Expect to see a lot of two tight end sets by the Lions, which will give them an opportunity to mix things up pre-snap and move pieces around. Ebron can play in-line, in the slot and outside, which will give offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and quarterback Matthew Stafford a lot of options after reading defenses.

Ebron gives Stafford something he hasn’t had from that position in his five years in Detroit. In Ebron, Stafford has a tight end that can take a five-yard pass and turn it into an 80-yard touchdown. He also has a player who can run by defenders down the seam and create mismatches from the tight end position.

The Lions want Ebron to fill the Jimmy Graham role in new OC Joe Lombardi’s offense, so he should see playing time immediately despite the presence of Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria. Of the 21 tight ends who have been drafted in the first round in the last 10 years, 14 have managed to play at least 14 games. They averaged 35-371-2.6, or #31 TE numbers. (Oddly enough, that's where Brandon Pettigrew finished in 2013.) It usually takes a while for a young tight end to make a fantasy impact, though there has been the occasional exception. Jeremy Shockey (#3 TE in 2002), Heath Miller (#11 in 2005) and Dustin Keller (#14 in 2008) all posted TE1 or fringe-TE1 numbers as rookie first round picks. Cam Cleeland, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and John Carlson all had a TE1-type impact as rookies even though they weren't drafted in the first round. Ebron is an intriguing TE2-type in a potent offense, but he's no shoo-in to make a big fantasy impact in his first season, especially if he’s struggling to learn the offense, which was the case in OTAs.

WR Golden Tate is the best No. 2 the Lions have had in Calvin Johnson’s tenure with the team. No disrespect to Nate Burleson, but he was more of a possession receiver. Tate can catch a five-yard pass and turn it into 80 yards. That’s nice to have in the bag when double coverage rolls Megatron’s way.

Tate is also sure-handed. He’s dropped just seven passes in four years. The Lions have led the league in dropped passes the last two seasons.

Tate had the #29 FP/T (1.21) in 2013, which was right on his three-year average. Tate saw 99 targets last year, which was a career high. He has back-to-back top 35 seasons to his credit, and he did that with just 5.4 T/G. He’s likely to see around 7.0 T/G in a pass-happy offense. (The Lions threw it 51% more than the Seahawks did in 2013.) And he’ll get to play opposite Calvin Johnson, ensuring that he’ll be seeing single coverage on virtually every play. He’s a fantasy WR3 with upside, assuming he and Matthew Stafford develop a good rapport. For more on his potential in the Detroit offense, click here.

It's hardly a surprise to say that WR Calvin Johnson is good or that he is the key cog in the Lions' attack. But, as training camp approaches and anticipation ramps up over promising young players like TE Eric Ebron and RB Theo Riddick and concern grows over Matthew Stafford's progress, it should not be forgotten how important it is for Johnson to have a good camp and come out of it healthy.

The Lions' scoring offense ranked 13th in the NFL last year with an average of 24.7 points per game. But in the games Johnson missed at Green Bay and at Minnesota, the offense struggled greatly and scored a combined 22 points.

Megatron had minor surgeries on a finger and a knee after the season, and the team has been cautious with his offseason work. He looks completely healthy. Of course, Johnson will likely be an early-to-mid first round pick later this summer in your league. We project him for 9 TDs and over 1,600 yards as well as over 100 catches.

Coming from the New Orleans Saints as quarterbacks coach, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi has a lot of similar pieces to work with in his new role.

He has the talented quarterback in Matthew Stafford, playmaking wide receivers in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, and (hopefully) a playmaking tight end in Eric Ebron.

But who takes the role of Darren Sproles – the shifty, multifaceted running back who can run the ball and make plays as a receiver in the open field?

Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky has an idea. His bold prediction for the Lions’ 2015 season, as he told Ross Tucker on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast, is that Theo Riddick will catch at least 50 passes.

