Lions vs Panthers Showdown DFS: EMac's Week 4 SNF Top-10

Detroit Lions Overview

The Lions are running out of defensive backs with Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, THoas Harper and Avonte Maddox all out and D.J. Reed (rib) has only practiced in a limited fashion this week. The offensive line is also short on depth with Cade Mays, Ben Bartch and Giovanni Manu sidelined for Sunday Night Football.

Quarterback

Jared Goff has avoided throwing a pick through three games, ranking sixth with 267.3 passing yards per game he is tied for fourth with seven aerial strikes. Goff has earned Pro Bowl accolades in three of the last four seasons, though he is more of a maestro for this offense than a dual threat option. He is far from statuesque in the pocket, though in his 71 regular season starts for Detroit, he has averaged just three rushing yards per game, with his last touchdown coming in Week 5 of the 2023 season, against Carolina.

The Panthers were knocked around by Caleb Williams in their opener, ceding two rushing and two passing touchdowns as the former first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft came out throwing haymakers. Week 2 was the combo of Cooper Rush and Jack Strand, then last week it was Deshaun Watson. None of these signal callers have the same experience and collection of skill-position players as Goff, who should be able to move the ball tonight, even with the missing regulars on the offensive line. This season he ranks in the top-three for most metrics when under pressure.

Running Backs

Jahmyr Gibbs is on pace for the second most touches in NFL history, which is something that needs to be dialed back for him to avoid injuries or being worn down. Of course when the Motor City Kitties are allowing the most yards and points per game through three tilts, they are going to need to lean heavily on Gibbs.

This is particularly true with wingman David Montgomery now in Houston and his “replacement” Isaih Pacheco will be out at least until December after needing back surgery to remove a loose body that was pressing against a nerve in his lower back.

Jacob Saylors had two offensive snaps on Sunday, his first of the season, otherwise it has been Sione Vaki spelling Gibbs. He has converted his lone target in each of the first trio of tilts, while also rushing for 40 yards on nine totes.

In summary, Gibbs has nearly 80% of the rushing opportunities and 20% of the targets on the season for Detroit. It would be prudent for coach Dan Campbell to start getting Vaki more carries between the 20s and of course if Detroit ever secures a sizable lead.

Wide Receivers

Amon-Ra St. Brown was top-five in most statistical categories last year. He earned Pro Bowl acknowledgment in his four years after his rookie season, while also being named First-Team All-NFL twice and Second-Team once. He is a savant when it comes to running the core nine routes and there are no weaknesses in his repertoire.

Jameson Williams has run a route on 88% of the Detroit dropbacks, trailing St. Brown by a tick. Isaac TeSlaa has been the WR3, with Tay Martin seeing action on offense for the first time last Sunday.

Williams had nine Week 1 targets, though we should not shy away from him after he saw just eight across the two following tilts. TeSlaa is well behind with only nine looks across the first three games and no other wideouts have snaps, let alone throws from Goff on the season.

Tight End

Sam LaPorta has an 84% route participation rate, with an 18% target share, collection 19 of the 23 targets to this position. Brock Wright has three targets and he is usually on the field for 40%-to-50% of the snaps doing the dirty work as a blocker.

Tyler Conklin has the other target, though he was a healthy scratch in Week 3, with Jackson Meeks, who sat out the opener serving as the TE3.

Kicker and DST

Detroit is tied for second with 12 sacks, while the Panthers are in the middle of the pack with just seven on the season. Carolina has suffered two interceptions and two fumbles lost, while the Lions defense also has a pair of each.

Carolina Panthers Overview

The Panthers are without defensive backs Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn, along with linebackers Tershawn Wharton, Nic Scourton and Bam Martin-Scott. Starting defensive tackle Lee Hunter (foot) and backup Cam Jackson (foot) were both limited and looking like game time decisions.

Jalen Coker (quad) was also limited and fellow wideout Xavier Legette (knee) will miss a second consecutive game. It sounds like offensive tackle Monroe Freeling has cleared the concussion protocol, though he still carries the questionable designation, while guard Damien Lewis is out.

Quarterback

Bryce Young leads the league with 313.0 passing yards per game, tossing seven scores with just two interceptions. He is likely to be missing two of his top three wideouts, though that is not much of a deterrent against Detroit, especially on a single-game slate. Young is not afraid to move outside the pocket to get a better vantage point to survey his pass-catchers, though he has just three carries for 16 yards, with a touchdown in the opener.

For his career, he has a steady 15.0 rushing yards per game, though six of his nine touchdowns were back in 2024, when he was trying to do more with his legs. Since the start of last season, he has been less prone to freelancing, though if the defense loses track of him, he will tuck the ball and run.

Every quarterback to face the Lions this season has thrown for three touchdowns, with Josh Allen adding two more on the ground. The numbers are a little skewed by the 410 passing yards allowed to Tyler Shough in the Week 1 OT affair, though Geno Smith managed 321 on Sunday, which bodes well for Young’s DFS prospects.

