Welcome to the twenty-first part of a thirty-two-part series: Reading the NFL Offseason Tea Leaves. Fantasy football tasseography is deeply rooted in predicting future fantasy fortunes. Some of the team tea cups we'll be looking into may be larger than others. The smallest of cups may have the most alluring blends of offensive weaponry, or be set to bloom after a long steep. This series will aid in your approach to Redraft and Dynasty leagues by bringing you up to date on:

• Free Agency
  • Re-signings, additions, who signed elsewhere, and what it means for fantasy.
• NFL Draft
  • What can we decipher about the direction a team is headed in based on their draft selections?
• Coaching Changes
  • Who's in, who's out, and how do the coaching philosophies translate to fantasy production?
• Fantasy Fortunes
  • What does this all mean for your fantasy football drafts?

Like tasseography, the arrangement of these four topics will vary as we digest each team's offseasons and see how the offensive pieces settle. Each article will interpret what this NFL team has told us about their future plans based on what they've done since their 2025 season ended.

Reading the Detroit Lions' 2026 Offseason

Free Agency and the OL Shuffle

Out are RB David Montgomery and WR Kalif Raymond, and in is RB Isiah Pacheco. The Lions also released long-time offensive tackle Taylor Decker.

Detroit is one season removed from the retirement of four-time Pro Bowl OL Frank Ragnow. To remedy this situation, they drafted one of my favorite offensive linemen in OT Blake Miller out of Clemson. There should be a little bit of concern around Detroit's offensive line in 2026 since their play did decline from 2024-2025, but not enough to derail the offensive production we've come to expect for fantasy.

Isiah Pacheco, a Premium Handcuff

Right, Pacheco. Detroit RB1 Gibbs can't handle 100 percent of the workload, and as long as Dan Campbell is their Head Coach, we can expect them to run the ball and put points up on the board.

Pacheco is being undervalued after falling out of favor in Kansas City and is a clear handcuff, likely in line for 20-30 percent of the RB snaps in 2026. He would have a premier role if Gibbs were to get injured, and would be worthy of spending the No. 1 overall waiver or plus-50 percent of your FAAB budget on.

Coaching Changes: Drew Petzing Takes Over

Drew Petzing takes over as the Offensive Coordinator (OC) for Detroit after spending the last three years as Arizona's OC. Petzing's offense ranked in the bottom quarter of the league in points in two of his three years running the offense.

He was able to scheme up an effective rushing offense, ranking in the top 10 in both 2023 and 2024. This is likely why the Lions felt comfortable bringing him in.

Time to chomp on kneecaps.

Goff and the Passing Game

Jared Goff might be the poster child for perennially undervalued QBs after finishing as a QB1 for 4 consecutive years. Goff has averaged over 4,500 passing yards and 30 TDs since 2022. It shouldn't be hard to repeat this given the weapons he has to throw to.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, and Gibbs will dominate targets in this offense in 2026. Isaac TeSlaa is locked into the WR3 role and will be boom or bust in 2026. Per our Play-by-Play Analysis tool, TeSlaa finished 12th in highest Expected Points Added (EPA) per Play amongst 2026 WRs, which speaks to his uncanny ability to convert on downfield big-play opportunities.

The volume won't be there for TeSlaa to be more than a bye week fill-in, but he could be the missing piece in your best ball lineups. 

Fantasy Fortunes

This offense will once again churn out high-end fantasy seasons for its top skill position players. Feel confident drafting, trading for, and starting Gibbs and St. Brown as they hold league-winning upside.

Veteran TE LaPorta should return to form and be healed from his back injury that ended his 2025 season. Goff will again be undervalued, even after leading the Lions to score the 4th most points in the NFL in 2025. Williams had his first 1,000-yard season last year, and will continue to provide spike weeks as a high-end WR2/low-end WR1.

Feel confident in Dan Campbell's Lions when it comes to starting them in your fantasy lineups. I'm expecting a QB1, RB1, WR1 and WR2, and a TE1 out of Detroit.

Cam White is a Senior Analyst & Host at Optimus Fantasy. You can find more of his work on our YouTube channel, and make sure to follow him on Bluesky.