Quote:Barring the injury factor,  the only thing that's in essence certain regarding which Lions skill position players will start every game,   is Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson will be starters.   Otherwise,  it will depend on which formation the Lions are in.    Joe Lombardi ( who is Vince's grandson ),  is the Lions new Offensive Coordinator.   Lombardi was the Saints QB coach for the last 5 years.    The Lions new Offensive system is a combination of the Saints Offense,   Offenses that Jim Caldwell used,  and the previous Lions Offensive system under former Coordinator Scott Linehan.    With the Saints Offense being the greatest part of the Lions new Offense.   Hence,  expect a multitude of formations,  substitutions,  and motion early and often.   

 

Having said all of this,   Lombardi rated Ebron as the 2nd best Offensive player in the draft for the Lions purposes.  Obviously,  Blake Bortles wasn't part of the ratings because of the investment in and presence of Matthew Stafford.    Considering that Ebron has to know 4 different positions and Lombardi pushed for the Lions to draft him,   I expect Ebron to be a significant factor on the Lions Offense in each game he's relatively healthy.   That doesn't mean Ebron will put up fantasy numbers,  as the Lions willhave a multitude of weapons if things go according to plan.   Including two other TE's,  Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria.     In general,   the Lions collectively should have good to very good Offensive stats this season.   Yet,  from a fantasy standpoint,   the stats might be too divided up amongst the RB's,  WR's,  and TE's.   In addition,  Fauria had 7 TD's as an UDRFA rookie and looks like he's a more well rounded this year.

 

One Lions fantasy sleeper, if he gets enough opportunties as a RB and slot receiver, is RB Theo Riddick.   He has been praised by teammates and coaches for months and then had a run after the catch in Oakland last week in which he made 4 tacklers miss.    It remains to be seen if Riddick has enough ability to be the Lions version of Darren Sproles but the comparison was brought up by one of Riddick's teammates.