☕️Bi-Weekly Brew: Detroit Lions Edition

By The Dynasty Cafe · July 5, 2026 · Play For Keeps Articles

Welcome back to The Dynasty Cafe for the fifth installment of the ☕️Bi-Weekly Brew, where I provide some special blends for YOUR specific build. Be sure to check out the previous Brew if you missed it!  Last time, we discussed the New York Giants, and discussed some pathways to acquire Dart, Skattebo, and Nabers.  This time around, we head to Detroit to begin our analysis of the NFC North.  The Lions have been an NFL darling for the last few seasons.  Despite having a disappointing season in 2025, they still had guys that produced fantasy points for our teams.  Lets take a look at what Lions YOU should be after this season!

☕️Bi-Weekly Brew Themes☕️

For those that are new: welcome in!  Here’s what you’ll find in each edition of the ☕️Bi-Weekly Brew:

In each brew, we will assume super flex is in play, with full point PPR and .5 TEP. 

For each team, we’ll be identifying:

☕️Our House Blend: the perfect player for any build

☕️The Espresso Shot: a player to provide that high upside boost to your rebuilding team

☕️The Dark Roast: ole reliable, a player that can push a contender to its peak

☕️House Blend: Jameson Williams☕️

This may come as a surprise, but hear me out.  Jahmyr Gibbs seems like an easy choice here, but the pathway to acquisition is a tough one.  Jameson is someone that can fit on a lot of builds, and is much easier to acquire.

Jamo has the week winning upside a contender needs to make a push, and the youth to maintain value for a rebuilder.  Last season, Jamo got off to a slow start, but rattled off four finishes in the Top 10 after Week 10.  Why is Week 10 significant? That's the week Dan Campbell started calling plays.  Dan Campbell has made it a point to get the ball to Jamo. It's hard to imagine a scenario where Campbell isn't stressing the importance of getting the ball into Jamo's hands to new OC Drew Petzing.  

For contenders, Jameson ideally slots in as a high upside WR2 or WR3 on teams.  While he has the upside to win weeks, he also has a floor that can lose you weeks if he isn't insulated, having two games last year of zero points.  Pair him with more consistent hitters and you've got a WR core with great weekly upside. 

As we talked about in the last article, receivers hold their fantasy value and production longer than other positions.  Jamo is only 25.  He'll be entering his prime right as teams make that move from rebuilding to contending.  Stash Jameson long term as a rebuilder, and ride the ups and downs as a contender! 

Photo Credit: Duane Burleson/AP Photo

Let's take a look at some trades involving Jameson Williams, courtesy of Sharp Tracker:

For a contender, this trade is a smash.  Your goal is to score as many points possible right now.  You know what is guaranteed to score zero points this upcoming season? A 2028 1st.  As a contender, cash in your chips and turn those lottery tickets, aka future draft capital, into a known asset with years of tread left on the tires.  

This is a great example of a slam dunk move for a rebuilder.  Anytime you can turn an older RB into a younger WR who produces, you're doing something right.  As I talked about in the Cowboys Bi-Weekly Brew, Javonte is a great piece for a contender to acquire.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, he's a great asset for a rebuilder to move.  Why? As we've talked about previously (see Giants Bi-Weekly Brew), RB points drop off more quickly that WRs.  With rebuilders looking between 1-3 years down the line, the goal is to acquire players who will still likely be producing when the roster is ready to win.  Moving off a non-superstar RB who is approaching the RB age cliff for a WR just entering his prime and in an elite offensive situation is an A+ move for a rebuilder.  

☕️Espresso Shot: Sam Laporta☕️

After an electric rookie season, the shine has worn off of Sam Laporta.  This discount is perfect for a rebuilding team.  Laporta has dealt with injuries, slowing down his production.  However, he is only 25, and can provide some stability at the TE position for the coming seasons. He’s well below his all time highs in values, which leaves a rebuilder a lot of room to see their investment pan out.  While people remember the missed games of 2025, they forget that he was TE1 as a rookie, and TE8 in year two.  It's hard to acquire TE's with TE1 overall upside.  His new OC, Drew Petzing, also ran an offense that heavily favored Trey McBride.  While I don't project McBride levels of volume for Laporta, I do anticipate more consistent usage than what we saw in 2024 and 2025.  The time to buy is NOW during the offseason.  Once he gets back on the field and puts up Top 10 numbers, the buy low window will close.

Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel/USA Today Sports

Let's take a look at a move that is perfect for a rebuilding team:

On the surface, trading draft capital as a rebuilder seems counter intuitive.  However, 2nd round picks are dart throws, even in the deepest of classes.  The odds of that pick being more productive than Sam Laporta are low.  Tight ends also produce later into their careers and have less drastic of a fall off compared to the RB position.  As a rebuilder, I'm ok trading 2nds to acquire young TEs and WRs, especially ones who have the potential to be the highest scoring at their position.  The positional advantage you can gain by having a great to elite level tight end is massive.  If I can buy one for a late 2nd, it's hard to say no.   

☕️The Dark Roast: Amon-Ra St. Brown☕️

What player epitomizes reliability like Sun God?  All he’s done since becoming a full time player is produce three Top 3 seasons, and another season as a Top 10 WR.  If you need consistent points for your lineup, this is your guy!  Last season, ARSB gave his owners five weekly finishes in the Top 10, and no less than six targets in any game he finished.  The volume is insane, and with a high powered offense like the Lions, that type of volume can lead to some massive point totals.  Pay the tax and go get your teams WR1 for your title push.

Photo Credit: Peter Casey/Imagn-Images

Let's take a look at the Sharp Tracker for an idea of what a trade package for Sun God could look like:

There are a lot of juicy trades for Sun God on the Sharp Tracker, but this one seemed like the most interesting.  Because of the hype for the 2027 class, managers are trying to horde 27 1sts like it's going out of style.  Some are hesitant to move these picks; I'm here to tell you it's ok to trade these picks to push for a title.  I actually view 2027 picks as a little overvalued.  This is where sharp managers can take advantage to get some real superstars.  Anyone using these 27 firsts would kill to have one of them turn into a Sun God caliber player for fantasy.  Why not just take the risk out and go get the man himself?  I'll continue to reiterate this point: if you're on the brink of a title run, do not be afraid to weaponize your future capital and turn it into guys who can help you win right now.  I wouldn't think twice about trading two future firsts for Amon-Ra, even if they are 2027 firsts.

☕️Note to Readers☕️

Be sure to explore the Sharp Tracker for more trade ideas like those above.  That is a great tool for gauging what some of the best players are doing to buy or sell players.  I hope you enjoyed the content you consumed here today, and I look forward to seeing you for the next edition of the ☕️Bi-Weekly Brew! 

Remember to follow @TheDynastyCafe on X for additional content and updates!

Good luck and happy trading!

Cover Photo Credit: Getty Images

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