Carolina Panthers @ Detroit Lions

The winless Panthers travel to Detroit for a matchup with the NFC North leading Lions. 

Unsurprisingly, Carolina is a major road underdog in this contest and will have a tough time getting their first W of the season this week.

Both teams like to run the ball and have situation neutral pass rates that rank in the bottom half of the league.

The Lions are living up to the preseason hopes of being an offense that can support multiple elite fantasy options as they currently have the RB7 (David Montgomery), WR11 (Amon-Ra St. Brown), and TE4 (Sam LaPorta) in PPR scoring through four games. 

The Detroit offense gets another boost in the form of WR Jameson Williams who had his suspension reduced and is eligible to play this week. It was a turbulent offseason for the talented second-year WR, but he adds an explosive element that should only benefit the offense, regardless of how big his role actually is to start.

Josh Reynolds has proven to be an effective part of the passing game so it will be interesting to see how many routes Williams gets in his first week back. 

The Lions have scored more than twice as many offensive touchdowns as the Panthers (12 vs. 5) so far this season and they are at home where Jared Goff has been much more effective.

On top of all that, the Lions are also well-rested coming off of the ‘mini-bye’ because they played on Thursday night last week. Anything other than an easy victory at home would be a major disappointment. 

For the Panthers, their top priority has to be getting QB Bryce Young in a rhythm and finding some success for their offense. Young currently ranks dead last in adjusted EPA per play on the season and his 4.9 YPA is only ahead of Joe Burrow and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

The season is getting away from the Panthers quickly and without their first round pick next year, they have every incentive to keep trying to win games this season.

Despite that, there really aren’t many compelling fantasy options. Adam Thielen has been by far the best receiving threat, but he’s nothing more than a WR3/flex play in PPR leagues.

In the backfield, it’s been a tough start to the season for Miles Sanders, while his running mate Chuba Hubbard has been far more effective and is pushing for a larger workload. 

Ultimately, this matchup looks as lopsided as the spread suggests. You should feel good starting all of your Lions players this week, but it is worth noting how much worse the Carolina defense has been against opposing RBs when compared to other positions. 

We know the Lions are willing to pound the rock with David Montgomery so it seems like he’s in store for another big week while maybe, just maybe, we could see Detroit get Jahmyr Gibbs more involved as well.