The quarter mark of the NFL season is all about reflection, a measuring stick if you will. Are we as good as we thought? What can be improved? Will Al Michaels ever get to call a fun "Thursday Night Football" game, and at what point do we make changes in the booth before tarnishing the legacy of an all-time great announcer? Are the Lions really NFC North contenders? How does Dan Campbell get away with drinking an unhealthy amount of caffeine? Most important, how much money will DraftKings pay us for crafting a dominant DFS lineup?
There are many questions and very few concrete answers, as much can change between now and the end of the season. However, we can start to get some answers when the Lions meet the Packers at Lambeau Field to kick off Week 4. This matchup takes on a different look than the ones in recent years since the Lions are a good football team and the Packers are in a rebuilding, or retooling, phase with life after Aaron Rodgers. No matter what, the winner of this game ends up in the driver's seat on the road to an NFC North division crown. It might be early in the same, but it gets late quickly, especially when the clocks change in the fall.
Before we get into our lineup and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They're full-point PPR and there are three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player's original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.
TNF INJURY UPDATES: Montgomery | Jones | Watson
Lions-Packers DraftKings Picks: DFS lineup for Week 4 Thursday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): TE Sam LaPorta, Lions ($12,000)
LaPorta has emerged as a key piece in the Lions offense and Jared Goff through the first three weeks. The former Iowa tight end carved out a nice target share for himself while Amon-Ra St. Brown is slowed by a toe injury, Jameson Williams is suspended, and David Montgomery (thigh) is sidelined. The best ability is availability, and LaPorta definitely falls into that category. The quick turnaround will place an emphasis on his involvement, meaning the rookie should have a big day on Thursday night.
MORE THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
FD lineup | Best props | Betting preview | Start-Sit
FLEX QB Jordan Love, Packers ($9,800)
As the Lions continue to allow points, we will continue to target high-ceiling players going against them. Love isn't Aaron Rodgers -- and whether he pans out as the long-term option for Green Bay remains to be seen -- but the quarterback is throwing touchdowns and completing passes. The beauty of fantasy and betting is that we don't have time for those debate show-type topics. We operate in reality, and Love has been a top quarterback for fantasy purposes. That won't end on Thursday night against a below-average Lions' pass defense.
FLEX RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions ($9,600)
David Montgomery (thigh) is trending toward playing on Thursday night, but he likely won't be 100 percent. Either way, the door is once again open for Gibbs. For the same reasons we like LaPorta, we also like Gibbs as a solid DFS option. The younger players likely don't have the same ailments that would be common among veterans on each team, meaning they are more apt to bounce back quickly and produce. Gibbs was mostly kept on ice for the first two weeks of the season before breaking out in Week 3 once given a bigger workload. That means we are getting a mostly fresh, young running back for a cheaper salary than is typical in DFS. We'll take a shot on the Lions not holding back their first-round pick on Thursday night.
FLEX TE Luke Musgrave, Lions ($6,400)
Keeping with the youth movement, Musgrave cracks the lineup as yet another rookie who will be featured on Thursday night. Tight ends are a young quarterback's best friend, and Musgrave is emerging for the Packers as exactly that. He's still waiting for that first trip across the goal line. The Lions gave up a touchdown to Blake Bell in Week 1, were torched by the Seattle tight ends in Week 2, and helped make a struggling Kyle Pitts look productive on Sunday (and we all know how much Arthur Smith despises making the fantasy and betting community look smart). Bet on Musgrave, who had a team-high six catches last week, to continue that trend in Week 4.
FLEX WR Josh Reynolds, Lions ($6,200)
Reynolds got off to a great start in 2023 with two touchdowns in two weeks along with 146 yards on 13 targets. He popped up on the injury report with a groin injury prior to Week 3 but ultimately suited up. Although he totaled zero targets, he still played on 77 percent of snaps, which is right in line with his Week 1 (70 percent) and Week 2 (80 percent) workload. Green Bay dealt with a mountain of injuries in Week 3, one of them being CB Jaire Alexander (back). Whether he's out or not, Reynolds figures to factor into the Lions' passing attack this time around. As usual, expect the overcorrection and buy low.
FLEX WR Jayden Reed, Packers ($5,600)
Reed has become Love's favorite red-zone target, and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon. He's not the biggest receiver, but he paces the team in targets inside the 20 with seven. Reed has also scored two touchdowns and could've had more if it wasn't for some bad luck. We don't think Christian Watson's potential return will hurt Reed's outlook as he works his way back up to game speed. Trust the rookie to remain relevant for fantasy purposes.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
Best SuperDraft Lions-Packers DFS Picks
This year, we're also listing our favorite single-game DFS plays on SuperDraft.
For those unfamiliar, SuperDraft's DFS scoring involves point multipliers as opposed to traditional salary-capped or tiered contests. A winning lineup will likely feature a strong mix of stud fantasy contributors with 1x-1.6x boosts, as well as matchup-based sleepers with larger multipliers. Each player is assigned a scoring multiplier based on their value as determined by SuperDraft. Users can roster any player in their lineup with no restrictions.
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Here are the most notable scoring rules for SuperDraft NFL contests: Half-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, two-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards.
MORE SUPERDRAFT DFS: How to play SuperDraft
- Champion (+50% points): WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions (Multiplier 1.5x)
- Super FLEX: QB Jared Goff, Lions (Multiplier 1.1x)
- Super FLEX: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions (Multiplier 1.2x)
- Super FLEX: QB Jordan Love, Packers (Multiplier 1.15x)
- Super FLEX: RB Aaron Jones, Packers (Multiplier 1.1x)
Last week was all about defense. This week is all about offense. The Lions feature a potent offense that's three-headed monster of Goff, St. Brown, and Gibbs should be able to produce. On the Green Bay side of things, Love will hopefully have his top option back in the backfield and that duo cooked the Bears defense in the opener. If Jones is healthy and suits up, then he's a must-have in your roster after the clunkers that AJ Dillon has posted for the past two weeks. Otherwise, pivot to a pass-catcher.
