Tag: DJ Chark Jr. fantasy football

What should fantasy footballers expect from the Carolina receiving corps?

Is there any fantasy worth to be found among Carolina’s new-look receiving corps?

Four quarterbacks attempted passes for the Carolina Panthers last season. None of them return. Leading receiver DJ Moore is also gone, traded to the Chicago Bears as part of the package used to acquire the No. 1 overall pick, which became Alabama’s Bryce Young.

The team hired Frank Reich as their new head coach to help speed Young’s transition from college to the pros, and the hope is he’ll be ready to guide the club in Week 1, though veteran Andy Dalton was signed as an insurance policy.

Add it up and you’re left with a massive overhaul: a new coach, two new QBs, and three of the projected top-five receivers were added in the offseason. That includes a pair of veterans in longtime Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen along with DJ Chark Jr., most recently of the Detroit Lions, and a rookie in the form of second-round pick Jonathan Mingo.

With so many moving parts, it’s a good time to take an initial look at Carolina’s receiver room to gauge what they might have to offer fantasy owners in 2023.

Fantasy football: Sifting through the Detroit Lions’ receiving corps

A retooled receiving corps leaves plenty of unanswered fantasy questions heading into training camp.

Heading into last season, the Detroit Lions had arguably the saddest collection of talent at the receiver position in the NFL with wide receivers Kalif Raymond, Quintez Cephus, and Tyrell Williams (currently a free agent) atop the depth chart.

Much has changed since then. Unheralded fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown put together a strong rookie campaign, emerging as a reliable target for quarterback Jared Goff, and Josh Reynolds arrived via the waiver wire, reuniting him with Goff from their days together with the Los Angeles Rams.

This offseason has brought even more reinforcements, highlighted by the selection of Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams (knee) with the 12th overall selection — that’s the earliest the Lions have drafted a wideout since Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson in 2007. Detroit also took a one-year flier on former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver DJ Chark Jr., who had a 1,000-yard season in 2019 but is coming off a fractured ankle that limited him to four games this past year.

In what must be considered something of a surprise, Goff will again steer the ship in 2022 as the Lions chose to sit out one of the busiest offseasons in league annals in terms of quarterback movement, despite not having an obvious heir apparent at the position. While Goff had some good years in LA, much of that credit has been given to Rams head coach Sean McVay, and the team’s decision to move on from Goff leading to an immediate championship certainly supports that statement.

Still, Goff is an experienced pro who shouldn’t hold the offense back too much. On paper, this looks like the finest collection of weapons he’s had since 2018 when the offense included Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods (Tennessee Titans), Brandin Cooks (Houston Texans), and running back Todd Gurley (free agent).

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