In the 11th of a 32-part series, we are featuring all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Here are the Detroit Lions.
Key Off Season Acquisitions
The three new notable Detroit Lions are all offensive linemen. They are centers Cade Mays of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Juice Scruggs of Ashtabula, Ohio, and offensive tackle Larry Borom of Detroit, Michigan.
Mays signed a three-year contract worth $25 million on March 9. He previously played the last four seasons with the Carolina Panthers (first two seasons as a guard and the last two seasons as a center). Lions fans will not get to see Mays once the season starts. That is because he broke his wrist during training camp and will be out the first month of the regular season.
Scruggs was traded with a fourth round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a seventh round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft from the Houston Texans to the Lions for running back David Montgomery of Cincinnati, Ohio on March 11. Scruggs spent the last three seasons with the Texans.
Borom signed a one-year contract worth $5 million on March 12. He is joining his third NFL franchise after four seasons with the Chicago Bears (2021 to 2024) and one season with the Miami Dolphins (2025).
Fantasy Stars
Lions are ranked in the top 10 in all six fantasy categories. Let’s take a look.
Jared Goff of Novato, California is ranked eighth among quarterbacks. In 2025, he completed 393 passes in 578 attempts for 4564 passing yards, 34 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. Goff added 19 rushes for 45 rushing yards.
Jahmyr Gibbs of Dalton, Georgia is ranked first among running backs. In 2025, he had 243 rushes for 1223 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. Gibbs also had 77 catches for 616 receiving yards and five touchdown catches.
Amon-Ra St. Brown of Anaheim Hills, California is ranked third among wide receivers. In 2025, he had 117 catches for 1401 receiving yards and 11 touchdown catches.
Sam LaPorta of Highland, Illinois is ranked fifth among tight ends. In 2025, he had 40 catches for 489 receiving yards and three touchdown catches.
The Lions have the fifth ranked fantasy defense. Aidan Hutchinson of Plymouth, Michigan had 14.5 sacks in 2025, the fourth most in the NFL.
Jake Bates of Tomball, Texas is the second ranked kicker in the NFL. In 2025, he led the NFL in converts for the second straight season (with 54 after 64 in 2024), and made 27 of 34 field goal attempts.
Projected Finish
It was a stunner that the Lions missed the playoffs in 2025. That should not happen again in 2026 as the Lions will be favoured to win the NFC North.
