Detroit Lions: A fantasy football guide for Motor City fans
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford never seems to be a very high pick and is almost always available pretty late into a normal draft. The laser-rocket arm of Number 9 puts up numbers every year and outperforms his draft status in fantasy. Look at his stats from last year: 4,446 yards, 29 touchdowns, 10 interceptions. He did lose seven fumbles, though.
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In standard scoring leagues he was the eighth best scorer, any position. Somehow, he’s ranked as the fifteenth quarterback, though. Makes no sense. Anyway, he can make any throw, his touch and accuracy have improved to the point of him being a Top Ten quarterback no matter what measure you judge a quarterback by.
Round to target: FFC says round nine, CBS, pick 68. I’d say if you want him bad, take him by round eight. He’s a fantasy starter, but don’t go crazy. He is the exact kind of player that I target at quarterback. I take runners and receivers early and wait for a QB. Stafford will put up numbers, and a running game might actually help his yardage and touchdowns. What will he do if teams have to respect the run? Should be fun to find out.
Anyone else
Nothing against Jake Rudock or Matt Cassel, but neither are going to make us forget about Stafford. Not sure who the backup is, yet, either. No matter who it is, the biggest problem with their viability is that Stafford doesn’t miss games. Matt Stafford hasn’t missed a game since 2010, FYI.
If he were to go down, the backup would probably be a backup fantasy player at best; a bye week fill-in. The team would still have weapons, and there’s talent around the quarterback position, though. I would expect more running and dink-and-dunk passes since neither man has what you might call a cannon. Both are the game manager type.
Round to target: You’re silly if you waste a pick on whoever the backup is. Both because Stafford is dependable, and the backups aren’t real talented. Free agent only if Stafford gets abducted by aliens.