Will the Detroit Lions Re-Sign D.J. Chark? Fantasy Football Outlook

The Detroit Lions had a resurgence in 2022 under the leadership of hard-nosed head coach Dan Campbell. They missed making the playoffs by one game, but they were one of the most exciting teams to watch during the second half of the season, and quarterback Jared Goff played his best football in five years (4,438 passing yards and 29 touchdown passes).

Detroit was starving for help with its receiving corps last offseason and signed D.J. Chark to a one-year deal. This looked like the perfect opportunity for Chark to show the football world that he was worthy of a multimillion-dollar deal in 2023 as he was slated to be one of Detroit’s top two wide receivers heading into the season.

But while Detroit’s passing attack was much better than most people thought thanks to Goff’s improved play, Chark had an uneven season thanks to injuries that limited him to 11 games and the emergence of slot superstar Amon-Ra St. Brown, who knocked Chark a couple pegs down on Detroit’s target totem pole. So will Chark re-sign with the Lions, or will he take his talents elsewhere? Here is my take:

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Will the Lions Re-Sign D.J. Chark?

If Chark is re-signed, it will have to be a bargain-basement price. Detroit has Brown and former first-round pick Jameson Williams as Goff’s top two targets entering the 2023 campaign, and who knows what the organization has planned for April’s NFL Draft?  Chark’s 30-502-3 line is not going to make the team fall over itself to sign him. Out of the 11 games he suited up for, he had less than 20 receiving yards in five of them.

What Chark can hang his helmet on is the four-game stretch toward the end of the season when he racked up 16 catches for 318 yards. That is when he showed glimpses of the receiver who accounted for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019. When healthy and being targeted consistently in a decent passing offense, Chark and his top-flight speed can make big chunk plays downfield.

The great news for Chark is that the free agent wide receiver pool this offseason is as shallow as Dan Bilzerian. Teams in need of receivers will overpay for a player like Chark this year, unlike other offseasons where Chark would have to settle for a two-year, $10 million dollar deal (at best) coming off a season like he just had.  This lucky guy might make $30 million because of the mediocre crop of free-agent pass catchers available.

The Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and New York Giants should all be in the market for WR help this offseason, although which organizations can fit Chark under their salary cap is anyone’s guess. I believe one of those teams is more likely to land Chark than the Lions, though. Detroit knows what Chark is and knows that they have receiving depth, so they will not be as willing to fork over multimillions to him. Detroit also has a glaring need at tight end they will probably want to address this offseason before finalizing their receiving corps. Look for Chark to be elsewhere in 2023, and his fantasy value will be directly tied to his new team, quarterback, and role in the offense.

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