2014 Review

2014 should be the straw that broke the camel's bat for fantasy owners who have selected Matthew Stafford as a top-five quarterback pick in drafts. The last few seasons, Stafford has disappointed those fantasy owners who drafted him high. 2014 was no exception for Stafford who finished the year as the 15th-ranked fantasy quarterback.

Stafford passed for 4,257 yards, which is impressive, however his touchdowns drastically declined. He only managed 22 scores through the air compared to 41 from 2011. Unfortunately, Stafford is slipping into more of a backup quarterback option as of late. He isn’t worth the reach in earlier rounds heading into 2015.

The ground game in Detroit in 2014 was led by Joique Bell who achieved 988 total rushing and receiving yards and eight total touchdowns. This was good enough to rank Bell as the 15th best running back in fantasy points for the season. Surely, he was a bargain for those who waited until later round to choose him.

Former running back Reggie Bush definitely drafted higher than Bell was an utter disappointment. Laying out is career-low stats in 2014 while dealing with an injury, definitely had those who selected him discarding him to the waiver wire eventually.

Running back Theo Riddick emerged into the scene and totaled some impressive receiving yards, with 316 and four receiving touchdowns. He made an adequate fill-in flex on a few rare occasions.

As for the receivers, Calvin Johnson did not perform up to his usual high standard last season. Unfortunately, he dealt with a nagging ankle injury and finished ranked 14th overall among his fellow wide receivers. Megatron scored eight touchdowns which was impressive, however his yards, 1,077 paled in comparison to wide receiver Golden Tate. In his first year with the Lions, Tate actually out-ranked Johnson by one place. He totaled 1,331 yards but scored only four touchdowns.

Despite the hype of drafting then rookie tight end, Eric Ebron, he along with the rest of the Lions’ tight ends did not belong in anyone’s fantasy lineup last season.

Veteran Additions

None.

NFL Draft

The Lions drafted running back Ameer Abdullah in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. Over the course of Abdullah’s last three years at Nebraska, he totaled 4,438 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns. He also averaged an impressive 5.7 yards per carry.

Abdullah is already receiving plenty of praises from his offseason practices with the Lions. If the rookie keeps turning heads during training camp, he could give veteran Bell some competition this season. This of course would make things in the fantasy department complicated, however.

Potential Breakout Star

The player with potential to breakout is indeed Abdullah if given the opportunity to share the field with Bell. Should Bell become injured again we may see more of Abdullah even with Riddick in the mix. There’s a reason the Lions spent a second-round pick to add another running back to the mix. He’s worth a late-round pick to stash with the hope that he has some big performances.

Potential Disappointment

Johnson could disappoint just as he did last year if he is drafted too high. Megatron still is an amazing receiver, however, his production took a big dip with the addition of Tate to the team. Stafford is also throwing less touchdowns overall which doesn’t bode well for the veteran.

The Lions transitioned to more of a balanced offense last season where they are ran the ball more. That trend looks to continue this season with their three-headed running back committee ready to roll. Johnson’s days of being drafted by pick No. 7 or 8 in the first round, look to be a thing of the past.