Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki was the only player from his position in attendance for practice Tuesday, but he still had a strong showing and continued to push for a spot on the 53-man roster. Specifically, he delivered a big play in 7-on-7s when he beat linebacker DaRon Gilbert on a wheel route to gain several yards. In 11-on-11s, he beat linebacker Ben Niemann to pick up 10 yards. "Vaki was one of the most impressive players from the spring," Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman wrote. "I believe if he can get some of the fundamentals down when it comes to timing and pass protection, he could carve out a role on offense, albeit a relatively small one." These comments are promising, but Vaki stays off the fantasy radar in redraft leagues given that he'll be stuck behind (at least) David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

It's clear that the Detroit Lions want second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs to be more involved in their offense in 2024 after he rushed for almost 1,000 yards as a rookie and finished third in the league in yards per carry (5.2). Heading into his second year, the Lions are looking for more consistency out of Gibbs, mainly in pass protection, as he was graded 61st out of 63 qualified RBs in pass-blocking in 2023 by PFF. The Lions also want Gibbs to be more involved in the passing game, even though he was in the top 10 among RBs with 52 catches and 71 targets in 2023. His average depth of target, per PFF, was literally zero yards, so Detroit will be looking to use him more in the slot and deeper down the field in 2024. With David Montgomery still in town, Gibbs' ceiling will remain somewhat limited, but if he's more involved as a pass-catcher deeper down the field, he'll still have RB1 upside in PPR leagues.

Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker was rumored to be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft in the middle of his stellar final season at Tennessee in 2022. However, he suffered a late-season ACL tear and was ultimately a third-round selection by Detroit. Teddy Bridgewater was Jared Goff's primary backup last season, while Hooker spent most of his debut campaign on the Injured Reserve list. With Bridgewater announcing his retirement this offseason, the 26-year-old is set to move into the QB2 role in 2024. So far at OTAs, the reviews have been promising. "It was fun watching Hendon Hooker sling it in a team setting for the very first time," Colton Pouncy of The Athletic wrote. "Really nice touch on his deep ball. Good velocity. One of his best plays of the day was a deep ball down the right sideline to Daurice Fountain, which drew "oooohs" and "aaahhs" from the team." After Goff signed a four-year extension to remain with the organization, Hooker's narrow path to the starting job closed. However, he can be stashed in deep Superflex or two-QB leagues. If Goff had to miss any time due to injury, the 26-year-old sophomore would have intriguing upside thanks to his rushing ability and pass-catching group headlined by Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta.

Detroit Lions tight end Shane Zylstra (knee), who was out with a knee injury last year, was back at practice at organized team activities last week and looked great. Zylstra picked up right where he left off and was catching everything thrown his way. He showed good chemistry with quarterback Hendon Hooker and the second-team offense. The 27-year-old tight end spent all of the 2023 campaign on Injured Reserve due to a knee injury that he suffered in training camp last summer. Now that he's back and looking good, Zylstra will give the team extra depth at the tight end position behind Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright and James Mitchell. The former undrafted free agent isn't anywhere close to the fantasy radar and has only 14 receptions for 94 yards and four touchdowns since entering the league in 2021.

Denver Broncos veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick (Achilles) is taking part in OTAs this week, according to NFL.com. The 30-year-old suffered a torn ACL during training camp in 2022 and a torn Achilles in 2023's training camp. It's been an unfortunate run of bad luck for the 2017 undrafted free agent, but hopefully, he'll make it to the start of the season in 2024. Patrick caught 164 passes for 1,476 yards and 11 touchdowns in his last 31 games, but considering he hasn't taken the field in two years, it's tough to get excited about his fantasy football outlook. Assuming Patrick's agility and speed haven't been completely zapped by major injuries, he's likely to start the season behind Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, and Marvin Mims Jr. Troy Franklin and Lil'Jordan Humphrey could also pass him up on the depth chart, depending on how he's moving at this point in his career. The Broncos are likely to have a bottom-ten offense under rookie quarterback Bo Nix.