2026 Team Previews: Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions 2026 Preview
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Drafted Everywhere
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB (ADP: 1, RB1): Gibbs as the No. 1 overall pick is hard to argue, as he checks every possible box for that honor. He’s physically elite, and one of the fastest players in the entire NFL. He’s highly efficient as a rusher, never averaging fewer than five yards per carry in any of his three seasons, and he’s an elite pass catching back with 52 receptions in each of his first two seasons, and a career-high 77 last year. Gibbs has scored double-digit touchdowns in each of his three NFL seasons, and has 38 total scores in the last two combined. Oh, and he’s likely to see his workload actually increase with David Montgomery gone, replaced by Isiah Pacheco. Some might quibble with him not having ideal size, or having been removed from goal line scenarios at times, but these are nitpicks that aren’t really applicable anymore. Gibbs has played 17 games in back-to-back seasons, carried the ball 240+ times in those seasons and last season saw just two fewer carries inside the 10-yard line than Montgomery. And now Montgomery is out of the way in these scenarios.
Gibbs is a lock Top 5 RB provided he stays healthy, which he’s always done in the past. The Lions offense is a points-scoring machine, and Gibbs is as safe as it gets with this high a pick. There’s no reason he won’t have happy customers if they invest in him with the top pick.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR (ADP: 8, WR4): St. Brown is getting respect these days as an elite fantasy receiver, and he should, since he has posted four straight seasons with 1,100+ yards and three straight campaigns with 10 or more touchdowns. St. Brown has eclipsed the 1,400-yard mark twice in the last three seasons and has caught more than 105 passes in four consecutive years. The few knocks on him are that he doesn’t have that top gear of speed that most elite receivers do and that he’s a “system” receiver. Well, the speed thing is true, but it clearly hasn’t mattered. As to the critique that he’s fed layups and has an pass game that spams targets his way, it’s a misguided complaint. He’s not thriving due to a system, he is the system.
His Reception Perception profile shows that St. Brown is a true blue WR1, and he just does it in a bit more unconventional of a way. St. Brown began his career as a slot player, but as he’s evolved he’s able to line up anywhere and nuke a defense. He was an 89th-percentile zone beater but also put up a 74.4% mark against man (80th percentile) and a ridiculous 81.3% success rate vs. zone (94th percentile). Sure, he’s not smoking DBs on go routes. Who cares? He was over 80% on outs, at nearly 90% on digs, 84.4% on curls and on slants, which were 21.6% of his routes, he was at 83.6%. And even if his nines and corners do expose his lack of high-level speed, he can sting you down the field on posts just fine. This ADP is justified for him, as he’s the clear alpha on what should be a potent offense.
Jameson Williams, WR (ADP: 60, WR26): Williams is tantalizing because he has all the things St. Brown lacks when it comes to pure speed and flash. Williams’ production from week to week has been extremely volatile in his career, but in back-to-back seasons he’s ended in a similar place—1,000+ yards and seven receiving touchdowns. Now, his physical gifts and the draft capital spent on him point to potential for more. 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns is good, but can he be great? I think it’s possible, but it’s very far from certain.
Williams is great at using his speed to effectively get open downfield. Those nines that St. Brown struggles with? Williams is at 62.2% on those. He also is great on outs and digs and curls and slants, but the issue for Williams is he’s way better on those against zones than vs. man. His 79.8% success vs. zone is good, and a shade shy of where he’d cross over into great. It isn’t going to take much for him to get there. Against man though, Williams was in the 37th percentile, and he really struggled vs. press to a 59.4% success rate. His profile notes that when his numbers skyrocketed last season, it was when he was taken off the ball more. Williams has the tools to hurt defenses on any play from any alignment, but he’s clearly still struggling to consistently win against man and when pressed. The Lions can work around that and use him primarily as an off-ball flanker, but the best of the best tend to move around anywhere and be matchup/defense proof. I don’t believe Williams is, so this ADP is fine for a weekly WR2, but I do believe there’s more upside in players that are going after him.
Sam LaPorta, TE (ADP: 71, TE6): LaPorta finished as the TE1 as a rookie, with 86 catches, 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s been dining on that since, and his stats have nosedived. As a second-year man he fell off to 60 receptions, 726 yards and seven touchdowns, and last season, which was cut short after nine games, he was in the same range of receptions, yards per catch and scoring. LaPorta’s a talented player, but the priority seems to be Gibbs and St. Brown, with Williams soaking up a lot of the looks that initially went LaPorta’s way. I believe this is a good player, and he’ll crush this ADP if he experiences another TD spike, but what we’ve seen the last two seasons is probably what he ultimately is. And that’s a fine fantasy TE, but why spend a pick in the Top 75 when Dalton Kincaid and Isaiah Likely are going 30+ picks later and are probably going to deliver very similar stats?
Interesting Players
Jared Goff, QB (ADP: 130, QB16): Goff is a classic player whose stats at the end of the year look better than they felt as he accumulated them. You’ll see his stat page and note that he’s thrown for 4,400+ yards in four straight seasons and also surpassed the 4,600-yard mark twice in Los Angeles. In back-to-back seasons he’s eclipsed 4,500 yards with 37 and 34 touchdown passes. Goff is a player that you can draft late, set him as a starter and forget about it in any week when he’s not on bye. These numbers will be there again, and you’ll enjoy some big spike weeks; last season Goff went for 25+ points three times. His real value, and for some it’s a reason to cross him off, is that he’s just a consistently solid option. In Goff’s 16 fantasy weeks he posted 10 or less points three times, and went for 25 or more three times. That leaves him with 10 games between 11 and 24 points, with six of those falling between 11 and 17 points. It’s fine, and most weeks you’re clearly not losing because of Goff. But how often is he the reason you’re winning? How frequently are you getting a random dud from a star receiver, and Goff catches your team as it falls off the cliff and pulls you to safety? That’s rare for him, and that’s why he’s at this ADP despite annual, rock-solid production.
Isiah Pacheco, RB (ADP: 151, RB51): Stylistically, Pacheco makes sense as a replacement for Montgomery. He’s a hard charging, between the tackles banger that can punish defense after they’ve dealt with Gibbs’ fleet feet. But Pacheco isn’t nearly as nifty as Montgomery, and after some injuries following a very solid Year 2 in Kansas City Pacheco’s play has fallen off the map, as has his availability. Bringing in Pacheco to take over Montgomery’s spot spells the true beginning of Gibbs’ bell cow era. If anyone’s drafting Pacheco and hoping for those 10-touchdown, 700ish-yard Monty seasons, I implore you to get that out of your brain. It ain’t happening. Pacheco is a handcuff, and I’m not totally convinced he’s a good one.
Deep Cuts
Isaac TeSlaa, WR (ADP: 199, WR66): TeSlaa is a weird player, and one that could see a spike in value in a perfect setting a la Rashee Rice. Athletically, he’s stunning at times, but he’s incredibly raw as a craftsman, and his profile shows that the Lions understand this and deploy him in a specific way. Over 50% of his routes were nines (62.7% success rate) or digs (72.1%), and he did both pretty well. TeSlaa’s season line kind of reflects his usage, as he only caught 16 passes for 239 yards but wound up with six touchdowns. We’ve seen guys spike a big TD total and never build on it, but that probability is built into this ADP. He’s a free player pretty much, and he’s in a good offense with creativity. I don’t hate the idea of a late dart throw, because he does have a niche here, and he has the physical ability to become more if he improves technically.