Dec. 2, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown in the third quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

There are football fans out there that decry the release of mock NFL drafts in January. Well, what about a fantasy football mock draft this time of year?

Seems kind of silly but like early mock drafts, an early fantasy football mock draft is just for fun. Yahoo’s Andy Behrens recently put together a 2013 fantasy football mock and admits as much, warning the general public to ‘NOT TRY THIS AT HOME’.

Since Behrens did the work of putting together a ten round mock for a standard ten team league we can talk about the results while heeding his advice to not take part in such lunacy.

It doesn’t take long to find the first Detroit Lions in the mock. Not surprisingly, it’s Calvin Johnson with the third overall pick, behind Adrian Peterson and Arian Foster. Behrens admits to at least briefly considering Johnson for the top spot in his discussion following the first round of picks:

Peterson at the top is one of the easiest calls in any draft in recent memory. He’ll be coming off a historic season, the best of his six-year career. The man has never failed to reach double-digits in touchdowns, no matter how lousy his supporting cast. I might be able to construct a (weak) case to draft Megatron over AP — based on the likely separation between each player and the No. 2 at their position — but in practice, I’d always draft Peterson.

Fair enough.

I figured Matthew Stafford would be the next Lion taken so I started scanning…and scanning…and scanning.

Sure enough, I was right, but Stafford’s name didn’t appear until the seventh round. That’s lower than I had expected, even considering Stafford took a step back in 2012, but the reasoning has, at least in part, to do with a deep crop of quarterbacks. Behrens explains as much when discussing the lack of quarterbacks in his first round:

Why no quarterbacks in the first round? I’ll admit it seems a little unrealistic, because in a public-style league, someone almost always snags their favorite team’s QB in Round 1. But the player pool at QB is awfully deep; in a 10 or 12-team fantasy league, every owner will be satisfied with whatever they get on draft day. It’s the one position you won’t be able to screw up. Right now, the tenth highest-scoring quarterback in our game (Matthew Stafford) is averaging 313.0 passing yards per game.

That’s the extent of Lions selected in Behrens’ mock. Mikel Leshoure finished 2012 ranked ninth in the NFL for rushing touchdowns with nine. If he can do that again and improve his yardage totals he could be a good value pick. Perhaps a sleeper to keep in mind as reports of his progress come out over the offseason.

Sep 30, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-US PRESSWIRE

Week six is upon us and the Detroit Lions skill positions have been letting fantasy owners down. Though the Lions are coming off a bye week and are looking to turn their season around after a dreadful 1-3 start, fantasy owners should be concerned for their Lions going into Philadelphia.

This week is not the best week for your Lions fantasy players, and this week’s start em/sit em’s numbers may shock you.

Start em…
Calvin Johnson – It is obvious that you start Calvin Johnson every week but this year he hasn’t had the numbers everyone was expecting and what put him on the Madden cover. Johnson has yet to catch a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford and that is a concern. His targets are right where they should be at 43, but most of them are short passes and not down the field. Coming off the bye week I expect Johnson to catch his second touchdown of the season but don’t look for huge day with yards.

Matthew Stafford – This week Stafford has something to prove. This season he only has 3 touchdown passes total. At this point last year he had 8, just to Calvin Johnson. Though he is still averaging 295 yards a game, his 3-4 touchdown to interception ratio is not good. He is only averaging about 16 fantasy points a game in standard leagues and that is just not good enough for how high his average draft position was. This week he is going to have his hands full. The Eagles are ranked 9th against the pass in the NFL and only allow 206 yards passing a game. Look for Stafford to come out strong against the Eagles and have a better game than the numbers suggest.

Sit em…
Brandon Pettigrew – Yes, yes he drops the ball but that hasn’t stopped him from being a productive fantasy tight end. He is second in targets on the Lions with 35 behind Calvin Johnson and that trend should stay the same. He has at least 60 yards in three of the four games and if he can fix the drops, it would be a lot more. Now all these numbers may sound like I am saying start him but I’m not. The Eagles have only allowed one touchdown to tight ends so far this season and more than five catches only once. He may be good going forward but not this week.

Titus Young/Nate Burleson – Are these guys even on the field? I was high on Titus Young early in the year but he has just not shown up. Though his numbers that made him fantasy relevant came in the second half of the season last year, in the here and now he has been virtually droppable. Burleson has actually been better than I predicted this season but not this week. Burleson has yet to gain more than 70 yards in a game and he only has one score. He may be a decent play in PPR leagues for the rest of the season but he wouldn’t be in my lineup this week.

Mikel Leshoure – Leshoure doesn’t have the sample size to really put a finger on his skill set but the Eagles make it easy to say he shouldn’t have a good fantasy day. The Eagle defense has only given up two games of over 100 yards rushing and just two touchdowns in five weeks. He may be a good flex play but is not quite number two running back material this week.
If the Lions can start to put up more points in the first half of games, and get the ball to Calvin Johnson in the end zone, the Detroit players will begin to have better fantasy weeks.

Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-US PRESSWIRE

Now that the NFL has changed to a passing league, the tight end position has become more of a prized offensive weapon. Luckily for the Lions they have two very capable guys at the position. Last season the Lions tight ends got in the end zone 11 times, giving quarterback Matthew Stafford two very good targets in the red zone. This season should be no different for the Lions and the tight ends will be a crucial weapon for the 4th year quarterback.

The main target at tight end last season was Brandon Pettigrew and this year should be much of the same. Pettigrew had an outstanding season in 2011 racking up 777 yards and five touchdowns. Now the most important stat here is the touchdowns. Though five touchdowns is not the most eye popping number, it is more significant when you realize they were all in the red zone. This makes Pettigrew a main target when the Lions get in close. Another fun stat is all five of his scores came at home, though this doesn’t mean much, it may be a useful strategy during the season. In 2012 Pettigrew is poised for another big season. He has got increasingly better in each season since 2009, his rookie year. Not only have his yards increased but his touchdowns as well. This means he should be a top ten fantasy tight end in the upcoming year. Pettigrew should be a late round pick in most standard leagues but in PPR he is intriguing. He averaged around five catches a game in 2011 and that number will likely go up. Pettigrew is a solid pick when it comes to second tier tight ends in your draft.

The other tight end for the Lions that made a big impact last season was Tony Scheffler. Though Scheffler caught only 26 balls last season, six of them were for touchdowns. Near the goal line is where the Lions use most of their two tight end sets and Scheffler is definitely a used weapon. He shouldn’t be chosen in any ten team standard leagues or even PPR, but he could be a viable option for deep 12 to 16 team leagues. This season his numbers should stay close to the same and he may not score as many touchdowns, but he has the ability to have a great upside. And his touchdown dances aren’t bad either.

The Lions tight ends are key targets in the red zone and it is no secret Matthew Stafford likes to use them. There is no doubt in my mind that Pettigrew will be a top ten tight end in all leagues and that Scheffler is a great option for bye weeks or deep leagues. With the league being pass heavy and new emphasis on tight end play, the Lions should have a great pair of guys for your fantasy team.

Brandon Pettigrew
2011 Actual: 83 Receptions, 777 Yards, 5 Touchdowns
2012 Projected: 91 Receptions, 892 yards, 8 Touchdowns

Tony Scheffler
2011 Actual: 26 Receptions, 347 Yards, 6 Touchdowns
2012 Projected: 21 Receptions, 298 Yards, 3 Touchdowns