Week 11 NFL Moneyline Underdogs
Mike Randle
Struggling to find production behind No. 1 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Detroit Lions addressed the position ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, trading for now-former Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones. The move gives the Lions the unofficial league lead in receivers with hyphenated names.
Peoples-Jones had a breakout 2022, with career bests in targets (96), receptions (61) and yards (839) and a career-best tie in touchdowns (3) as the No. 2 receiver behind Amari Cooper. That production hasn’t translated to 2023, though, as Peoples-Jones has only 8 receptions on 18 targets for 97 scoreless yards in seven games. The Browns, who traded for Elijah Moore this offseason and drafted Cedric Tillman, sent him to Detroit in exchange for a 2025 sixth-rounder.
Donovan Peoples-Jones to Detroit, Fantasy Impact
Amon-Ra St. Brown is firmly established as the Lions’ WR1, and rookie Sam LaPorta has been a revelation at TE. But the team has struggled at pass catcher behind those two and rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs. Josh Reynolds has had moments, but he’s only had 7 targets over the last three games combined. Jameson Williams has played four games since his return from suspension, but that’s only amounted to 6 receptions on 15 targets for 71 yards. Marvin Jones stepped away from the team.
That created an opening for Peoples-Jones. With St. Brown, LaPorta and the running backs commanding targets, Peoples-Jones isn’t likely to get anything like a massive target share — not the 5.6 he averaged last year — but a handful of targets a game going to him should provide better production than the handful going to other receivers has turned into so far this year. You won’t be starting Peoples-Jones in fantasy regularly, but you could do worse as a bye week/emergency fill-in if in a bind.
Meanwhile, Tillman is probably the biggest winner here. He was always viewed as a developmental eventual replacement for Peoples-Jones after Cleveland took him in the third round of this year’s draft out of Tennessee, and now he’ll get his shot earlier than 2024. Tillman only has one reception on the year, a 5-yarder in Week 4, but with Peoples-Jones sent away, Tillman should see the field much more often the rest of the way.
