Packers fantasy football outlook: Give Tonyan green light at TE vs. Lions

The Green Bay Packers’ offense is rolling and up next is a road matchup against the Detroit Lions

Green Bay’s offense has been smoking hot, scoring 30+ points in four of its five last games. Detroit, on the other hand, has surrendered at least 30 points in its last two games.

On paper, things look good for the Packers entering this matchup. But the 5-7 Lions are still within reach – albeit a long reach — of a wild-card spot.

With all that in mind, with the fantasy football playoffs upon us, who should you start? Who should you avoid? We are here to help.

Players are graded on a 1-5 scale of football emojis, from “don’t even think about starting him” (?) to “you’re a fool if you bench this guy”(?????).

Here’s how Week 12 shakes out:

GREEN BAY PACKERS

QB Aaron Rodgers: ?????

Rodgers has been playing like an MVP in the last three games. He’s completed 72.3% of his passes, thrown for 817 combined yards and 10 touchdowns and just one interception. A-Rod is basically a walking three-touchdown game, so you should start him. If you’re not starting him, we’d love to know why.

RB Aaron Jones: ?????

Jones took a bit to really get going in his first three games back from his calf injury but has picked up the pace in recent weeks. He rushed for 130 yards, caught three passes for 18 yards and scored a touchdown against the Eagles a week after tallying his third-highest rushing yardage total of the season against the Bears with 90 yards on the ground. Jones may not explode for a giant point total each weekend, but he’s a big enough part of the Packers offense to have a consistently have a high floor. Oh, and Detroit has allowed a league-high 23 touchdowns to running backs (16 rushing, 7 passing – also both NFL highs) plus Jones had 236 yards of offense and three TDs in the teams’ Week 2 matchup.

RB Jamaal Williams: ??

Aside from rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown vs. Chicago, Williams has accumulated 107 combined total yards in three of the Packers four past games. He is the clear second option behind Jones, but Detroit ranks dead last in fantasy points allowed to running backs, so it seems like he will have chances to shine. Williams may be able to put up fantasy points in a Green Bay blowout win but it would be a risk to rely on him as a starter, especially now that the fantasy playoffs are here. For what it’s worth, Williams had eight carries for 68 yards in Green Bay’s earlier win over Detroit.

WR Davante Adams: ?????

Under no circumstances should you not start Adams. After posting 10 catches for 121 yards and two scores against Philadelphia, the Fresno State product leads the NFL with 102.9 receiving yards per game, totaling 1,029 receiving yards (despite missing two games) and 13 touchdowns on the season. Start Adams.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling: ?

We all know MVS has the capability of lighting up a fantasy lineup by catching a few deep bombs in a game, but most games he does very little from a statistical perspective. His four touchdowns in 2020 have come in three games and he has not recorded a catch in the past two games. Valdes-Scantling is just too unreliable to play unless you really like sweating during a fantasy playoff game.

WR Allen Lazard: ?? 

Lazard had his best outing since returning from a core injury against the Eagles. He hauled in three receptions for 50 yards, which is encouraging to see as a Packer fan but from a fantasy perspective, there are just too many productive wide receivers out there to warrant a Lazard start.

TE Robert Tonyan: ?????

Tonyan is in the midst of a breakout season and is now the clear second-best option in the passing game. He has caught three touchdowns in the past three games, bringing his TD total up to eight on the season, which is tied with Travis Kelce for the most in the league among tight ends. The yardage is there, too, since his 497 receiving yards are eighth best for tight ends. Tonyan is not on the upper crust level of Travis Kelce and Darren Waller this season, but he is squarely in that second tier of tight ends and that is more than worthy of a start.

Packers D/ST: ?

It was fun while it lasted, Packers D/ST. Green Bay’s defense had two great performances against the Bears and Eagles, but say what you will about the Lions, they at least have a functional NFL offense. In fact, Detroit put up 34 points and 460 total yards against a pretty good Chicago defense, so it should be able to move down the field against the Packers. Start the D/ST which is playing the Bears or the Eagles instead if you can!

DETROIT LIONS

QB Matt Stafford: ????

One thing we know about Matt Stafford is that he puts up yards. Many of those yards come in garbage time but they count the same in a fantasy matchup. He threw for 402 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the Lions’ 34-30 win over Chicago. While he certainly did not play his best game in Detroit’s 41-25 loss to the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving, he still finished with 295 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Win or lose, Stafford can fill up the stat sheet and is a decent option in Week 14.

RB Adrian Peterson: ???

It is odd to write about the 35-year-old Peterson as a possible fantasy starter in 2020 but AP has done just enough to make a case for starting. Here’s the thing, he gets carries near the goal line and in the last two weeks those carries have equated to four touchdowns, including twice from the 1-yard line against the Texans. Despite averaging 3.6 yards per carry and not catching a single pass in those two games, he has gotten more work than Kerryon Johnson and the injured D’Andre Swift, who has missed the Lions’ past three games with a concussion and an illness.

WR Marvin Jones Jr.: ???

With Kenny Golladay out with a sore hip – and it looks like he won’t play again Sunday – Jones has become Detroit’s de facto No. 1 receiver of late. In the Lions’ last four games, he’s had 10+ targets three times. The results have been mixed. He had eight catches and a touchdown in Weeks 10 (vs. Washington with 96 yards) and 13 (at Chicago, 116 yards) but just four catches for 51 yards in Week 11 at Carolina and six for 48 in Week 12 vs. Houston. Green Bay has been pretty good against wide receivers this season and Jones might be seeing a lot of Jaire Alexander. Still, if someone is bound to have a big game at wideout and potentially a score, it’s Jones.

TE T.J. Hockenson: ???

Hockenson has become a favorite target of Stafford as well recently. In the past three games he has 16 catches on 24 targets for 241 yards. Hockenson has cleared 80 yards (89 and 84) in each of the last two games after not having reached 70 yards in any previous contest. While he does have five touchdowns, he hasn’t scored in four straight games. The Packers have allowed just three touchdowns to tight ends this season and two came against Indianapolis. Hockenson is emerging as a potential upper-echelon tight end but there is definite risk playing him vs. Green Bay.

Lions D/ST: ?

No.