What It Means:

Teammate Kenny Golladay has been sidelined since the last week of training camp with a hamstring injury, thrusting Cephus into the starting job despite his status as a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Cephus, who teammate and 2020 first-round pick Jeffrey Okudah named as the toughest receiver to play against in his own collegiate experience, played a critical role in the Lions' Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears, leading the team in targets with 10.

Golladay's absence has opened up major passing-game opportunities for the rest of the Lions receivers, Cephus included. While the rookie did lead his team in targets in Week 1, he turned those 10 looks into just 3 receptions for 43 yards. He'll look to build on that stat line in Week 2. Our models project him to score 7.2 fantasy points in today's contest.