Who is the better fantasy RB this season, Reggie Bush or Joique Bell? While we like Bell, Bush is clearly the far superior talent and Detroit’s new offensive weaponry should open up space for him in 2014. Photo: Icon Sportswire

Data as of June 26 | Current Cheatsheets | Current Projections

NR = Not ranked

QB Matthew Stafford

Stafford put together another solid fantasy season in 2013 although he stumbled badly down the stretch, was responsible for 23 turnovers by season’s end and saw his completion percentage drop to just 58.5%. In summary, while he was fine fantasy-wise, Lions management couldn’t have been very pleased with his performance. With Detroit fighting for a playoff spot, Stafford put together an awful four-game stretch to finish the season, tossing five interceptions with just two touchdown passes and failing to top 250 yards in any game, all Lions losses. That not only cost Detroit a playoff spot, it also cost his fantasy owners in their playoffs. There is hope for a rebound season in 2014 reminiscent of his career year in 2011 when he threw for over 5,000 yards with 41 touchdown passes. Golden Tate was brought in to replace the aging Nate Burleson and tight end Eric Ebron was taken in the 1st round of the NFL Draft. With a cast of speedy skill players and an above average offensive line, the tools are in place for a top five fantasy performance from Stafford. Let’s hope he brings consistency to the table in 2014.

RB Reggie Bush

Signed by the Lions to bolster their rushing attack, Bush received mixed reviews in 2013 despite topping 1,000 rushing yards and adding over 500 receiving yards. His 1,512 total yards were a career high, helping to propel him to finishing the season as the 10th ranked fantasy running back. Unfortunately, he missed a pair of games and his four lost fumbles cost him playing time. After averaging 93 total yards and 0.49 touchdowns per game over the last three seasons, you would think that Bush would be regarded as a valuable low end RB1 by fantasy pundits. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case and with new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi signaling that he plans on having Bush and Joique Bell split the workload 50/50 in 2014, Bush’s stock has sunk even further. The truth is that this smells like a bargain. While we like Bell, Bush is clearly the far superior talent and Detroit’s new offensive weaponry should open up space for him in 2014.

RB Joique Bell

A late bloomer, Bell pushed aside the disappointing Mikel Leshoure in training camp last season and then proceeded to eat into Reggie Bush’s workload, amassing 219 touches to Bush’s 277. Surprisingly, Bell finished the season with 53 receptions, just one fewer than Bush. By season’s end, he was a solid RB2 as the 17th ranked fantasy running back. Not bad for a player that failed to register a single touch during his first two years in the league. While the arrow is pointing up for Bell and the team has indicated they would like to increase his role at the expense of Reggie Bush’s touches, he will be hard pressed to see his touches increase in 2014 given the additions to the Lions offense including Golden Tate and Eric Ebron. However, he excelled as a short yardage runner, finishing the season with eight rushing touchdowns, and Bush’s injury history is well documented. Another season with over 1,000 total yards and 6-8 touchdowns seems possible, making Bell a low end RB2 in 2014.

RB Mikel Leshoure

The pre-training camp scuttlebutt was that Leshoure was going to get a fresh start with the Lions in 2014. While that may make for a good story, there simply isn’t any reason to put much stock into it. While Leshoure may be a former 2nd round pick, he has been injury prone and ineffective during his three year career. Simply put, we don’t see any scenario whereby Leshoure usurps Reggie Bush and Joique Bell on the Lions depth chart at running back. Barring a trade or injury, he has no fantasy value.

WR Calvin Johnson

While Johnson failed to come close to matching his NFL single season receiving yardage record of 1,964 yards set in 2012, he actually managed to increase his PPG average from 14.2 to 15.8 courtesy of his 12 touchdowns in just 14 games. He proved to be otherworldly once again in 2013, catching 84 of his 156 targets for 1,492 yards despite the subpar play of quarterback Matthew Stafford and having little help at the wide receiver and tight end positions. Did we mention that he suffered through a knee injury for much of the season? The Lions added Golden Tate at wide receiver and tight end Eric Ebron with their 1st round selection in the NFL Draft with the hope that Megatron won’t attract so much attention from opposing secondaries. We don’t expect that to happen. However, Megatron, who turns 29 during the season, has plenty left in the tank and seems a given as the top wide receiver off the board in fantasy drafts this summer.

WR Golden Tate

After starting his career slowly, Tate has increased both his reception and yardage totals in every year of his four-year career. After catching 64 passes for 898 yards and five touchdowns during the Seattle Seahawks run to the Super Bowl in 2013, he signed a five-year, $31-million contract during the offseason to join the Lions. In Detroit, Tate will line up opposite Calvin Johnson in an offense that possesses several outstanding options in the passing game including tight ends Brandon Pettigrew and Eric Ebron as well as running backs Reggie Bush and Joique Bell. While Tate has shown tremendous improvement during his career, the presence of so many solid options in the passing game limits his fantasy potential. Look for this to be the first year that Tate doesn’t see his reception and yardage totals increase. That would make him a low end WR3 in 2014.

WR Ryan Broyles

After a pair of torn ACL’s, one that ended his rookie season, and a torn Achilles suffered in Week 8 of last season, Broyles future in Detroit is likely that of a backup receiver and option out of the slot. The 2012 2nd round pick possessed outstanding speed in college but his inability to stay healthy resulted in the Lions signing receiver Golden Tate in free agency and adding tight end Eric Ebron in the 1st round of the rookie draft. With Reggie Bush and Joique Bell solid receiving options in the backfield and Calvin Johnson commanding 160 plus targets, there are only so many balls left over for Broyles and fellow backup Kris Durham. He won’t get enough of them to have much fantasy value in 2014.

WR Kris Durham

With Nate Burleson out with a broken arm and Ryan Broyles ineffective after suffering an ACL injury in 2012, Durham enjoyed a career year in 2013 with 38 receptions for 490 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Unfortunately, a closer look reveals that it took Durham 86 targets to post those numbers, making it no surprise that Golden Tate was signed to replace the departing Burleson in the starting line-up. With plenty of solid receiving options on the roster, Durham doesn’t figure to have any fantasy value in 2013 unless Calvin Johnson or Tate suffer long term injuries. And even then, he would need to be the Lions preferred option over Ryan Broyles although we do like his chances in that scenario.

TE Brandon Pettigrew

Even with receivers Nate Burleson and Ryan Broyles out of the line up for extended periods due to injury, Pettigrew was only targeted 64 times, the lowest total since his rookie season in 2009. Running backs Reggie Bush and Joique Bell took over as quarterback Matthew Stafford’s preferred options in the short passing game. With Eric Ebron added in the 1st round of this year’s draft, look for Pettigrew to be used even less in the passing game in 2014. We don’t like his chances for a rebound season in 2014.

TE Eric Ebron

Somewhat surprisingly the Lions chose to address the tight end position in the NFL Draft, grabbing Ebron with the 10th pick in the 1st round. Regarded as the premier tight end, Ebron possesses solid size and agility to go along with outstanding speed. With new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi coming over from New Orleans, it seems clear that the Lions envision Ebron assuming a Jimmy Graham type role in their passing game. Just don’t go expecting Ebron to post similar production during his rookie season. With Brandon Pettigrew still on the roster, Ebron won’t be asked to block much but it is hard to imagine him having a monster rookie season with Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Reggie Bush and Joique Bell eating up a huge amount of targets. Ebron rates as an outstanding dynasty league prospect and a lower tier TE1 or upper tier TE2 in 2014. It’s easy to see him getting overdrafted this year, so buyer beware.