Every year we give our premium content members a team-by-team, player-by-player look at the NFL season that was. The coverage will be in-depth, but because the Dynasty Capsule series begins immediately after the season, we won’t use it to discuss free agency or the draft. Come see us in early May once Mr. Irrelevant is off the board for another 32-article series giving you the same detailed discussion you’ll see below.
Buckle up dynasty fans, because you’re about to be reminded why our motto is, “There is no off-season.”
The Lions had a promising first four weeks. The team had it’s fans hungry and believing it had finally put it all together to make a run at the playoffs. A tough tie with the Cardinals was a gut punch, but they followed it up with victories over the Chargers and Eagles. Week four brought the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs to town. The Lions had them against the ropes before ultimately succumbing late.
They had a week five bye and then proceeded to lose 11 of their last 12 games, including the final nine in a row. They earned the overall number three pick in the draft by way of a 3-12-1 record, and many called for coach Matt Patricia to lose his job.
The maligned head coach is back for his third season and the franchise quarterback likely returns healthy. The team is short on offensive firepower overall. They do have just over $45 million in cap space and a good draft spot with some flexibility to trade down. They do have a few strong pieces now who could return value for your dynasty teams.
QUARTERBACK
Matthew Stafford (ADP: 178.17, QB12)
Age: 32
A big reason for the late season decline was the absence of the Lions’ franchise quarterback. A back injury ultimately sidelined Stafford for the last eight games and the offense sputtered under several backup quarterbacks. Below, I compared the value of the Lions' gunslinger against other quarterbacks in the NFC North to get an idea of where his value is at the moment.
Charts Courtesy of ADP History found on each DLF Player Page
Just two second round picks for Golladay? That’s fluky looking.
