5 Detroit Lions who could become fantasy football stars in 2022

1. RB D’Andre Swift

Swift is the easy choice to top this list. I’ve written this in some variations multiple times all offseason, but here it is again.

Last season, Swift injured his right shoulder after playing just 10 snaps on Thanksgiving Day. He missed the next four games, then had limited work in Week 17 and Week 18 (68 total snaps, 17 combined touches, 85 combined yards from scrimmage with a rushing touchdown). Over 10 games of normal work, he nearly topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage (975) with six total touchdowns.

Through Week 11, prior to that shoulder injury, Swift was RB7 in 0.5-point PPR (RB9 in standard, RB5 in full PPR). He was also building some momentum, with back-to-back 130-plus yard rushing games after head coach Dan Campbell took over the offensive play calling in Week 10 and Week 11. Then he was injured, and Swift’s 2021 campaign became about unrealized potential as the Lions’ offense improved.

After he has missed time in each of his first two seasons, the Lions are prioritizing managing Swift’s workload during training camp (and certainly preseason games) to make sure he’s healthy going into the season when it counts. He responded to durability concerns by coming to offseason work looking notably bigger.

The 2022 season is being lined up for Swift to turn massive potential into a big payoff–for himself as he looks toward a contract year in 2023, the Lions as they lean to him as their workhorse back and fantasy managers who draft him based on his upside.

Finishing as the overall RB1 in fantasy is within the range of possibilities for Swift this year, but a top-10 finish would qualify as a star turn.