Getty Gallery: 2/7
Start: WR Kenny Golladay at Vikings
Sit: Geronimo Allison at Patriots
With the Golden Tate trade, there are more targets to go around in a solid Lions offense. Tate led the Lions in targets with 9.9 per game, with the majority of them being split between Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones. So far this season, Golladaday is averaging 6.3 targets while Jones is slightly higher with 6.7 per Fantasy Pros.
My money is on Golladay to be the Lions WR1 going forward. Jones' 10 targets in Week 8 skew the averages a bit. Both wide receivers should benefit from Tate's absence and are solid fantasy options going forward with Matthew Stafford behind center. USA Today's K.D. Drummond did a great job of describing Galladay's improvement.
"His overall leap from rookie to second year has been really fun to watch," Drummond writes. "Golladay has the impressive size/speed combination. Now he’s learned how to use them together more effectively. Stafford loves to throw to him along the sidelines and use his amazing catch radius and sticky hands. He’s also emerged as a really dogged blocker, something the Lions did not have on the perimeter last year."
Minnesota's defense is not the easiest matchup, but the Vikings also have had some injuries in the secondary. Golladay and Jones are both starts this week. Look for Golladay to emerge as the Lions top receiver going forward.
Geronimo Allison's Usage Continues to Go Down for the Packers
Allison started the season as the Packers WR2, but Randall Cobb appears to have recovered that distinction. While Allison was sidelined with injuries, the Packers other young receivers stepped up. Now, Allison's usage has gone down making it hard for fantasy owners to trust.
Allison had just one target in Week 8 and missed the previous two Packers games before their bye. Fantasy owners would be wise to keep Allison on your roster for another week given the strength of the Packers offense but keep him on your bench. CBS Sports provides a good break down of the current state of the Packers wide receivers.
"Allison returned to action Sunday after missing the previous two games and finished with his lowest output of the season by far, as his previous low-yardage game in 2018 still saw him post 64 yards," CBS Sports explains. "Much of that was due to a lack of opportunity: he was targeted 11 times in his last appearance Week 4, but his reception was the only pass thrown his direction Week 8. While Allison and fellow wideout Randall Cobb missed time the last few weeks, Marquez Valdes-Scantling emerged as a viable receiver for the Packers, and although he was targeted just five times Sunday himself, he did cut into Allison's playing time, finishing with 31 snaps to Allison's 30."
For now, hold onto Allison, but if the targets continue to go down it might be time to drop him from your roster. If Allison's situation improves against the Patriots, it should give fantasy owners more confidence going forward.