The 2023 Detroit Lions defense left a lot to be desired as they were walking off the turf in San Francisco after blowing a 17 point lead in the NFC championship game. Gaping holes in the secondary and defensive line only took them so far last season as they were exposed by a savvy San Francisco offense.
GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell overhauled the secondary by bringing in the likes of Carlton Davis III, Amik Robertson, and two rookies Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw. Similarly, they brought in Marcus Davenport and DJ Reader to help bolster the defensive line who could not get to the quarterback in 2023.
Davenport was signed as a rental to help fill a massive void at the left edge position opposite of Aidan Hutchinson, and DJ Reader was brought in to be a run stuffer and eat up double teams to free up his fellow pass rushers on the defensive line.
With the new additions heading into 2024, the Detroit Lions should be a viable fantasy football option as they will be able to take the football away more frequently, and their sack numbers should improve.
Detroit Lions 2023 Defensive Stats
The Detroit Lions defense finished 25th in fantasy football total points in 2023. In terms of fantasy football relevance, we will only be discussing YPG allowed, PPG allowed, sacks, interceptions, and fumbles. The Detroit Lions were surprisingly good at taking the football away in 2023. They forced a combined 23 interceptions and fumbles which ranked them 14th in all of football.
On the other hand, the Lions only racked up 41 total sacks where they ranked the 9th worst in the NFL. Similarly, they ranked 10th worst in PPG allowing 23.2, and 13th worst in YPG allowing 336 per game.
Detroit Lions 2024 Defensive Predictions
The Detroit Lions have the hardest schedule in 2024 according to Fantasy Pros. The Detroit Lions projections heading into 2024 are as follows: 41 sacks, 22.7 takeaways, 343 YPG allowed, and 23.5 PPG allowed according to Fantasy Pros.
Somehow the Detroit Lions defense is projected to be worse than it was in 2023. I cannot see how that is possible with all of the additions, and I predict the Detroit Lions defense will certainly improve in 2024. I do not think they will finish as a top 5 defense in fantasy football, but they will certainly be a viable option throughout the season.
Final Thoughts
The revamped Lions defense has top 10-15 fantasy football upside in 2024. As the season progresses I expect Terrion Arnold to become a solid CB2, Brian Branch to take a huge leap, Aidan Hutchinson to be playing at an all pro level, and simply more overall defensive success.
The Detroit Lions defense is still being underrated, and do not hesitate to add them to your fantasy football roster especially against favorable matchups. In a division with two rookie QBs, Detroit’s defense should be able to put together solid performances.
On the return front, Kalif Raymond is one of the NFL’s best punt retuners. In 2023, he finished eighth in punt return average at 11.4 ypr. Rookie Sione Vaki looks to be the main kickoff returner.
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