Running Backs

Chuba Hubbard now has the backfield to himself with oft-injured Jonathan Brooks on the IR once again. AJ Dillon is the RB2/blocker, though he was on the field for just 12 (16%) of the snaps last week, with Anthony Tyus III active as the RB3.

Dillon was out of the league in 2024 and he has played in just three games over the last two seasons, spending 2025 with Philadelphia. When he is on the field, there is a good chance he is getting the ball with 12 carries and one target across his 23 offensive snaps.

Tyus was a UDFA who declared for the 2025 NFL Draft and he has spent time with Detroit and Seattle in the preseason, before joining the Carolina practice squad last October.

This thinned out crew should help Hubbard flirt with 100+ combined yards and he was already the team leader with eight redzone opportunities in the two games with Brooks.

Wide Receivers

Last week Brycen Tremayne was second on the team with an 81% snap share, while John Metchie III was second at 56%. Each had a 35% route participation rate, which should push higher if Coker is out.

Metchie is in his fourth season and we are all familiar with him from previous island games in his time with Houston, Philadelphia and the New York Jets. He is a capable WR4, who is going to be tasked with a larger role tonight. Tremayne did get offensive snaps in all but one game for Carolina last year. He was a UDFA who barely cracked 1,000 yards in four seasons at Stanford, though he did have 11 touchdowns in his 35 collegiate games.

There has been concern that Tetairoa McMillian has not been as good as he was in his rookie campaign, though we need to remember that he is the primary focus of opposing pass defenses. Tonight volume should help him in a delightful matchup, though going forward if Coker continues his ascension, that will help as well giving defenses someone else to worry about.

Tight Ends

This has been a three-man show with Tommy Tremble (53% snap-share), newcomer Darren Waller (43%) and third-year man Mitch Evans (41%) seeing solid playing time. Evans (6 targets) and Waller each have two redzone looks, while it is Waller (13) and Tremble (11) with more targets. There is a slight boost to this crew if Coker is out as that is around seven targets that needs to be redistributed.

Kicker and DST

Ryan Fitzgerald is in his second season as a UDFA from Florida State, converting on all seven of his field goal attempts. He led the ACC in PATs for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, missing just one of his 116 attempts. He has converted on just 3-of-6 (50%) from 50+ yards as a professional, though he has nailed 29-of-30 (97%) from inside that range.

NFL DFS Week 4 SNF Showdown: Top-10

1. Jahmyr Gibbs: Captain, My Captain!!
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown: One of the most best route technicians in the league, four consecutive Pro Bowls, three straight All-NFL nominations.
3. Bryce Young: Fingers crossed that we get a track meet tonight!
4. Chuba Hubbard: Volume is key.
5. Tetairoa McMillan: Ibid.
6. Jared Goff: Three touchdowns and 300 yards is very much in play, do not expect anything on the ground.
7. Jameson Williams: We are still waiting for him to catch lightening in a bottle when the defense loses track of him.
8. Sam La Porta: Rarely do we see such a top-heavy skill-position group.
9. Brycen Tremayne and Jalen Coker: If Coker plays, drop Tremanyne to the top of the next section. If he is active, it is hard to put forth full confidence as he has missed practice and risk of in-game injury aggravation is elevated.

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Secondary Targets

• Darren Waller: Excels in the redzone.
• John Metchie III: Far from sexy, though his $3,200 cap hit on DraftKings is helpful.
• Ryan Fitzgerald: No argument here if you want to consider him at the top of this category.
• Carolina DST: Likely a lot of passing tonight if both teams continue their current trajectories, that bodes well for both defenses.
• Detroit DST: Would have got the nod at home, line does a good job of creating pressure, defensive backfield is too thinned out to slow things down.

Lottery Tickets

• Tommy Tremble: Has popped up with solid showings during his professional career.
• Isaac TeSlaa: The 69% rout-share is nice, the 3% target share is less than peachy.
• Mitchell Evans and Brock Wright: The backup tight ends who will at least be on the field for 30%+ of the action.
• Sione Vaki: Expect more opportunities and in theory he should be able to pick up yards if he can get in open space. Had five touchdowns on 53 touches as a sophomore at Utah, which was enough for the Lions to draft him in the fourth-round.
• AJ Dillon: We know he is the RB2, mostly a contingent value play with a decent chance at half a dozen low-leverage touches.
• Jacob Saylor: Mostly a kickoff returner the last two years, with other special team duties, but he is the RB3.
• Anthony Tyus III: Likely to at least see the field for the first time as a Panther.
• Tyler Conklin and Jackson Meeks: Ideally one of them is inactive, neither has even a modicum of value if both suit up.
• Tom Kennedy: Main punt returner, shares kickoff duties with Saylor and he could always play over Martin.
• Tay Martin: Two snaps in three games.
• Ja’seem Reed, Feleipe Franks, David Moore, Herman Moore and Cam Newton: Just seeing who is paying attention.

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