The 2020 season is still young, but some trends are starting to unfold. For fantasy football players, every new data point can help inform future decisions. Of course, there is always going to be an element of uncertainty and luck, but the goal here is to try to find hints from the data.
The starts for Detroit are clear: Kenny Golladay (WR18) should rise with health, Marvin Jones (WR32) is a Flex at least, and T.J. Hockenson (TE8) is in your lineup if he is on your roster. At this point, Adrian Peterson (RB33) is the only running back of the trio that can really be considered, but he is just a backup option.
For the Saints, the population is a little more tight. Once again, the Lions will go up against a player who is likely the top of their position, this time swapping out DeAndre Hopkins for Alvin Kamara (RB1). With Michael Thomas out, Emmanuel Sanders (WR40) and Tre’Quan Smith (WR47) are the top receiving options, but neither they nor Jared Cook (TE14) are overly inspiring.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Which Lions-Saints players will boom and bust in fantasy this week?
My answer: The point of this article is to find margin against the experts, so I am going to flip the quarterbacks. I know Drew Brees (QB14) has shown some age this year, and he is probably without his best receiver again on Sunday, but the Lions have been pretty vulnerable in the passing game. As long as he avoids stupid interceptions like Kyler Murray threw last week, Brees should be able to put up QB1 numbers.
Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford (QB12) looked better in Arizona, but he still was not back to his old self. Basically every expert was predicting a huge year based on what he did last season before injury, but that has yet to materialize. Yes, I like the Detroit pass catchers this week, but in this case I believe more in the individual parts than the whole.