really stood out in the game against the Bengals.

K/DST: No concerns with PK Jake Bates. You hear the reports from practice and some days he has some misses but he drilled a 52 yarder against Cincinnati and they don’t even have another kicker in camp so feel free to draft him in your league. On defense, it looks like the front seven has the potential to be solid, but the secondary remains unsettled and to be honest I think it’s going to be the weak spot on the roster to the point where you will probably want to consider targeting the Lions defense with your quarterbacks and receivers in your leagues and DFS type of games.

Up next is preseason game 2 on Saturday 8/22 vs. Washington.

End.