Those are pretty lofty totals, especially with two, fine pass-catching backs in Reggie Bush and Joique Bell ahead of Riddick. But if Bell or Bush were to go down at some point this season, Riddick may be able to fill in nicely without much loss in production if the Lions decide to keep the game plan the same.

The Lions Matthew Stafford had a down year in 2013, in part to drops. But some of those struggles were the result of the quarterback's inconsistent mechanics and occasionally questionable decision-making.

With a coaching staff dedicated to refining Stafford's technique, and an improved arsenal of weapons, it would be stunning if the Lions' franchise quarterback didn't take a step forward with his accuracy this season, while dropping his interception rate.

Stafford's mechanics have often come under fire and we've seen mixed results throughout his career. Still, the weapons around him are tempting enough to take a chance on Stafford as your fantasy QB this season, especially if you're set on not taking one of the Big 3 early in drafts. We rank Stafford 5th on our list, and he is among that second tier of QBs along with Nick Foles and Andrew Luck.

Lions beat writer Tim Twentyman listed Calvin Johnson as a big beneficiary of the new offense and team personnel: "If the Lions end up playing a lot of up-tempo (maybe even no huddle) offense with two tight ends, Johnson should really benefit from that. The addition of tight end Eric Ebron and receiver Golden Tate really gives Matthew Stafford options at the line of scrimmage in an up-tempo offense that will limit substitution packages by the defense. Ebron can be an on-the-line tight end and a big receiver (6-5, 250), which will put some stress on defenses. It’s unlikely Johnson will see some of the triangle and triple coverage he has in the past with Ebron in the slot or on the line on his side and Tate on the other side. If he does, defenses will pay for it."

Player of Lions practice: For the second straight day, it is Calvin Johnson. Any question about Johnson’s health are now gone. He was once again the best player on the field and caught everything around him. He appears to be completely over his injuries and has his timing with Matthew Stafford down once again. He beat any cornerback the Lions lined up against him during 1-on-1 periods and on one play leapt over DeAndre Levy to catch a pass that he ended up running in for a touchdown.

To help quarterback Matthew Stafford improve his future, the Detroit Lions are reaching back to the past. Kind of.

In order to really focus on the mechanics of the sixth-year quarterback, new coach Jim Caldwell has started to use what he calls a ladder cam during practices. The purpose of the camera is simple. It is essentially Stafford's camera. It focuses on what he sees and the movements he makes.

By doing this, the Lions are hoping they can drill into Stafford the footwork, throwing motion and mechanics they want him to use. It's an idea Caldwell started using back in 1982, when he had someone actually standing on a ladder to create the picture of what the quarterback was seeing down the middle of the field.

During organized team activities over the last month, Lions QB Matthew Stafford and the offense seemed to be clearly behind the defense at times. Receivers dropped balls and quarterbacks threw interceptions as the offense struggled to move. We’ll see how much progress the offense has made this week.

Matthew Stafford may never make it to “Dancing with the Stars,” but the Detroit Lions are doing their part to fine-tune his footwork.

Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said that quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter has worked “a lot” with Stafford this off-season on footwork and progression drills.

“Like most quarterbacks, when his feet are right, the passes are usually right,” Lombardi said. “As he gets comfortable with the progressions and the timing, so much of it is dependent on the timing of the routes and where (his) feet should be, and he’s still learning a little bit of that, but he’s grasping it pretty quickly.”

Stafford’s mechanics have come under increased scrutiny as his passing numbers have slipped in recent years, and experts pointed to sloppy footwork as a primary reason.

“He’s really remarkably bright,” Lombardi said. “I’ve heard that he was a smart player, but the speed and ease with which he picks things up he has even surprised me — and I had high expectations coming in. So I think he’s doing really well.”

Stafford has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three seasons. He has new weapons to throw to in Golden Tate and Eric Ebron, but OC Scott Linehan was replaced by Joe Lombardi, who may emphasize the run a bit more. Still, Stafford is locked in as a top 5 option given all the weapons at his disposal, and has upside from there if he can develop consistent mechanics in the pocket.