5 Detroit Lions to target in upcoming 2023 fantasy football drafts

1. RB David Montgomery

I was all the way on the Montgomery fantasy bandwagon the moment he signed with the Lions, and I stayed all the way on after the drafting of Gibbs killed the buzz. It's all about context, and the concept of value even as the environment changed.

Scott Pianowski of Yahoo! has Montgomery on his "All Boring Team", so I'll let him take the baton for a bit,

"Why He's Boring: Montgomery is a ground-and-pound guy, sitting on an ordinary 3.9 YPC for his career. His short-yardage success rate has been mediocre in recent years. The Lions added Montgomery but also drafted a splashy first-round rookie, Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs.

Why He's Exciting: Detroit has one of the best offensive lines in the league — every list I've seen has this as a top-five group — and OC Ben Johnson is a rising star. The 2022 Lions preferred to use Jamaal Williams as the puncher from in close, and Montgomery will likely inherit that role. Even if Monty isn't a special back, this setup can offer buoyancy. A double-digit touchdown season is likely, and that sounds nifty at Yahoo ADP, 74.5."

- Scott Pianowski, Yahoo! Sports

That Yahoo! (0.5-point PPR) ADP, call it 75th overall (seventh round in 12-team league), puts Montgomery at RB30. He's down to RB31 and pick 84 overall, in full PPR--as expected with Gibbs' presence, and up to RB27 in standard scoring.

Montgomery is ranked a little higher than broad ADP by some sites (in CBS Sports consensus rankings, as an example). He won't fully replicate Williams' 17 rushing touchdowns from last year in basically the same role. But double-digit scores is definitely in play, and even with Gibbs catching a lot of passes he'll offers something in that area.

Montgomery's floor feels like an RB2 finish, and he's got top-10 potential if something happens to Gibbs. Getting that at an RB3 price is an absolute layup in fantasy drafts.